Remember, Remember the 5th (and 6th) of November/ Mr. T. Doppelganger Edition

Happy Monday to all and thanks for checking in,

It was a pretty big weekend in this country. Before we dig in, a quick explanation on today’s title. “Remember, Remember the 5th of  November” is a line taken from an old poem on the Gunpowder Plot. I know, you’re wondering what the hell is the Gunpowder Plot. It is the name given to the attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament, in London, back in 1605. I know, you’re wondering who the hell is Guy Fawkes. Well, he’s the guy on the right and he inspired the famous mask you see on the left. Because, he tried to blow up the English equivalent of our Capitol building, his name became synonymous with anarchy, terrorism, social unrest, etc. He is still celebrated in England, till this day. They call it “Bonfire Night” now and firework shows are put on, throughout England. In honor of Guy Fawkes Day/ Bonfire Night, “Bank Transfer Day” was November 5th here in the States. From early reports, the idea is a great success. Numbers from the 5th itself are still rolling in but 650,000 thousand moved their money to smaller Credit Union/ Community banks in October alone (myself included). The total of funds moved were in the neighborhood of 4.5 Billion dollars. And, 80,000 people committed to moving their money specifically on Nov. 5th, on the “Bank Transfer Day” Facebook page. Here’s hoping the action wakes up politicians and banks alike. Just before Nov. 5th, Bank of America backed off their idea to charge $5 per month for having a debit card. We shall see what else happens from here, but an amazing start nonetheless. If you were curious of the full “Remember, Remember” poem, here it is:

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…

I know what else you’re wondering, what the hell happened on the 6th? I knew you’d say that. The 6th was pretty awesome here in the States. There was a massive protest outside the White House on the 6th. The reason was something called “Keystone XL.” I don’t think I ever mentioned Keystone XL (KXL)  in the blog, but please get acquainted with it. KXL would transport what’s called “tar sand” oil from Canada all the way through the US, down to Texas, for shipment to the world market. Why is this bad? The Tar Sands in Alberta produce more than 8 times the carbon pollution as oil from Saudi Arabia. And, annual CO2 emissions are more than that of 145 nations. No sh*t. It’s insane, right?

Scientists from NASA are saying that it is basically game over for the climate as we know it, if this CO2 is released into the atmosphere. The tar sands oil is much dirtier than that of the Middle East. If I go into depth on that, you’ll be reading this post till Nov. 5th, 2012.  But, trust me this isn’t the stuff we get from our traditional oil suppliers. In addition, the pipeline would pass through water aquifers in the country’s heartland. Any spills could contaminate the water sources for millions of people. Basically, there is no way this is worth the risk.

Why this is a part of great weekend around this country, is because people have stood up to this in an amazing way. Prior to 11/6 (over one week in September), about 1,200 people were arrested outside of the White House protesting KXL. Why outside the White House? I just realized, I’m asking myself a bunch of questions in this post. Anyway, since this pipeline would cross an international border, it has to be approved by the President (Congress is not needed for this). So, it’s a major test for Obama and one he can’t farm this out to an ineffective Congress, crazy Republicans, etc. On Nov. 6th, over 12,000 people returned to the White House (see above, right) and locked hands and lined up around it, to show their feelings about this project. At the time of posting this, over 28,000 have signed a petition registering their displeasure. Our friends in England are protesting in their own way as well. They’ve created a small replica of the White House and are encircling that. Our neighbors to the north got involved in a spectacular way, dropping a 70ft banner from Niagara Falls (complete with 2 people repelling down into the Falls). It was done in the pre-dawn hours to avoid authorities.
Best quote I saw from a DC protestor:

“We’re still willing to consider the notion that Barack Obama is who he said he was.”

Damn, they are not fooling around with Obama anymore. The love affair is over, no great speech will get him out of this.

So, as you can see, it was an amazing Nov 5th and 6th around the country and the world for that matter. It seems that the world has awakened and are not sitting idly by as these things happen. If you read this blog regularly, you know I love this stuff. I think it’s needed and overdue.

Ok, so those were two heavy stories. I say we have a laugh before we get out of here. I mentioned in my intro post to the blog, that I’m a bit of a soccer nut. I noticed this over the weekend, while watching a match. His name is Kemy Augustien. I had to pause the match and take a pic of him. It was just that awesome. He’s a Dutch footballer from a team called in Swansea City in the English Premier League. If you were paying attention to this title, you already know that I think he’s looks a lot like Mr. T (minus the gold).

Here’s an amorphous thought on Mr.T. Did he hold onto all of his A-Team gold? Gold is over $1,700 per ounce now. Look at this pic, he must have a few million bucks around his neck (at today’s prices), god knows how much around his wrists and on his fingers. If he held on to all of this gold, he would make Glenn Beck proud.
(Thought within a thought, take a look at Mr. T’s chain where the picture cuts off. He even has the “Star of David” in gold form. No one can accuse him of being an Anti-Semite.)

Sorry about that, back to your regularly scheduled post.

You be the judge on their similarities (between Mr. T and Kemy Augustien). My best guess is that Kemy lost a bet on the hair.

We’ll leave it there for today.

See you soon,

James

My Time At Occupy Syracuse

Hello to all and thanks for checking in,

Here is what I saw at Occupy Syracuse. But, before I go into my experience at Occupy Syracuse (O.S. from here on), we should start at its beginning. To paint a picture of where the occupation happens in town, it sits about 100 yards from a high traffic bus stop/ transfer point. The occupation also sits about 50 yards from the entrance to a Chase Bank (Chase would be behind and to the left of the occupation setup). It is also facing a Merrill Lynch branch (the 4th pic was taken from in front of Merrill's building), and 3 blocks from a Bank Of America. Syracuse is a small to midsize town, but we have our evil financial center, just like the big guys.

O.S. started just last Sunday, with a man who goes by the name of "Scoot", staying there with one other person that first night. I didn't ask for any ID, but I'm thinking that is a nickname. That being said, he is the man who started it all off and has stayed every night since. I passed by the setup a few times during the week and talked to Scoot. Each time I visited, the operation seemed to grow a bit more. Its placement is really helpful in this regard. Being on a main thoroughfare and close to many businesses helped. In my visits, I would see people who have passed by during their lunch speaking to them. Bus drivers would stop to speak, if they had a break and people who were waiting for buses, would come to the O.S. desk as well. This bus stop is a great microcosm of the folks most in need. You have union bus drivers there, people on their way to school, people who may not be able to afford a car, etc. It's probably the best location in town to occupy and get your message to those who most need to hear it. Thanks to this, the setup matured quite quickly.

I follow many of the protests across the country and world over Twitter. I'm just addicted to these stories and amazed by what is happening. But, what I have noticed, is that they seem to use the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) model as a guide. O.S. is similar in that regard. They have General Assembly meetings at 6pm each night and again at 9pm (if someone has arrived, who could not attend the first one). A small, but expanding library, is also a part of the setup. These steps were taken by the OWS folks and other occupations across the country. They have a media relations person as well (pic, bottom right). This was taken before Saturday's rally and march. But, more on that later. A focus is also put on education at the welcome desk of O.S. Literature is given out on a broad range of topics at the welcome desk. An artist even created a 3 dimensional representation of a pie chart to help passers-by understand the wealth divide. It involves sectioning off a portion (based on percentage of wealth held) of a patch of grass near the occupation and placing stick figures that symbolize a percentage of the population. The reaction in the community has been overwhelmingly positive. The police have been really helpful and supportive, even checking to make sure the occupiers are doing fine. The section they are staying in, is not in the best area of town. So, police support is welcome and appreciated. Because of this, those staying the night actually sleep in shifts. At the end of the night, they agree on whose sleeping first, what time that person is getting up, and no one stays awake by themselves.

The night I stayed was special (to me at least). An ex-Special Forces member of the military/occupier willingly stayed up the whole night. After waking up in the morning, I told him I felt really safe knowing he was out there. It's not the most masculine thing to say, I know. But, 2 things, I don't subscribe to social norms and I was sleep deprived, because I forgot my ear plugs. I don't even know if people sleep outdoors with earplugs. If they don't, please see my comments on my feelings about social norms. Have this happen to you, and if you react differently to specially trained military guarding you, then you can judge me.

Sorry, I got off track a bit. The support has been great from the community. When I was arrived on Friday, they were overflowing in food, clothing, and blanket donations. While I was there, a gentleman dropped off 3 pizzas. A couple of women dropped off a large pot of soup. There was a massive cake as well, with a support message for the group drawn in the icing. They are basically running out of room for food. And, there's a tent devoted to storing blankets and other assorted extra items.

Now, I know what you're thinking. I thought it. It's what everybody is thinking. It's the elephant in the tent. Where do these men and women go to the bathroom? As luck will have it, there is a local newsstand that is run by an Egyptian man, whose family protested in Tahrir Square. Bam! Nothing says solidarity like an Egyptian man, with relatives who protested in Tahrir Square, opening his heart and bathroom to you. But, it isn't a 24 hour store, so I guess you just hold it after the place closes. I didn't ask and I'm pretty sure I didn't want to know the answer. Let's just hope the current system is working.

Next up: power sources: Scoot, who is a local hero on par with Carmelo Anthony for me, has a solar panel on his tent that eventually provides power for all electric devices. A propane tank is on site as well. I guess for cooking? But, what do I know, I thought all tents had padded floors before my night with these guys. They have also gotten a mobile hot spot on site and created a PC network for the laptops.

Where are we now? I would say based on what I saw over my visits and stay, O.S. is an early success. I mentioned earlier that this started only last Sunday (10/2). It did get coverage from a couple of news channels when it was just Scoot at the beginning. But, let me quickly explain Syracuse for those not from around here. It snows a bunch up here, and not much else goes on. So, if there is a story that's not about an upcoming snowstorm, a current snowstorm, or digging out from the last snowstorm, it will probably make the news. That being said, there is no such thing as bad publicity. And, the numbers have swelled in the past week. The night I slept over, there were 10-12 people also sleeping on site. At the time of writing this post (Sunday 10/9), there are 1,031 likes to the O.S. Facebook page. And, the Facebook page wasn't even in place at the very start last Sunday. The rally and march also made the news. But, that I will tackle in part II.

Hope you enjoyed the post, check back, follow if you liked it. And, once we get past this global revolution, I can tackle more superfluous things.

See you soon,
James