Calendar wise autumn is fully installed. And because traditionally it’s harvest count, let’s take a look through the granaries. U.S economy is falling again, Greece is going bankrupt (but probably will soon receive a kick in the ass and thus step forward), France, Italy, Portugal and Spain aren’t groovy at all, nature’s tempests are vacationing in Asia and the Wall Street market arrows were all red and pointing down on Friday evening.
Subsequently a lot of commotion worldwide: protests riots and demonstrations seem to pop up and cross over all over the globe. Might be rushing in counting our revolutions, especially since this week the lesser half of the world economy just went k-boom!
1. India (anti-graft law)
2. Libya (old news but still counts)
3. Syria
4. Israel (youth protest continues, still not quite covered by the media),
5. Yemen (call on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down)
6. Chile (student strike),
7. Bolivia – this one’s about the highway
8. Brazil (government corruption folks)
9. Greece as usual, the Us (despite the media and the majority of citizens),
10.Bulgaria – a minor protest targeted at a local minority (a.k.a) Roma turned its destination round for a bit and is now successfully directed at the government,
11. Portugal (police protest),
12. Belgium (garbage strike – nope, not being sarcastic, the rubbish collectors take nothing anymore)
13. a bit of a fuss near Kosovo border,
14. France (teachers strike),
15. Ukraine (topless feminists – boy how could we miss this one- well it was the smallest but nakedness rates more)
16. US (yeah yeah the wall street thingie)
17. Burma (Campaigners outside Burma launched street protests to oppose the Myitsone plan, which was successfully halted
18. Bahrain
19 Italy – massive worker strikes
20 Spain- Clashes in Catalonia, strikes and anti-pope demo
21 Germany, Berlin – Anti Pope Demo
22 Palestine ( Palestine youth vs Israeli police clashes)
23. The infamous London riots ( troubled young brits who correctly identified the power sources in their society unlike the rest of the naïve protests directed at the government)
24. almost forgot – Russia –demonstration against the great one .
25 Morocco - Thousands of Moroccans have once again taken to the streets to call for deep political changes despite recent reforms aimed at curbing powers of King Mohammed VI
26. Egypt
That sums up the civic unrest movements that took place more or less in the past month (most of them no older than 26th September)
In focus there are two protests that seem to have an uncanny feeling to them, mainly because both are youth protests and neither have any clear demands. The protests in Israel are reaching three months now (the camping started on the 3rd of July).
“Sometimes you go for the path and not the end objective,” said Ben, an environmental protester whose sign said, “Social justice is environmental justice”
“I doubt we’ll see any changes in the next three months. Maybe over the next few years.”
The Wall Street protest is no match in terms of numbers [yet] but is similar in terms of initiative. The main incentive for the gatherings is social justice. Most of the protesters declare that they are unsatisfied with their condition (education costs, unemployment) and share weariness towards the future. Yet there is no official list of demands, no clear goal and no strategy on how to get there. Or maybe the goal is to great or too radical to even be stated. Complete dissolution of the system that formed them. Still that seems to be a futile struggle.
If we are to compare these movements with the popular movements from 68’ in the U.S, the feistiness is rather low. The demands were clear back then, America out of the Vietnam war, Civil Rights Movement (formed out of different oriented smaller movement) was taking clear action, in very radically different and radical ways . Unlike the Washington protest the Wall Street protest is far more cynical, as it states the obvious the political parties, government officials and so on aren’t running this country. There is no democracy. And we got toasted but we’re not angry at the government. The big and only affirmation here is the lack of faith. From the E.U. leaders to the street protesters no one seems to know the now what?
Most of the media talks in the past week about debt were rather more aimed at identifying problems pas
t and present than offering solutions.
Swarms of people more or less close to my age (26) and old school activists (probably my mother ‘s or older friends age) sitting , waiting and debating what is to be done. Clearly something better change, that is the main reason for them being there. Still in these circumstances, it’s the peacefulness that worries me. Not counting the minor police violence acts – because the police is always like that, on one hand, and, on the other, everybody knows they didn’t even vaguely unleashed their dog pigs, yet there is no conflict. No tanks, no sirens. Pepper spray- not teargas. No authorities forcing them out. Aren’t they a threat? What about the wall street people themselves? You’d think they ‘d make natural enemies. Stock is crashing and a bunch of “hippies” are out there lurking around. No voices raised. Fingers are pointed, obviously, but in an indirect manner.
Everyone seems to be prepared for the battle scene, but where is the battle? A war field (on a ideological stance) with the troops set in place waiting… for days, weeks and months.
Woland is the mysterious foreigner and professor whose visit to Moscow sets the plot rolling and turns the world upside-down. He appears differently to different people. "[t]he first says that the [he] was short, had gold teeth, and limped on the right foot. The second, that the man was of enormous height, had platinum crowns, and limped on the left foot. The third states laconically that the man had no special distinguishing characters." His demonic retinue, which includes witches, vampires, and a gigantic talking cat, his role in the plot, and the fact that Woland was used as a synonym for Satan in (now outdated) German all imply that he is, in fact, the Devil.