Feel the moment, forget about where this is heading (photo by Adam Lempel):

It doesn’t matter if Occupy Wall Street brings no practical changes to the world.  It doesn’t matter if it fails to halt the onslaught of global corporate capitalism.  If humanity does indeed annihilate itself through nuclear holocaust or climate collapse or the next boom-bust cycle—which will likely be even bigger and worse than the sub-prime mortgage crisis, as power is now more concentrated than before— we’ll at least know that we spoke the truth when it mattered.  That we took a stand for what was right.  Even against all odds.  Even in the face of ridicule and state sanctioned brutality.

We live in a world ruled not by Orwell’s Big Brother, but by the forces of “free markets,” a euphemism right out of 1984’s Ministry of Truth, a misnomer in a sea of big lies pushed by the corporate state.  For it is not a world of genuinely free markets described by Adam Smith that today’s corporate capitalists have imposed on the world.  It is the antithesis.  It is a system of concentrated power, carefully crafted to enrich the privileged few beyond comprehension, at everyone else’s expense. Read the rest of this entry

(Photo by Adam Lempel)

Humanity faces a daunting battle against corporate forces that have historically proved willing to employ any means necessary to preserve an evil system.  The police brutality and corporate funding aimed at crushing Occupy Wall Street hint of the savagery unleashed by corporations in countries around the world over the past 150 years.  Yet the recent crackdown has provided our rebellion with an extraordinary public relations weapon by demonstrating the veracity of our charges against a ruthless system that despises democracy and justice.

The movement sweeping America is our link to a world-wide chain of rebellion.  The majority of the world’s population, which for half a century has borne the brunt of neoliberal policies, is finally determined to stop the onslaught of global capitalism, which is the force sustaining most brutal systems on the planet, from the military dictatorships in the Middle East to the neo-feudalist societies now permeating industrial nations.

Since World War II the United States has expanded its ever-present imperial quest to entail global domination.  Our government has used nearly every method imaginable to ensure a world order that benefits big multi-national corporations.  It dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, even though officials such as General Eisenhower knew Japan was about to surrender, to send a message.  That message was the same as the one sent in Vietnam—do as we say or suffer a holocaust. Read the rest of this entry

(Photo by Adam Lempel)

We Don’t Live In a Free Society:

I wrote an article over a month ago exposing the Obama administration’s crackdown on civil liberties.  The piece begins with the assertion that “the United States is still the freest country in the world.”  I was curious to see how readers would react.  A number of people commented that such a statement is so delusional that they had to stop reading.  At the time I thought they were perhaps overreacting.  But after witnessing the state’s crackdown on Occupy Wall Street it has become clear that they were right.  We do not live in a free society.

Perhaps the most basic right in a democracy is, to quote the Constitution, “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”  If we cannot do this we don’t live in a real democracy.  I’ve been aware that our democracy is a sham for some time.  Prior to Occupy Wall Street I understood that our government has been completely hijacked by corporate interests, rendering the political process pure theatre.  I had also been familiar with the fact that the state has cracked down on demonstrators on many occasions.

But my experience at Occupy Wall Street has served as a serious reality check about just how free our society is.  Read the rest of this entry

(Photo by Adam Lempel, a friend and artist)

FOX News and The New York Times prove yet again that both conservatives and mainstream liberals serve power:

The mainstream media’s propaganda surrounding Occupy Wall Street has been truly breathtaking.  For those who believe we have a right/left divide in the mass media, coverage by FOX News and The New York Times must shatter all such delusions (and I say this as someone who used to worship The Times).  Let’s be clear on this.  Both conservative and “liberal” media outlets are playing for the same team.  They are all either big corporations themselves or they are owned and controlled by the six mega corporations which dominate the mass media.  As such, a populist revolution is against their interest.

Earlier this week, an agitator appeared at Zuccotti Park.  I presume he was planted there by FOX News, although I have no proof.  He was a self-styled conservative African American who wanted to defend capitalism and Wall Street.  Not surprisingly, the FOX News cameras followed his every word.  He made outrageous claims, such as that redistribution of wealth is impossible, not just wrong, and that teachers unions bear responsibility for America’s decline, not the big banks which stole trillions through bailouts.   The purpose was to instigate and make us look like an agry mob.  I have been unable to locate the clip, but, as we will see, other pieces of coverage from FOX available on the Web sufficiently illustrate the nefarious nature of their coverage.  Read the rest of this entry

(Photo by Adam Lempel)

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Max, a 33 year old activist from upstate New York who’s been camping out here in Zuccotti Park for days.  “I’ve been to many protests before, but there’s never been such energy and promise as what I see here today.  The revolution has begun.”

Indeed, as Occupy Wall Street enters week two of what will almost certainly be many more to come, the excitement is palpable.  Every day there are many new faces and a steady stream of stalwarts.  We have live music, with a group of people bangin’ on drums, others playing guitar, and some blaring trumpets.  We hold general assemblies, where we all crowd around the middle of the park and listen to each other float propositions for action, repeating what each speaker has to say, word for word.  We participate in smaller group sessions, where a dozen or so of us discuss strategies for outreach and craft ideas for demands.  Everyone is friendly.  There are so many cool and interesting people here from all over America.  And it’s easy to start conversations, since we all have something important to say and want to listen to others. Read the rest of this entry