Eco-Cultural Adventures: October 2011

This is not a political blog. But this is a political post. Well, more of a social sciences post. Anyway...

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394043,00.asp

Occupy Wall Street is growing quickly. It has spread clear across the country. When I first heard about it, I was interested. Now I'm pretty excited. But to reach this point I have done a little research.

Two things interest me the most about this movement:

1. The speed at which this movement has grown and the size it has become. Sure, protests have reached epic proportions in other countries over the last 50 years... but not in the USA. It takes a lot for US Citizens to get all riled up. According to OccupyTogether.org, there is action in 357 cities now. The earliest date I have seen for movement action is Sept. 17th.

Occupy Everything: 'US protests have explosive potential'

You won't see this kind of coverage with US media outlets

2. The fact that this is a movement that is being shaped directly by those participating. Few mainstream media reports I have seen will mention the degree of organization that this movement is developing. Did you know about Occupy Wall Street's demands? Did you know you can vote for which demands you support? Following is a summary of some of the top demands... at this point... maybe you will go vote and shape the demands yourself...

Pass the "RETURN TO PRUDENT BANKING ACT"

"USE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES FULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS"

"CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY BY REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION which essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections."

"CONGRESS PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION SO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE & CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOP HOLES AND ENACT A PROHIBITION ON HIDING FUNDS OFF SHORE."

"CONGRESS COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION"

"CONGRESS PASS SPECIFIC AND EFFECTIVE LAWS LIMITING THE INFLUENCE OF LOBBYISTS AND ELIMINATING THE PRACTICE OF LOBBYISTS WRITING LEGISLATION THAT ENDS UP ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS."

"CONGRESS PASSING 'Revolving Door Legislation' LEGISLATION ELIMINATING THE ABILITY OF FORMER GOVERNMENT REGULATORS GOING TO WORK FOR CORPORATIONS THAT THEY ONCE REGULATED."

"ELIMINATE 'PERSONHOOD' LEGAL STATUS FOR CORPORATIONS."

These are not the demands of a few anarchists. This is quickly becoming the pulse of the nation. These are some of the same messages that marginalized political candidates have been saying for decades... Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, to name a few recent presidential candidates.

"General Assemblies" are happening in cities all over the country where people are getting together and hashing out the goals and demands of the movement. Search Facebook or go to OccupyTogether.org for information about General Assemblies in your area.

Regarding Anonymous
There is an underground online community called Anonymous that has gotten involved in this movement. I wouldn't be surprised if Anonymous started the movement. Videos suggest that Anonymous represents all of the 99% (of the world's population who own just 1% of its wealth).

Most people that have heard of Anonymous think it is just a bunch of mal-adjusted teenagers lurking in their parents' basements... hacking for fun... or maybe even because they truly embrace political or literal anarchy. And there may be some truth to that, but it is becoming apparent that Anonymous is much much more. Check out these videos:

Anonymous Occupy Wall Street Call to Action

And yes, they seem to have resources:

Anonymous Occupy The Planet

They were planning a hack on Wall Street on October 10th, but apparently the FBI infiltrated a chat room. Emergency messages were spread through the social media channels telling Anonymous "members" that the operation is canceled... But that Anonymous still has its sights set on Wall Street.

If anything, Anonymous has shown us (along with Egypt and others) that social media is now a powerful organizing and mobilizing force. And I truly believe that Anonymous is fundamentally unstoppable for two reasons:

1. Hackers are always ahead of those who intend to stop them... a hacker only has to find ONE way into a system... the defense must try to cover ALL possible entrances

2. Anonymous has been around for years so it is large, international, has diversity, and I assume has multiple online venues

Anonymous is not just about hacking... it's about freedom to be who you wan't to be I suppose... hence the name. One gripe I have is this: Be proud of who you are and stand up for what you believe, even if that means putting your name on it. And that's enough about Anonymous because I really don't know how I feel about it. I will say that from my perspective, it would be neat to see the NYSE get hacked, but that's because I agree with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

So anyway, I'll finish this now with a parting word or two (or 2500) from Michael Moore at the New York protests (you may need to turn down your speakers, but if you support this movement, it should get you a bit teary-eyed... the people are chanting for the people in the back because there isn't a mic):