Politics

Hong Kong has its activists who are always in the limelight of the daily news but the Occupy Hong Kong action October 15 was not as graspable as the usual issues that brings the regulars out onto the street. A strong crowd gathered, in Hong Kong Central, of the more committed, regulars but mostly the new and deeply enthusiastic.

I was honored to be invited to speak at Occupy Wall Street on Thursday night. Since amplification is (disgracefully) banned, and everything I said had to be repeated by hundreds of people so others could hear (a.k.a. “the human microphone”), what I actually said at Liberty Plaza had to be very short. With that in mind, here is the longer, uncut version of the speech.

Palestinians gathered in Jerusalem on Sunday night to protest the October 9 killing of Egyptian Copts in Cairo. The mass demonstration was followed by Christian and Muslim prayers and speeches denouncing the incidents, in which Egyptian soldiers from the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) clashed with Coptic Christians, resulting in 25 deaths.

This day will be considered in Palestine as the day of the appointment with freedom for hundreds of the Palestinian prisoners, and the day of meeting the loved ones for hundred of families. The largest prisoners swap in history between Hamas and Israel has begun it first step
releasing 477 Palestinian prisoners including 27 women in exchange of
Israeli soldier Gila’ad Shalit

This October 17th-20th, representatives from over 70 countries come together for the
International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy (FIESS) in Montreal. With
Quebec being seen as an experimental hub for the Social Economy, it not surprising that activists
have gathered here. Today, first day of the Forum, the enthusiasm among participants
could be felt in the air.

Reporters Without Borders shares the concern that the Chilean Union of
Photographers and Cameramen has expressed about the possibility of more
violence against media personnel by the security forces, especially
carabineros militarized police, during the protests that are expected
to take place today and tomorrow in response to calls from the student
movement.

What follows is a statement agreed by the Occupy the London Stock Exchange General Assembly based on the discussions carried out by small groups. “At today’s assembly of over 500 people on the steps of St Paul’s, #occupylsx collectively agreed the initial statement below. Please note, like all forms of direct democracy, the statement will always be a work in progress”.

Occupation of the London Stock Exchange or thereabouts, Day 3. Some workers of the City came out to interact with the protesters. Communication always was the aim of the campsite dwellers, to be able to express their frustration at a system of inequality and injustice. They spoke in words, in music, in placards and in peaceful creativity.

Success of the 3rd Conference of the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative and 1st International Marathon in Iraq
Both events, organized by ICSSI members, took place successfully in Erbil on 7-9 October 2011 and gave tremendous visibility to the Iraqi civil society, its struggle for a laical state, peace and human rights.

Organizers estimate that 15,000 people converged in Times
Square on Saturday afternoon, the culmination of a day of
marches and protests that covered much of lower
Manhattan. Actions from New York to Madrid, Rome,
London, Jakarta, Tokyo and Sydney were part of a
global day of action called for by the Indignados
movement in Spain and later joined by Occupy Wall Street.