Occupy Wall Street
Since September 17, 2011 the Occupy Wall Street movement has grown from a core group of protestors who began occupying Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, renaming in Liberty Plaza. Solidarity protests have taken place in thousands of US and Canadian cities. Though police crackdowns have since cleared most, if not all, of these Occupy encampments, the spirit of the movement continues, made manifest in continued protest throughout the United States.
At the core of the movement: A reining in of corporate control of the US and global economy, and politics. It comes as the US economy has greater economic inequality than many developing nations (including India, China, and Iran), joblessness is on the rise, and social mobility is nearly at an all-time low. Calling themselves the 99%, they align themselves against the richest 1% of the US population, who control a percentage of US wealth and income unmatched since the Great Depression.
As much as what the movement itself has brought to the table, the response from civic government has been illustrative of the state of affairs, and polarizing. From police officers repeatedly pepper-spraying peaceful, non-violent protestors, to intimidating and arresting members of the media, the reaction of those in power has shed light on deep imbalances in the American political system and public life. In fact, as a result of the reaction to Occupy protests around the nation, the US has fallen 20 spots in international rankings of press freedom, falling to number 47 in 2011.
Featured Stories in Occupy Wall Street
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Why I'm Occupying Wall Street with the Green Movement Today
Since the Occupy Wall Street movement began, there's been plenty of long-winded pontificating about what it stands for or what it doesn't stand for or what it should stand for and so on. (Most of that pontificating
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#OccupyWallStreet, Food Prices, Civil Unrest: It All Comes Back To Oil
There is a direct connection between the Occupy Wall Street movement, the price of food, and the price of oil.
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Memo to #OccupyWallStreet: It's Not Just Neoliberalism That's Destroyed the Environment
When it comes to protecting the environment, it is true that the current neoliberal globalized economy hasn't done a very good job at protecting nature, at all. But historically speaking, neither has any other economic system.
Tag: Occupy Wall Street - Page 2
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Surveillance Drone for The 99%: Occupy Wall Street Protesters To Monitor Police
Handheld technology and live-streaming has allowed the public to witness the growth of the movement. Next up: a surveillance drone -- for the "99 percent"?
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Can We Compost Our Anger?
From orange peels to diapers to latex condoms, you can compost a lot of things. But is it possible to compost your anger?
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TreeHugger Live Chat Today at 3pm EDT.
A few of us are going to chat about this year's Person of the Year nominees and whatever else happens to come up. Join us!
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Volunteers Repair and Resod Site of #Occupy Toronto
The 99% includes all kinds of people, and they are all contributing in different ways.
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"Let's Talk About It": How Much Process is Too Much Process For Green Businesses and Activists?
Defining goals and developing strategy are a crucial element of success for environmentalists. But how do we ensure that this turns into action?
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Vote For TreeHugger's 2011 Person of the Year
These are the people whose herculean efforts produced stand-out performances in green this year. Vote for your favorite.
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OccupyEducated Creates a Virtual Library for the #Occupy Movement: What Books Would You Recommend?
In response to books being confiscated and destroyed at Occupy Wall Street, activists have created a virtual library to spread the word.
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Most Popular Articles of November: Fracking Causes Earthquakes, Lt. John Pike's Pepper Spraying Revolution, and More
A British energy company admits they caused earthquakes with fracking, Lt. John Pike's pepper spraying is seen around the world, and an octopus walks on land: Find this and More.
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#Occupy Democracy: The Rich Have Money, We Have Bodies. And the 1st Amendment.
Former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains why civil disobedience and #Occupy is so important in the age of big money.
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The Occupy Movement Must Think Beyond Physical Occupation
Non-violent direct action is an important part of our democratic heritage. But occupation is a tactic, not an end goal.
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Frances Moore Lappé on Escaping Thought Traps and Creating Democracy for a Small Planet (Podcast)
The author of Diet for a Small Planet discusses democracy, psychology, Occupy Wall Street, and her new book, EcoMind.
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Reoccupy Main Street: Small Business is the 99%
This holiday season, invest your time and money in family, neighborhood and community.
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Why Is Camping In The Park Illegal, But Camping At Best Buy Is Just Fine?
Surprise: People with money, even if it is just enough to buy a discounted high def television, get treated differently than those without.
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#Occupy Toronto Goes Out Not With A Bang, Not With A Whimper, But With Its Head Held High
Nicely handled all around, the Police were polite and respectful and so were the protesters.
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#OccupyToronto Yurts Dismantled, #Occupiers Removed, Not A Robocop In Sight
Learning from last year's G20 and last weeks pepper spray scene in Davis, a very Toronto eviction.
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In The Alternate American Universe, Pepper Spray Joins Pizza as a Vegetable
Oh what is everybody complaining about, its just food and the cops are just doing their job
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Pepper Spraying Policeman Becomes Meme Of The Moment
At least we can find a bit of humor in this situation, as the photoshoppers go medieval on Lt. John Pike.
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Judge Rules that #OccupyToronto Can Be Evicted From Park
No surprise here; the question is, what will Mayor Ford and the City do?
