Social media and the building of a radical clique
Over Christmas, I danced reels in the Airlie Village Hall with people I’ve known for longer than I can remember. I had my mobile phone in my sporran. After some perhaps over vigorous twirling, I found that the screen had broken. Now I can only see what I am doing with the top glowing inch. [...]
Occupy Belfast create ‘The People’s Bank’
Royal Avenue, Belfast’s main city centre thoroughfare, mixes classic architecture with more obviously new arrivals. On the corner of Royal Avenue and North Street lies a grand, art deco building that used to house a branch of the Bank of Ireland and the (long-gone) Belfast Stock Exchange. Having laid silent and bare for over a [...]
Dick of the Year – Superintendent Nelson Telfer
This nomination comes from two of the Glasgow University occupiers, writing anonymously and in a personal capacity. Superintendent Nelson Telfer of Strathclyde Police is far from the most well known of 2011’s Dick of the Year nominations. Indeed, the height of his fame came on 22 March, when he appeared on STV’s evening news. His [...]
Building to Win: Reaching Beyond the International Anti-Capitalist Elite
I was recently asked to speak about the infrastructure of progressive movements at the Bank of Ideas – part of Occupy London. This is roughly what I said. This piece first appeared in the Occupied Times. I recently had the good fortune to interview Newsnight economics editor Paul Mason at a comedy gig. His message [...]
Bright Green hero: Senator Bernie Sanders
Today we celebrate the 1 year anniversary of an eight-and-a-half hour filibuster by independent, socialist US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
This is what democracy looks like – learning from Latin America
This piece first appeared in this week’s issue of the Occupied Times Stretched across the tent town by the London Stock Exchange is a banner spelling out the slogan of 2011: “Real Democracy Now”. Go to the camp and many participants will tell you that it is not their demands which are key – it [...]
Technology, self-organisation & some dreams for the #Occupy movement…
This post is by Liam Barrington-Bush, and first appeared at Concrete Solutions On my first day hanging around Finsbury Square, the 2nd London manifestation of the #Occupy movement, I met a young guy named James. James handed me a couple folded pieces of paper and asked me to write down why I was there and [...]
Some thoughts on LSX
By Daniel Fisher “My mistake – a terrible mistake for a radical – was in thinking too small. You do not win because of your rhetoric. You do not win by writing off potential allies or insisting on ideological purity. You do not win by heroics or martyrdom. You win by organising and you win [...]
An Open Letter to Occupy Glasgow
This is an open letter from Glasgow Women’s Activist Forum to Occupy Glasgow. If your organisation would like to sign the letter, please email glasgowwomensactivistforum [AT] gmail.com We, the undersigned, are writing to those involved in the Occupy Glasgow protest because our voices have hitherto been marginalised and our concerns systematically ignored in the days [...]
Past tents: A brief history of protest camping
The year 2011 has seen a blossoming of protest camping. First there was the tented city in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, then the Indignados in Spain, then the youth protests in Israel, then Occupy Wall Street in the USA. Now in as many as 950 towns and cities across the world people have taken to the [...]
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