The Cover of Adbusters' Nov/Dec 2011 Issue - Umm, guys....doesn't a black crow symbolize "Death"?
I got lambasted in comments on a post that I did a couple of weeks ago for daring to suggest that “Occupy Wall Street” was anything other than a spontaneous grass-roots gathering (OWS wasn’t even the subject of the post). But everything that I had read about OWS said that a group called Adbusters first put out the word way back in July of this year, telling folks all about this little shindig.
I understood where the commenters were coming from – after all, the OWS website insisted that they were a ” leaderless resistance movement”, and all of the major media outlets and progressive blogs were parroting this claim.
When people kept harassing me about what I said in my posts and my comments, I started doing some more digging, and found out some very interesting things about the people behind this “innocent” movement.
Adbusters was founded by a European-born gentleman by the name of Kalle Lasn, who currently lives in Canada. Mr. Lasn has never lived in the United States. He HATES capitalism in all of its forms, and he especially hates American consumerism. In his book, “Culture Jam“, he audaciously claims that he wants to “wreck the world”.
Smug-looking little bastard, ain't he?
I guess Mr. Lasn – despite his stated contempt for consumerism, capitalism, and filthy dirty profit – realized that the kids on Wall Street are getting all of the glory (not to mention all of the donations), so he decided to set the record straight. I mean, there IS money to be made from all of this, after all….
So on October 7th, Mr. Lasn sat down with a reporter at The Tyee – an “independent daily online magazine reaching every corner of British Columbia and beyond” – and gave them a self-serving interview wherein he disclosed just how grass-roots this whole campout in the park – or as I like to call it, “Airhead Autumn”- really is.
I guess every "spontaneous" movement needs a theme (and a staged photo).....
It turns out that this really DID start long before September 17th:
…it all falls under a hashtag that began far from the pepper spray and mass arrests, in the offices of Vancouver’s own Adbusters magazine, as #OccupyWallStreet…..
Mr. Lasn and his cohorts have been attempting to stir the pot for over 20 years as it turns out, so he is positively GIDDY with the success of his latest campaign:
…..as the movement overspills Wall Street, he describes it as the most successful in the 22 years he and his magazine have been advocating “culture jamming,” which originally sought to subvert consumerism.
Adbusters came up with a poster design, which was designed to divert peoples’ attention away from the true meaning behind the protest:
….to me it was almost like an invitation, like if we get our act together then we can launch a revolution. It had this magical revolutionary feel to it, which you couldn’t have with the usual lefty poster which is nasty and visceral and in your face.
In this day and age, all revolutions must be tweeted, so a Twitter hashtag was developed (and really, guys – thanks for that; it gave conservatives some much-needed laughs….):
….the biggest brainstorms happened between myself and Adbusters senior editor Micah White, who lives in Berkeley. We were the two key people who got excited, and more and more excited, morning after morning, and eventually decided on that hashtag, #OccupyWallStreet…..
And no revolution would be complete without an official YouTube video – Mr. Lasn was delighted by the overtones of anarchy in the one that was released:
….Anonymous gave us that — I don’t know what you call it, that sort of anarchy cred. All of a sudden this organization that has this strange mystique to it, they’re saying, ‘Yeah, occupy Wall Street!’ That first video of theirs was quite a delightful little piece of videomaking.
(Yeah, I didn’t really get it, either….)
And like all good Politburos, the elite planned on sitting up in their safe little offices, letting all of the work (and any eventual blame) be carried out by the gullible, the naive, and the expendable:
….we always thought of ourselves as the catalyzers, the people who set that meme, as we like to call it, in motion. And right from the start we decided that we’re not going to play a part on the street, that if our meme flies, if people love it, then we’re happy to come up with posters, and we did send them all kinds of handbills…..
It was rather nice of them to provide the kids with supplies, don’t you think?
These people have always been behind the scenes, directing the show, and those kids need to understand that this protest isn’t about THEIR demands; it’s about fulfilling Mr. Lasn’s desire to be relevant:
….I feel like this is the first time in the 20-plus year history of Adbusters that we really have a chance to pull something off….
It doesn’t sound like he is going to give up on this particular protest, because this time he and his friends are convinced that they are >>this close<< to finally seeing their dreams of revolution come to fruition.
Who, you might ask, are “they”? Oh, just your usual rogue’s gallery of folks who are always hanging around on the fringes of society or in the faculty lounges of elite college campuses everywhere, constantly jonesing for anarchy:
….it takes old people like me and theoreticians like Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, who are writing for our next issue, and people like David Graeber, the anarchist, and Saul Newman, the guy who recently wrote a book about anarchism.
It takes all kinds of people to launch a revolution, but the cutting edge is young people who put their asses on the line….
Again with the peasants taking all the risks – nice, huh? Somebody might want to remind these kids that in most revolutions, “cutting edge” is an all too LITERAL thing…..
Russia, 1917 - Bolshevik Revolution
Goodness gracious, this has all succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, so now they are eager to take the Fleabag Circus of Anarchy on the road:
…we know there’s going to be another big moment Oct. 15 when the people in Europe start getting their act together. And then now we are sort of strategically trying to up the level and see if we can’t pull off something even crazier than Occupy Wall Street, whether we can pull off a sort of global Tahrir moment.
I know it sounds kind of grandiose, but it seems like on Nov. 3 and 4, when the G20 meet, it is possible to have millions of people marching around the world, all demanding one thing….
And what is that one thing that everybody wants? Why a tax, of course! (Newsflash, kiddies – it’s always about money. ALWAYS.)
…we believe that one thing could be the Robin Hood tax. The Tobin Tax, what we’re calling a one per cent tax on all financial transactions….Let’s slow down fast money with a Tobin Tax, and we feel that over the next one month we may be able to instigate a global movement where the young people of the world stand up and say, ‘We want to have a Robin Hood tax.’
Got that, kids? That 1% that you’ve been chanting about all this time?
It’s a tax.
You have spent the past few weeks sleeping out in the elements, living in filth and squalor, fighting for your right…..to turn the United States monetary system into the equivalent of the European Union. Viva la Revolucion!
…. for the last 20 years we’ve been talking about cultural revolution and we’ve launched various campaigns….
And you lucky kids are the ones who are finally going to make these idiots’ dreams come true! (Wise up, guys, you’re being played.)
It is kind of funny how Mr. Lasn never gets around to telling anyone who is going to collect this tax, what it’s going to be used for, and who is going to be in charge of deciding what it will be spent on. Ah, well – as they always say, the devil is in the details…..
Yay!!! We get to follow Europe down the crapper!!!!! (Oh, and Wall Street is evil....)
And once the American economy is completely ruined, Mr. Lasn envisions….well, he’s not really sure about that, either; all he knows is that something has to change:
…we decided in our brainstorming sessions that regime change in America wouldn’t be like regime change in Egypt, obviously, because it’s a totally different kind of a situation….
….some kind of a soft regime change was necessary there. So we felt, to put it succinctly, that a Tahrir moment for America was in the cards, was definitely possible….
Theoreticians and pundits say now, people I talk to, that ultimately this Tahrir moment that happened in Egypt, that it ultimately will apply more to first world countries and to young people all around the world, that soft regime change may actually be the great achievement of what Tahrir taught us.
I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t think we need any more “theoreticians and pundits” brainstorming, trying to bring about regime change in America; the clowns of academia who have been trying to “fundamentally transform” this country for the last 3 years have already screwed things up enough, thank you very much.
I guess since he didn’t grow up in this country, Mr. Lasn doesn’t realize that “regime change” in America happens peacefully every 2 years….
….at the ballot box.
.
.
[Cross-posted at RedState]
[Update 10/13/11]: Thanks to NiceDeb for linking this article (and there are more links at her site about this same subject)! Check out her site – she does a GREAT job of turning over all of the rocks (and she really IS nice; we got to meet a couple of months ago!).
[Update 10/16/11]: Thanks to RStacy McCain for linking me over at his site; be sure and check out his hilarious post about a Craigslist ad, and please drop some dough in his tip jar to send him to Las Vegas to do what he does so well – on-site political reporting! (or to Auckland to be the future US Ambasaddor to Vanatau for his man, Herman Cain….)
[Update 10/27/11]: Thanks to Morgen over at Verum Serum for more information on David Graeber, one of the “anarchists” listed in Mr. Lasn’s interview – great work!
Koch's Tour 
oh, very well done. (wiggles his fingers up)
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Yay!!! TGSG gave me “Jazz Hands”! 😛
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I HAVE to share this – an “Occupy Portland” facilitator demonstrates what the different hand signals mean (and why he doesn’t get laid):
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Be veeeery careful treading water in Anonymous’ business. You’ll understand why when you get 1,000s of cardboard boxes on the front porch.
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Well, I can always use more boxes! 🙂
Of course, they’re gonna have to get past the “Bumpus dogs” first…..
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Got to love Jazz hands
But…I read all of your sources and I have a completely different take on the same information…not even sure where to begin but I think you really are not approaching this situation open minded (not that you have to at all in any way – NOT trying to insult so hopefully what follows makes sense).
First I don’t believe Mr. Lasn possess “contempt for consumerism, capitalism, and filthy dirty profit,” after reading your sources it appears to be more of contempt for abusive consumerism, out of control capitalism, and profit made from people directed like cattle to products they don’t need – meaning as all of the above exsist in their most preverse forms.
If you get a chance check out this Frontline Special (PBS Program – I know damn Liberal Public TV): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
Where the show doesn’t completely explain the argument as to why corporations are viewed with distaste by some, it does provide insight as to why people MAY think corporations can be abusive with their tactics. But it’s not blanket condemnation here, just a possible opposing viewpoint.
Another part of the problem is that arguments dealing with this subject on either side say things such as: “well liberals are crazy communists (not necessarily you) and they hate freedom and America” or “conservatives are crazy country folk that have no ability to think for themselves.” Obviously none of these are correct, both groups have merits and downfalls – I guess it’s just more interesting to focus on the negative because it provides people with a feeling of vindication or belonging by belittling another group. 1.) because it’s easier to generalize and 2.) because the other group of Americans somehow became the “enemy”?
But I often find tht the true answers are somewhere in the middle, which is why I stress the fact that the different groups that have popped up recently have more in common than you think and in reality we are all being played for fools by either Government (lets NOT lose site of the fact that the system is highly corrupt on both ends of the spectrum) or Different Corporations that see people (in most instances) as cattle waiting to be told where to go.
But to finish, let me stress you are awesome, NOT insulting you in anyway, just giving a different point-of-view. 🙂
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LOL!!!! I think you’re awesome too, Fred! Hey, I’m just stirring the pot a little bit. Honestly, most of the kids who are hanging out down at OWS are either well-meaning or harmless (or both); I think that Mr. Lasn sits around with his friends and builds paper castles as well. The “old guys” THINK they want revolution because they haven’t actually LIVED through revolution (what’s that old saying? – “May you never have to live in interesting times”)
I know that most people fall in the vast middle, and most of us have a lot more in common than we have differences.
But, hey – if Mr. Lasn is convinced that his way is “right”, then he’d better be willing to put up with the ridicule that’s bound to come his way; as they say, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”! Actually, I think he is a HUGE hypocrite – given the prices that he charges for his snooty little magazine – and a bit of a condescending snob, which is why I’m lampooning him! 😛
So glad you decided to stick around!
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True anyone who sticks their neck should be willing to deal with criticism but oddly enough what Lasn tries to discuss (in his book) is the purposeful manipulation on the part of the companies that sell to consumers only to ensure thier own financial stability. Basically the argument is “consumerism” means buying “stuff” to fulfill an image that has been created for you and NOT really of your choice.
The questions that are then asked is has the consumer ever asked why he/she was consuming a specific product? was the product really necessary or even something of value?
There have been movies of Note that talk about this (and that are entertaining – “Fight Club” being the more well known and EXTREMELY radical version).
Now oddly enough Lasn is not against the buying and selling of goods or products, he is not a communist (he probably IS an arrogant prick and someone I would not like very much if we met in person – or would be the type of kid I put into a locker in high school) but overall what he stresses is an educated consumer who doesn’t buy things to fit into a mold or in other words what he stresses is a “free market”. But not free only from government manipulation (probably something he doesn’t stress) but overly powerful non-government organizations such as corporations…but like he said in his book, he does drive a toyota, guy craps on the system and he doesn’t even have the decency to buy American!! 🙂
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Meh – he’s one of those people who thinks that we are all too dumb to make our own choices and are too impressionable. So what if we are? It’s a free country; people are allowed to be stupid and/or ignorant. I’m tired of people like Lasn thinking that they know “what is good for us” – I haven’t needed “parenting” for the past 30 years. I sure as heck don’t need Mr. Lasn and his ilk to be my daddy…..
He may not be a Communist, but he sure does gush over the opinions of avowed Communists and Anarchists. I sure as heck don’t want someone like that telling ME how my country should be run.
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very true and agreed…
Check this out:
seems like we are all just rehasing REALLY old ideas.
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We’re gonna solve all of the problems of the world on this here blog!
Pass the vodka, comrade; it’s supposed to drop into the 70’s tonight….. 😛
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70 was the high here yesterday during the day :)…dropped to 38 last night in CT. :0
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*passes vodka bottle over to fred*
Stay warm, my friend….. 😛
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I feel free to belittle those who want to take down America and Capitalism. Being politically correct has not helped!
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Just read the Kalle Lasn link. Interesting guy…
When I lived in Germany, we all had to insert a coin into a shopping cart. Why? Because it deterred theft of a very expensive item. The shopping carts on average cost about 800 Euro to make, and loss of one who mean the store would have to use profits to replace it, which meant that the consumers would end up paying higher prices to compensate. Thus, the carts were locked up, and you needed a coin to unlock and use it. Lasn got frustrated one day:
His actions cost the store and ultimately the consumers more money. This was the action of a man who just doesn’t like any consumerism, not does he care about hurting others, since he was fine with essentially making the shoppers, the people he wishes to help with his utopia, pay for the broken cart.
Lasn claims he “rails against the modern world and the progress that has made everyone’s life better.” But how? He uses the internet to get his message out. He made films and documentaries, which used many of the cursed technological progresses that Mankind has produced. He wrote a book and used the very progress that he despises. He has a deep hatred for advertising, but uses it as much as he can. From the link:
That tells me more about this movement than anything else. And fredsave1, I do understand what you are saying, but this man is NOT just trying to do away with consumerism. He is out to mold this world into his own personal version of a utopia.
And how often do those work??
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I get the impression that he was the kid who always got “swirlies” at lunch from the other kids – one of those sanctimonious people that nobody really likes.
Of course, those are always the ones who think that the rules apply to the “little people”, and they will always be in charge of the little people.
I got the impression in reading the interview that he and his cronies are frustrated as heck with the kids who are out there protesting, because they don’t have the laser-like focus that he thinks that they should.
Herding cats is always hard for folks like Lasn…..
(I will have to admit, though – while I was writing this, a smile would come to my face every time I thought that if he ever reads this he’s gonna see “Velma” staring back at him; I could almost imagine him saying, “I would have gotten away with it, too – if it weren’t for you darn kids!”)
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Again it’s Not an all or nothing approach in my mind. I also don’t see it as Lasn’s “Utopia” vs. Coservative ideals (or any other ideals for that matter). To me it seems as if he is expressing what he sees as injustice.
For example:
In another interview given by Lasn, he stated:
REPORTER: The protesters on Wall Street have expressed a lot of different demands. What do you think is really at the heart of this movement? Why now?
LASN: I think what fueled this in part is this sense of fairness Americans have always believed in. There is something about the financial speculators on Wall Street that brought us this mess, that not a single one has said, ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve done,’ and that they all got away with it while we the people are suffering. This sense of suffering, I think, is what generated the rage.
But the larger perspective is this sense of despondency that young people around the world and in America have.
They look at the future and see just one big black hole. They look at a world with climate change that will be much hotter when they get older, at a political crisis and corruption in Washington, at the American democracy not working any more at a time when America is in decline, and at a financial crisis in which the Dow Jones could plummet tomorrow. If we don’t stand up and fight for a different kind of future, they realize, we won’t get one.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/occupy-wall-street-an-interview-with-kalle-lasn-the-man-behind-it-all/2011/10/12/gIQAC81xfL_blog.html
Again, based on this point-of-view, Lasn places more blame on the financial district for causing the problem (people obviously have a different more encompassing view to this story, such as the other half – government). What I don’t see is a call for a new Utopia that erases. Also when he states tha “America’s democracy is not working” what is being stressed is the fact that corruption, money in government, political rhetoric and both groups inability to compromise have brought us to our knees.
Oddly enough these goals sound oddly and VERY similar to the beginning of another organization that lacked leaders, but was fed up with the situation:
“According to pollster Scott Rasmussen, the bailouts of banks by the Bush and Obama administrations triggered the Tea Party’s rise. The interviewer added that the movement’s anger centers on two issues, quoting Rasmussen as saying, “They think federal spending, deficits and taxes are too high, and they think no one in Washington is listening to them, and that latter point is really, really important.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement#Background_and_history
If you ask me these groups NEED to find a way to see the common ground that they have because together that is a powerful message politicians and corporations can’t ignore and it would bring about the change that is desperately needed.
Hopefully that makes sense. See to me it’s not about which group is right, it’s not about who has the better plan, the point is THEY ARE BOTH RIGHT because they are arguing about something very, very similar.
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I’m just poking holes in his overinflated ego; he strikes me as one of those people who will get 2 people to fight, just so he can watch. I’m guessing he’s a bit of an attention whore….
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They aren’t both right in that Lasn’s group wants Obama, the biggest crony capitalist of them all, re-elected. They want more government. The same government that allowed it all to happen…that is picking and choosing who gets politically rewarded.
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My point was that BOTH sides can trace the core of their problem back to TWO groups…why isn’t this apparent to more people? Because of this I can only conclude that people are more concerned about being “right” than they are about actually fixing what is wrong.
I said it before, this is NOT a political issue…it is a criminal one.
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Seems to me that Lasn gave that interview to smooth his true colors. It isn’t at all what he claims on his profile.
Tell me, if TEA Party wants less taxes and less government intrusion, and OWS wants more taxes and government regulation of corporations, how are they fighting for the same goals? Answer: they aren’t.
And as an aside, I find it insulting that a man living in Canada has the temerity to know what is best in our system of government. Why doesn’t he complain about other “democracies”? I don’t see him complaining about the Swiss, or the Poles, or the Nicaraguans. Hell, he should be ecstatic over Somalia. They haven’t had a system of government in years!! My point is, he wants THIS country broken. That is his goal.
And the fact that he uses every piece of technology at his and the OWS’ disposal while trying to take us back to the Medieval Ages makes him not just a hypocrite, but not worthy of trust in any capacity.
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Understandably I think my point is hard to understand, partly because I suck at explaining it and also because it is a view held by so few people but here is another way to explain it:
Tea Party: Less taxes + Less Government = a better life
OWS: More or Less government + More or Less tax = a better life
**they don’t have a cohesive message – their are hints but nothing set in stone**
I know the equations above are oversimplified but to me the goal is the same. It’s just the method and the two groups differ on how to get there, which leads me to believe people within these groups are more concerned about being “right” rather than reaching that common goal.
Again just trying to focus on what people have in common rather than what separates them. Just a thought.
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There is no “more or less government” or “more or less tax” to the OWS, FS1.
May I call you that? It’s easier to type 😉
All you have to do is read the signs. They actively call for more taxation of one group over another. They actively call for more government control of one group, boiling down to the redistribution of one group’s wealth to those who want it.
In my world, losing the freedom to succeed (make money) because someone doesn’t succeed is dangerous.
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LC – FD1 is fine, no worries :)…but what I think the argument of the OWS movement is (or at least should be based on what i’ve read and seen) is…Losing the ability to succeed because someone else has taken that ability to succeed away.
That to is the loss of freedom no?
To me both the government and the finicial institutions are too eager to point the finger of blame at each other when in reality they really need to point the finger at themselves.
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Unfortunately, what happens when a movement stands for “nothing” or “everything” – as the OWS has ended up doing – is that people will then come in and “assign” something to that movement to stand for. The OWS people aren’t WILLING to stand for one (or a few) specific things – which is why they are going absolutely nowhere.
We have a president with the same problem……
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Sorry, but no one “took” anyone’s ability to succeed. One succeeds in life, or fails, due to the choices they make. I see proof of this everywhere, whether in my dad, who started from the bottom in every job he had (rising to VP in both cases), or my aunt, who relies on the government for a check, because she doesn’t like to work (yes, she told me that). I see it in my brother-in-law, who was so poor he enlisted so he could provide for his parents and siblings, and also from my niece, who thinks her mother should pay for her apartment and gas and car insurance, because “she is too busy”. I went to college, and couldn’t find a job in my field, and did I ask for the government to help? Nope…went out and got the first job I could get. Cleaning toilets isn’t glamorous, but it paid the bills, and I worked my way up to management, because I was patient and willing to work hard.
We are guaranteed an equality of opportunity, not an equality of outcome.
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“losing the freedom to succeed (make money) because someone doesn’t succeed is dangerous.” – your original statement – success shouldn’t be measured by money but unfortunately it somehow always comes back to that idea.
“One succeeds in life, or fails, due to the choices they make.” – not only based on the choices they make, there are quite a few other variables involved. But EFFORT does create one’s ABILITY, you can’t succeed without it for sure.
“…who thinks her mother should pay for her apartment and gas and car insurance, because “she is too busy…” – (generalizing but I do have to agree with you here). I am a teacher in the North East in a affluent town and if there is one thing that bothers me to NO END it is the feeling of entitlement kids have today (god that makes me sound like my parents). Maybe because they all drive a nicer car than me, have horrible manners, or care about the dumbest things possible or maybe it’s because I work three jobs to support my wife and three young kids while paying off my crushing debt from 6 years of college, 2 mortgages on one house, 2 car loans, 2 nursery school fees, 2 kids worth of diapers, formula, F**K!! Self pitty is annoying!! (sorry T’s Mom)
Saying we all have a “equal opportunity” is a pleasant fiction – but it is exactly that fiction.
I think it is more accurate to say that we all have opportunity, but that opportunity may not be equal. However, your chances of success with the opportunity you do have will only increase through effort and hard work.
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*blushing furiously*
OMG, Fred – when you mentioned being at home with your kids the other day, I just assumed you were their MOM, so I’ve been referring to you as “she” ever since….
I’m so sorry!!!!!
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FS1, I typed “make money” because these protesters are the ones demanding that the 1% be taxed, and also asking for a more equitable redistribution of wealth that they themselves didn’t earn. I do agree that success in life isn’t tethered to money.
HAHAHAHAHA!!! Happens to he best of us 😉
I think you have a point about the opportunity not being equal, but one can level the field by taking chances, too. Sometimes the chances fail, but one can learn from failures.
You need to move to Texas. Seriously!! 🙂
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T – awesomely funny!!!! 🙂 and no worries…actually took that day off because my wife had to work.
LC – I am sure the weather there is nicer for sure, but being from a close Irish/Italian family I am pretty sure Mimi and Papa (my parents) would NOT let me bring my kids!
Flattered for sure though! Cheers! 🙂
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If you read the links to the “theoreticians and pundits” that he consulted about his grand ideas, you get a pretty good feel for his ideology; the fact that he was willing to let others fight on the front lines and take all of the heat – but was perfectly willing to come out of the woodwork when it became obvious that his “plan” was “working” so that he could get all of the glory – tells you all that you need to know about the character of the man.
This is all a “game” to him – an academic exercise.
He was willing to let people believe that this was grass-roots UNTIL it became “successful”; THEN and only then did he make sure that EVERYONE knew that Adbusters was behind all of this. The media outlets were reporting it was grass-roots up until a couple of days ago; now every last one of them goes out of their way to make the point that Adbusters came up with this idea. That didn’t happen in a vacuum – HE MADE SURE that he is getting credit for this.
Interestingly enough, that picture that I used at the top was posted online in JUNE of this year – this has been in the planning stages MUCH longer than just since July (when the original call went out on Adbusters’ website).
I did have to laugh, though – Adbusters actually had to SUGGEST to people that they publicize the OWS thing when it first came up on the AB site – one of the commenters said, “I never even thought about doing that…..thanks for the suggestion!”
I could almost see the facepalm on the AB side of the conversation…..
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Look I think the guy is an arrogant snob and a person who probably believes he is “right” all the time. To me after looking at this guy in depth he really seems to be the kind of person that I would just not like to be around on a regular basis.
BUT…(I am cringing while writing this because I can only imagine the oncoming barrage…)
He does make an interesting point that does have relevence to other messages that are commonly discussed.
Look I’m not from Texas, I don’t own cowboy boots (my close friend in Austin does – so I guess I do by association) I don’t live on a ranch but I think I understand or at least want to understand that viewpoint because it holds so much value. It does take a great deal of patience, open mindedness, thick skin and I guess the most accurate term is relentlessness to get to that point where one truly understands another’s perspective. It’s NOT easy so I can understand why people wouldn’t want to truly understand Lasn or what he is suggesting.
I don’t think this guy (for all of his negaitve attributes) is as much anti-American as he is anti-abuse. From what I can figure, he sees the “reality” in which we as a people exist in as being scripted rather than realized and he looks as it as his responsibilty to “enlighten” people to that fact (reason for the “Allegory of the Cave” post above by Plato).
I will say, however, that Lasn relentless approach to making people realize and practice his “reality” is annoying and manipulative in nature. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that his actions will NOT have the desired outcome and will most definitely cause more harm than good. You cannot force people to do something unless you expect some type of resistance.
Best quote I have for this: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. However you can make him thirsty.” – Something I feel Lasn is not doing nor is he capable of accomplishing.
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In his writings, Lasn rails against the modern world and the progress that has made everyone’s life better. “The aggregate level of American life fulfillment peaked in 1957, and with a couple of brief exceptions, it’s been downhill from there,” he writes in his book Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge — and Why We Must. Lasn calls the car “arguably the most destructive product we humans have ever produced.”
Who is this guy to tell me when “life fulfillment peaked” in America? He’s never LIVED here! And his BOOK TITLE practically screams the contempt he has for America(ns). I’m sorry, but I don’t appreciate a non-American coming in here and telling us that “You’re doing it wrong”….
I think that life is MUCH better today than it was back in 1957; if he wants to go back to those times, more power to him – it isn’t his right to insist that the rest of us get dragged along on the trip, though.
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By-the-by – this blog welcomes comments from everyone; even non-Texans! 😛
(If you ever want to BE a Texan, just come on down – I think you’d fit right in!)
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FredSave1 – The Tea Party like me, are against Govt growing bigger, bailing companies out, spending us in to oblivion. They don’t listen, and they are supposed to represent us, yet they represent their own lobbiest.
The OWS manufactured movement or like Pelosi says, astro turf. We Tea Partiers can not join with OWS. The ends don’t justify the means for the TP.
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I’m ready to start shooting these punks. Honestly? They probably taste like monkey, just not as greasy.
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Just aim the water cannon at their laptops and their iPhones – they’ll scream like little girls, then scatter like cockroaches….
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That may be coming sooner rather than later…shooting that is, not sure about the whole monkey thing:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-nyc-wants-protesters-to-leave-park-so-it-can-be-cleaned-20111013,0,7972329.story
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Didn’t it rain there last night? I know it rained CLOSE to there….
I’m betting that some of the protesters will be “invited” not to return to the park, lest they be hauled off to jail for drug use, indecency, vagrancy, etc.
I saw somewhere that the OWS protesters NEED some commercial kitchen equipment (quit feeding 2000 people, and you won’t need it); they NEED babysitters, they NEED….
Contact Mr. Lasn – he’s the brains behind all of this; he and his buddies can darn well pay for it as well!
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Excellent work, once again, Teresa! Way to “go Floyd” on this topic.
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Thanks so much, Jay! You’re makin’ me blush….
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Totally off topic, I think, but seeing as Kalle Lasn lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, this link stood out a bit:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/131536858.html
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I’m thinking Vancouver is chock full of people who espouse the same kind of views as Mr. Lasn; isn’t that where one of the G-8 or G-20 conferences was held? (Or was that Toronto?) There are moonbats everywhere; I doubt that Mr. Lasn would deign to get his hands dirty….
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Hi, first time at your blog, I followed a link from Stacey McCain.
I’m enjoying the conversation about the Adbusters bloke and his self righteous views.
One point I’d like to add is that the Tobin tax has been a wet dream for the global environmental/development/socialist/communist groups since it was suggested back in the 70s(I think). Anyway its very old news and won’t occur because it’s a particularly destructive tax. What is curious is that he has no idea the rate is always tiny, 0.05% or so. No one EVER has considered 1%, it’s ludicrus.
From memory 0.05% would collect around $400b a year worldwide. 1% would probably collect the same I imagine because the flaw of the Tobin tax is that it reduces financial flows so reducing the volume to tax (it also discourages sensible hedging and reduces the information in markets making them riskier among other flaws).
Anyway thanks for the blog and I’ll be back.
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Thank you so much for visiting! I don’t always post every day, and sometimes they’re not political in nature (I only link the political ones to other right-wing blogs).
Thanks, also, for the information on the Tobin tax; I just found it hilarious that Lasn is trying his hardest to get this crew to settle on “one demand”, and they’re going off in all different directions; he’s trying to get them organized, not realizing that you are NEVER going to get a group like this organized (it’s a loose coalition of “tribes”, for lack of a better term).
And then to find out that HIS idea of the “one demand” is a tax? It was just too hilarious…..
“We’re protesting Wall Street!!!!! Wait….wha? Oh, check that – we want a tax!!!!”
It was especially interesting to me that when I found the graphic that was used for the next issue of Adbusters (the “American Autumn” picture with the crow), the date that was put on the web was in JUNE of 2011 – so Mr. Lasn and his cronies have been rubbing their hands together in glee and dreaming of this since much earlier than July. They really don’t understand that people who thrive in a capitalistic society are not going to allow it to go down without a fight.
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Even a 0.05% tax on all financial transactions would be ugly: You get a $1000 check from doing some work, and you pay $0.50 to deposit it. You write a $500 check to cover rent on your small apartment and you pay another $0.25. You take $100 out at an ATM and pay another $0.05 on top of all the other fees. And this is just you as an end user. Your landlord has to pay a fee when he deposit the rent check, whoever paid you has to pay a fee to transfer that money to you. After a while, the numbers start to add up.
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Pingback: Adbusters, Soros $$$ and The Confused Kids of #OWS « Nice Deb
fredsave1, I’m that one guy you don’t want to get into a gunfight with.
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Stinky – you are probably right
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…but I am also pretty sure I really don’t want to get into a gunfight with anyone, I prefer beer.
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Stinky – read the link I posted to my response above!! I am saying that there is about to be a big “happening” at the OWS protest because they are going to try and clean the park the protester are staying at and the protesters have been told they have to move and can no longer stay there overnight.
The problem is that will then pit cops against protesters in a highly tense environment that could lead to a fatality.
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If the people there won’t abide by the rules, then they will be at fault if anything bad happens. They’ve been asked nicely to co-operate; if they try to provoke a confrontation and something bad happens, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
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Then again, I hear that some of them are making “armor” out of cardboard and duct tape in anticipation of tomorrow’s “battle”, so they should be OK……
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true, but you and I both know the protesters won’t move and it would be a shame to see cops or protesters get really hurt (or killed) over this whole situation. It will only further divide peolpe and provide the cause with a martyr.
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Oh, I think they’ll move when push comes to shove; after all, they “claim” to be peaceful – it’s not going to look good if they start throwing punches (and the cops won’t punch unless punched first). As I read on another blog, most people in NYC back the police, and many of them are getting tired of the whiny kids. They’re talking about taking over Times Square and blocking the subways tomorrow – if they do that, they are going to lose any remaining sympathy with New Yorkers.
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Teresa, did you see this? Might be of interest to your ongoing research project.
BigGovernment.com: The Email Archive of the #OccupyWallStreet Movement: Anarchists, Socialists, Unions, Democrats and Their Plans
Setup here: BigGovernment.com: ‘Crowdsource’ This: Emails Expose #OccupyWallStreet Conspiracy to ‘Destabalize’ Global Markets, Governments
I also saw some pretty big news places tying #OWS to Soros. Didn’t see you mentioned anywhere.
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I can download them, but I haven’t the slightest idea how to READ them; it’s all on a read-only Excel spreadsheet with columns the width of pencil lead…..
(If I hadn’t had children, I might actually know how to USE some of these programs; I was the shizznit on Lotus 1-2-3!)
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You can change the width, just email me if you need any excel help!
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THX! Somebody actually did some amazing work and made it easier for folks like me to access. I appreciate the offer!
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Teresa – I do want to move to TX, despite the heat and humidity, I’d like to live free!
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We’d love to have you here! A/C makes the summers bearable, and once you get north of Austin, the humidity isn’t quite as bad.
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Hi, Teresa!
There was an Occupy Amarillo event here in the windswept Panhandle today. When I went by, I only saw about 10 people; local TV is reporting about 100. The people one station talked to all had different reasons to be there.
One ” would like to see money taken out of politics so that the corporations can’t buy the candidates”. I suppose he’d like TV and radio stations to give all political candidates free and equal air time. Never mind that doing so would drive them out of business….
Another said “We need large businesses to stand up and create higher paying jobs”. Because they have that never-ending flow of money that they magically rip out of everyone’s bank account.
Yet another is worried about his four-legged friends, saying “I’m here today to show my support against corporate agriculture”.
In other words: Business bad. Uh..something else, we don’t know what…good. I wish I’d had the time to stop and ask them some questions, but I doubt I would have heard any better answers.
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Thank you for posting this. We’ve been all over this on Common Cents as well…
Steve
Common Cents
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
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I actually wrote this last week; it’s making its way slowly but surely around the outer limits of the blogosphere….. 🙂
I’m starting to think I’m turning into a conspiracy theorist – it’s hard to figure out what’s intentional and what’s coincidental.
Time to order that tinfoil hat –
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Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.
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hilarious!!
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