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Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” played for 500,000 in Spanish protest
YouTube
(15 October 2011)
Suggested by Greg Mitchell, blogging for The Nation who writes:
“Yesterday I posted an amazing, very moving video of excerpts from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony—the global anthem—including the “Ode to Joy,” as played to 500,000 protesters in Madrid yesterday by a makeshift orchestra and chorus, to a stunning reaction there, and via my blog. So here’s another view of it, from the orchestra. “All become brothers,” as Beethoven urged here.”
Yesterday Greg wrote: “It warms my heart to see this video below of truly massive rally in Madrid today which featured segment of the Ninth sung or played or whatever, ending in huge cheers. Beethoven: the original rebel who would occupy everything, everywhere. More views of the Ninth used there today here and here and here.and here—note the hand wiggles in air from crowd signalling approval.
Comments at the Youtubes:
“La no violencia, la resistencia civil, la belleza y la generosidad son lo que condensan este vídeo y la mejor muestra de la voluntad y categoría del movimiento de los indignados. Por un mundo nuevo, feliz mundo nuevo!”
“They’re holding their empty palms in the air, chanting ‘These are our weapons!’ It’s to show their peaceful resistance movement.”. [Estos son, nuestras armas.]
From the Heart of Liberty Plaza
Melanie Butler, ZNet
A lot has changed since we started occupying Wall Street 24 days ago. Voices take much longer to echo through the masses of bodies in Liberty Plaza, requiring two or three layers of repetition via the people’s microphone.
The kitchen staff, once limited largely to serving the now-famous “occu-pie” pizzas (99% cheese, 1% pepperoni) lovingly designed by Libretto’s, are now cooking full-balanced, vegan meals, composting the scraps, and washing the dishes through an on-site grey-water system. The once-quaint library that started out as a few rejects from someone’s bookshelf is now a full-blown, catalogued institution with sections ranging from anarchism to acupuncture. Celebrities are coming down for the second, third, and fourth visit not to make speeches, but to see how things are evolving.
When Eve Ensler came down for a repeat visit on Saturday night she asked if I could gather some people together to talk after the General Assembly. She and Naomi Klein sat with us on the concrete for the entire General Assembly, patiently listening to over two hours of working group report-backs, announcements, and general housekeeping. When we finally gathered on the steps by the library, Eve asked for ideas on how she could best support us. “Use your voice to say what you see,” said one woman. “Tell people we’re not a bunch of patchouli-wearing hippies doing hula hoops and dancing in a circle.” As everyone laughed, she quickly added, “there is that, and it’s beautiful, but there’s also real process, there’s real community.”
“I have to say, more than I’ve seen anywhere” Eve said, nodding. Eve asked us to tell her what brought us here. One woman said she had just wandered over to see what was happening: “I’ve been trying to leave for the past four hours. Every step I take there’s something amazing happening.” As other people shared their stories a plan evolved to bring these “stories from the heart of the park” to a wider audience.
When long-time activist and hip-hop/funk/reggae artist Michael Franti came to Occupy Wall Street last week he told us “starting activism is easy – all you have to do is show up. It’s coming back the second and third time that’s challenging.”
I showed up at one of the first General Assemblies back in August as skeptical as anyone.
(15 October 2011)
OCCUPY NYC: BEN ZOLNO “End of Growth” Street Seminar (1/3)
Ben Zolno, You Tube
(12 October 2011)
Recommended by the Post Carbon Institute, which says, “PCI sends filmmaker Ben Zolno to deliver the gospel, as he sees it, directly to the front lines.”
US Marine tells off NYPD
YouTube
Text underneath the video reads:
United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY went toe to toe with the New York Police Department. An activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Thomas voiced his opinions of the NYPD police brutality that had and has been plaguing the #OWS movement.
Thomas is a 24-year-old Marine Veteran (2 tours in Iraq), he currently plays amateur football and is in college.
Thomas comes from a long line of people who sacrifice for their country: Mother, Army Veteran (Iraq), Step father, Army, active duty (Afghanistan), Grand father, Air Force veteran (Vietnam), Great Grand Father Navy veteran (World War II).
(16 October 2011)
An emotional scene in which a man identifying himself as a Marine vet castigates a group of NYPD police for their treatment of OWS demonstrators. He is quoted as saying, “These are U.S. citizens peacefully protesting! These are the people you are supposed to protect! This isn’t a war zone! I’ve served overseas, that’s a war zone! Get rid of your batons and helmets!” I haven’t seen this incident mentioned in the mainstream press yet.
Suggested by Greg Mitchell, blogging for The Nation
-BA
