#occupy lsx

[james-mathurin]

Occupy London

[dialogthemovementoflife-blog]

Finally was able to upload a video that Catherine Brogan and I did back in early February at Occupy Justice aka. Old Street Magistrates Court that our crew helped open, run and manage. We did it in one take as you can probably tell... I wish we had time to plan and more time for takes... Oh Well! You can as always check out more of Cat's work on her website. There will be more to come so keep your eye on this space! 

[dialogthemovementoflife-blog]

Lil' Video I did with Miss Brogan More to come! 

[needlesandgrooves]

Occupy LSX Lives On | St. Paul’s still acting as a campsite as the authorities turn to the courts

The momentum behind the eviction of the St Paul’s camp in London is picking up pace with the Corporation of London set to take the Occupy London movement to the high court within days of this being written (21/11/2011).  After defying the eviction notices, which had given them until 6pm last Thursday (17/11/2011) to disband and move from the site, the protesters are now set to face similar actions to the American movements in New York and Oakland – which were last week evicted and their camps destroyed by the authorities after almost two months of continued presence in the respective financial districts.

The London camp has now been active since 15th October, when around 3000 protesters gathered in a square outside the London Stock Exchange to show their discontent towards the economic inequality, social injustice and corporate greed that they feel the banks are responsible for – with the general perception that their inefficiency is behind the financial crisis which the western world currently finds itself in. The activists were moved from the London Stock Exchange and chose to set up camp in the nearby churchyard of the iconic St. Paul’s cathedral, which, unlike the Stock Exchange, wasn’t privately owned; allowing the occupation to commence. Since then there have been significant actions as a result of the campaign – most notably the resignation of the churches dean, Dr Fraser, who although initially supporting the protestors, feared that evicting them could lead to “violence in the name of the Church.”

There has also been widespread political reaction to the campaign, with MPs coming out for and against the protestor’s demonstration against the banks in London. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has been critical of the positioning of the campsite, with his Home Secretary, Teresa May, speaking out against the protest because of the damage it was doing to the image of the UK as a tourist attraction – especially at St. Paul’s where the cathedral is experiencing a sharp fall in visitors compared to previous years. Labour leader Ed Miliband however has called the campaign a “danger signal,” and seemingly supports the action of the protest, arguing in an article for the observer that the “gap between [the protestors] values and the way our country is run” is a “concern for millions of people.” Although it has not become the main political issue at present, what with the issues across Europe and the Eurozone taking precedence, the movement has become a part of mainstream politics, creating debate across the country and bringing awareness to the occupy movement.

As students, the movement is of significance to us because it is fighting along the same lines as the student protests of 2010 and 2011 – which it even supports in Article 6 of the OccupyLSX Initial Statement. It is against the corrupt system which brought this country to its knees, and which we are now subsequently paying for – through the cuts in funding of universities and increases in tuition fees, which come in next year. It is not only against this system, but it is also looking for the solution. Even if they are evicted from St. Paul’s, the occupy movement has shown the discontent towards the current unjust system, and the need for change.

  For more information about the Occupy London movement, or to show support, check out: www.occupylsx.org | #occupylsx | www.facebook.com/occupylsx

[gutbucketmusic]

It's an interview with Billy Bragg. We talked about stuff like the occupy movement and what good protest music can do. http://www.studentnewspaper.org/music/1166-nothing-to-bragg-about

[themodernnomad]

The Psychology of Home

Over the past few months I’ve visited Occupy LSX, in London, with its neat rows of tents hugging the perimeter of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and marvelled at how much of a village it had become. That village was evicted in February, long after many other cities pushed out protesters. This late eviction seems remarkable to me, and perhaps says something about London. A core group of supporters still gather each Saturday on the steps of St. Paul’s for meetings. A few weeks ago they shared the space with a large wedding party, the groom with his top-hat and the bride impeccably groomed. They still speak about economics and social justice and the police. The rhetoric of the movement, much of it clear-minded and informed, is very prominent. But despite the broad focus (or, some say, lack of) few people observing Occupy seem to be speaking about home: questioning what it means in a city where few of the so-called 99 percent can afford to buy one, where it is a landlords’ market, where people in their 30s with full-time jobs live with two, three, four housemates. I write this having spent an intense four weeks searching for housing in every corner of the city; the frustration, anxiety and fear that I will not find something suitable is still fresh. Home, mobility, and the fluidity and impermanence of community is one of the central themes of Occupy. Or, I think, it should be.

[Mobile Home: Illustration by Sean-Edward, via This is Colossal] Last year, The Atlantic , which has become a forum for ideas about urbanism, cities and notions of home with its Atlantic Cities site, published a story called “The Psychology of Home: Why Where You Live Means So Much.” The author, Julie Beck, wrote that Westerners (or North Americans, if you prefer) are deeply attached to homes but do not necessarily see their homes as manifestations of their inner selves. Home ownership is about more than mere shelter, as the subprime mortgage crisis affirms. It is also closely related to mobility: “The endless options can leave us constantly wondering if there isn't some place with better schools, a better neighborhood, more green space, and on and on,” Beck wrote. “We may leave a pretty good thing behind, hoping that the next place will be even more desirable. In some ways, this mobility has become part of the natural course of a life.” We are shopping for the Good Life and its various components: spouse, children, real estate, a lawn of one’s own. Real estate, like work, plays an enormous part in what course our lives take. Parents choose neighbourhoods for their access to good schools; people choose cities for a job as much as for its quality of life. How else can you explain the phenomenon that is Fort McMurray, in northern Alberta? (For a great introduction to Fort McMurray, see Dan Rubinstein’s feature for Alberta Views magazine.) “But in spite of everything,” Beck wrote in the Atlantic, “in spite of the mobility, the individualism, and the economy—on some level we do recognize the importance of place. The first thing we ask someone when we meet them, after their name, is where they are from, or the much more interestingly-phrased “where’s home for you?” We ask, not just to place a pushpin for them in our mental map of acquaintances, but because we recognize that the answer tells us something important about them. My answer for ‘where are you from?’ is usually Michigan, but ‘where's home for you?’ is a little harder.” I don’t quite buy Beck’s own answer, that home is where she happens to be, but I can’t quite answer her question, either. My grandparents lived in the same home for decades, and most of their children lived near by. My family is more scattered, my own flight path more diverse. “Where are you from?” is code for “who are you?” For modern nomads, those us who pick up sticks and move across provinces, state-lines, country borders and continents, that question is probing but practically impossible to answer. It’s a question you might ask of the people taking part in Occupy. It’s a question I constantly ask myself. I have not yet come upon an answer.