Nice hopes for the future and very sound thinking about the present. First rate interview.

an alternative to capitalism! paper dolls, fantasy persons, "continuously maximising profit" with no thought to consequences is a sicko death cult. yes, naomi! i thrill to see people, especially young people who have the greatest stake in the future, working together for real social change. for example, we hear the phrase "post racial" america, but until we actually meet eye-to-eye and learn to respect one another as equals regardless of empty status symbols, we'll remain a part of the problem. our toxic political system cannot bring about social change. only people loving people, loving all life's members can accomplish real change. kneel down and kiss the ground you walk on! let's appreciate the good earth before we lose her! hopefully, more and more will awaken to the fact that "the american dream" of being the richest, most powerful, yadda-yadda is an unsustainable materialistic killer nightmare! obama assures us he "believes in the financial industry" well, let's put our faith in each other; not the failed financial industry! all over the world people stand up for themselves to throw off the chains of arrogant self-centered, authoritative top down hierarchies. 99% means "we are the world!"

yes, the stakes are high, but we've got a powerful friend in Nature!

Only one disagreement with Klein - participating in the collaboration to build a new world is NOT "addicting" - but quite the opposite, quite the positive pole from addiction - which emerges from the polarization imposed on social discourse.

One other point being that the Occupy can serve as clearing house and unifying nexus for any number of already existing movements seeking alliances for action processes.

The above also regards the linguistic root of the word "radical" as being just that "root". Keep the root strong and nurture growth - so many branches from a solid trunk.

I think this movement is not about a structure, it grows because this is a spiritual uprising of the people who were told there was no hope because the revolution would not be televised... but this is our lives not property of a rap song, this is a wake-up call.

I opened for David Rovics last night and he is off to sing his lovin heart out in support of the revolt in Houston today.

i told him to invite Barbara Bush.... I am known as a trouble maker.
But we had a beautiful demonstration down at the Docks in Sarasota today and it was so great without cops hitting and trying to run you over with side car motorbikes or National Guard aiming their rifles on you like Chicago.

There is talk that Tampa will become a police state utopia during the Republican Convention this August.

Just thought you might be interested.

J folk intel

Stay alert and pay close attention!

We need a collective dream of how else we can live our lives, starting with how we can change things in the immidiate to build towards the future. We need to find altenative solutions to basic needs such as food, housing, and health care outside of the current paridigm. The resources are there. Unfortunately, the 1% lays claim to as many of those resources as it possibly can.

Love Naomi Klein. She is a voice that is worth listening to.

This is for Obama! You told us to "push" you....well, we are!!!!!

A moment of grace!

burgeon: to send forth new growth (as buds or branches)
Fortunately, this movement's burgeoning is informed by a growing consciousness. If all efforts were concentrated on the bankers, that would be fine and good. But here we have a movement which doesn't "focus" on anything but the myriad interconnections from people of all walks of life. I'm so proud to be an American. Perhaps some Murkans will join in too.

I wholeheartedly agree with NK's comments, but I'm daunted by the scale of the battle before us. Somehow, we have to reimagine or reinvent whole sectors of the existing society; economics, food production, industry, education, transportation. And no small part of the challenge will be wresting the levers of power from the oligarchs who now control them. They will not give up easily. The fight will go on for decades. And while the OWS movement has served to focus attention and arouse hope and enthusiasm, the battle will not be won in the streets, but in city council meetings, school board meetings, zoning hearings, and, one hopes, state and federal legislatures.
For far too long we have left our govenrment by default to the few with the energy or interest (and interest can buy energy) to stick around while the real decisions are made.
The real irony of the whole thing is that there are way more than enough of us to do this easily. Without the 99% enabling them, the 1% would collapse in very short order.

Naomi Klein is not a repository of wisdom. She doesn't get it! The decentralized nature of the movement is why it is growing, and why people are participating. The OCW movement is unifying increasing numbers of people. She distrusts the People by assuming that we MUST make something of the moment. If this movement becomes political it will divide people not unify them. The amorphous structure IS the power of the movement. Everyone is welcome and everyone's ideas are welcome. Consciousness is rocketing upwards. Numbers are increasing. Locations are growing. The movement is working exactly how it is supposed to work, and it is successful. Narrowcasting the outcomes now would be a huge mistake. Allow the process to work. This is the largest group of creative people assembling for the common good. It should not be allowed to be hijacked by centralized thinkers who distrust the process. Allow the movement to expand and allow widely differing people participate and take ownership of the movement. Trust the People. Trust the young.

Looks like Naomi is not going home anytime soon.....

It has been a great day for all of us....

Thomas Gilbert-

We are in the Age of Transformation. The Human seed is blossoming into a radically different phase. The Human Being has transformed its world in a mariad of ways whose tipping points are coming to fruition simultaneously. What we xfrm to is being hammered out right now. If there will be another new age I hope it will be something like the Age of Transendance, or the Age of Love, the Age of Wisdom. Occupy Wallstreet is a reverberation that may rise or subside. But the waves are now circling the globe and are increasing in frequency and intensity. Tunisia, Spain, Egypt, Greece, Yemen, England, Syria, Wisconsin, Italy, Podunk, my town, your town, we are all connected. Light behaves like particles. We are almost 7 billion particles. Light also behaves like waves. This is a good time for the Human Being to learn new tricks, to shine. George Carlin said nature made humans because it needed a way to make plastic. And look at us, we are so multi- talented. We can make so many different things. We are like plastic. Each person is like a cell in the body of the Human Being. Most people act as the muscles and get the work done. Some few (1%?) get to be the brain and run the show. But our plasticity allows each of us to take care of any of the Bodies' functions. I think we are learning new ways to Think as a Human Body. We are aligning ourselves as neurons to form a new form of brain that is capable of new forms of consciousness. We are integrating our heart with our brain. We have come to the stage of development where we think and act not only from the Me, but from the We. Like a child learning that others also have feelings, but x7 billion. This will probably be an awkward stage, but with new powers come exhilerating experiences. This is an especially good time to know what is important to ourselves, to know what makes life meaningful to us, and to be able to to think of these things as clearly and dearly as we can. One of my Happy Thoughts is that it is my job to feed my curiosity. My love of finding out about the real world is what connected me to Common Dreams. I want to thank all of you for contributing to my education. Many commentors here I find more insightful and informative than the articles authors. The argumentation here often sharpens the points of the issues for me. The bickering makes me feel even more like we are family. Even the trolls teach me, though not what they intended to. I think we live in the most interesting of times, which according to a chinese saying may have its downsides. But what a priveledge and responsibilty to be able to contribute to the shaping of history at such a crucial juncture, to quite possibly save a Human Being. Humans, I love you! newGuardian (Greg)

This will take many years and we will suffer much heartbreak and much disappointment. But we have the time, we have the power, we are the 99.
To create a world of parity, of social justice, of the WE and not the ME, of sharing and growing and changing and building, we have the time for this. This is our evolution as a species. This is not an overnight indulgence.
THERE IS NO ONE SINGLE PURPOSE. It is as wild and as wide as the human psyche, as deep as the subconscious, as real as the dreams of our ancestors and as inevitable as the rising of our sun. It is as NECESSARY as our air, food, and water.
It is the plan the Earth has for us as children. We are taking up the mantle of responsibility, rationality, and stewardship. We are becoming fully human.
This is the end of our childhood. This is the beginning of our planetary experience.
This is the beginning of the next billion years.
We cannot allow it to be otherwise.
This is not just a struggle between factions.
It is a visceral chord that is being struck between the Earth and its citizens.
It is an almost involuntary reaction to that which is not rational, sane, or kind.
It is the meaning of Truth coming from our bio-energetic CORE, and it can no more be stopped than the orbits of the planets around the sun.
This is why this is much more than a MOVEMENT.
IT IS THE INEVITABLE REACTION OF SANE PEOPLE TO PSYCHOSIS.
The leaders are insane. The corporations are insane. The wars are insane. The misuse of resources is insane...
There are so many insane things going on, all at once, that the healthy muman brain recoils with disgust and horror.
OUR FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET IS AT STAKE.
And, for that, we will not fail.

The important part to understand here is that 'This is it.' Does anybody really believe we can wait for another movement, because this or that is not as one wants? This is it. Our last chance to derail the train into total government control. A corrupt and irrelevant supreme court that rules against the same people's interest it is ought to protect. 58% of the GDP spent for wars and military. Endless wars. A 'War against Drugs' that has only benefited prison corporations, the MIC, Law Enforcement Outfitters, Lawyers and Judges. The unleashing of Frankenfood by fascist Monsanto and all other corporations. Federal Reserve Ponzi Scheme. 'In God We Trust'. A woman's right to do whatever she deems appropriate to her OWN body. Irrevocable human rights through birth. Keystone XL pipeline. Arctic/Antarctica drilling.
At this crucial point, EVERYTHING MUST BE ON THE TABLE. Like an amendment to abolish all traffic installations and create roundabouts as only permitted intersection. Mandatory bike lanes. Bees and countless other animals in grave existential distress. The World is not taking to the streets for bread crumbs. We demand the complete abolishment of the 'For Profit-Society' towards a resource based, self-sustainable Quantum Society that acknowledges the interdependency of all objects and subjects in the known Universe.

Thank you Naomi, you beautiful creature.

I find myself grinning like V...

Direct democracy

I think maybe at least a couple of the folks here ( newGuardian, jjw1138 ) are suggesting something like the "noosphere" suggested by Teilhard du Chardin (sp?) in The Phenomenon of Man sometime ago. Great book, maybe I'll get it out and read it again ....

Yes exeflyer, direct democracy. Nothing upsets the tyrant more then people acting on their own for their own without asking permission first. Just do it.

rhb

Time to connect to reality and time to disconnect from CNN and Fox News. Time to start thinking for oneself. Time to take matters into one's own hands.