Pope Francis’ call to action on climate change with his encyclical, Laudato Si’, has resulted in some strange and “radical” alliances.
The Guardian (UK) reported on June 27 that the Vatican added pro Occupy Wall Street activist Naomi Klein to a growing list of activists for its upcoming environmental conference. Klein is an “ferocious critic of capitalism” and a “secular radical,” according to the left-wing Guardian newspaper.
Protesters began their occupation of Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17, 2011, nearly two years ago. Participant Media and two filmmakers have commemorated the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement with a new documentary film that was released Sept. 6.
As if there aren’t enough Occupy-themed films, now there is the documentary, “99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film.” It is supposed to be from an isolationist perspective, at least according to the filmmakers Audrey Ewell and Aaron Aites, who said in a recent interview “we were never part of Occupy.” In that Red Carpet Crash interview with Jimmy Ryan, Ewell described the media coverage of the OWS as “condescending.” Ryan praised the film repeatedly and claimed “it doesn’t polarize in any way.”
Apparently, three movies attacking Wall Street wasn’t enough. Hollywood’s made another anti-capitalist film to be released November 15. The biopic of former Wall Street stockbroker, Jordan Belfort, who is also a conman, stars known liberal actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The “Titanic” star is a well-known environmental activist and has donated more than $40,000 to Obama’s two presidential campaigns.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” is based on a memoir of the same name. In the book, Jordan Belfort described his life as a stockbroker who worked the system to lead a lavish lifestyle filled with sex, drugs and partying before he was jailed for fraud and money laundering. The dark comedy by Martin Scorsese, stars DiCaprio as the sleazy Belfort. The trailer portrays his daily life as glamorous and exciting while at the same time, poking fun at Belfort for his over-the-top lifestyle.
Kanye West’s new song, launched on May 17, compared consumerism to slavery. “What you want, a Bentley? Fur coat? A diamond chain?” he rapped. “New slaves.”
In his nearly two minute long song, West ranted about corporations and consumerism. “F*** you and your corporations,” he rapped. “I know that we the new slaves.”
Occupy Wall Street is still alive and kicking to director Uwe Boll and actor Dominic Purcell. Even though the OWS movement didn’t even last for a full year, Boll had decided to make a film depicting an outsider violently attacking and murdering Wall Street Executives.
“Assault on Wall Street,” set to be released in limited theaters on May 10, 2013, depicts a man who decided to get his life back after the market crash by strapping on a mask, entering a bank with bombs and guns, and blowing the bank to smithereens while killing lots of people.
The Hollywood types love a good class warfare story.
A new Sony Pictures film set to release on Aug. 9, 2013, is no exception. “Elysium” starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, is set far into the future, where “Sometime in the future, the class divide of the 1% grows so intense that the richest of the rich decide to build their own colony in space - the titular Elysium - where poor people are not allowed to live,” according to TGDaily.
Just when we thought Occupy Wall Street was over, DC Comics decided to resurrect and give it new life. In a new comic book series set to release in May titled “The Movement,” readers will be able to “Meet the 99%… They were the super-powered disenfranchised — now they’re the voice of the people!”
In an interview with Wired Magazine’s Graeme McMillan, “The Movement” writer Gail Simone explained the vision behind the series. “It’s a book about power.” She went on to elaborate on how essential information and the internet were to her vision. “Because the sources of that information are so dispersed and nameless, it’s nearly impossible to shut down.”
For many Americans, ABC, NBC and CBS are the major source of news on business and the economy. Unfortunately, this is like depending on the middle school student newspaper for information about important local school board deliberations.
Network reporters are either ill-prepared to discuss complex issues of economics, finance and business or choose to be advocates for viewpoints rather than objective reporters who strive for balance. Liberal preferences for government solutions and interventionism as well as hostility toward wealth and profit dominate network coverage.
In what appears to be the latest homage to the moribund if not completely defunct Occupy movement, Los Angeles Times writer Frank Shyong chronicled the lasting impact of the movement in a December 7 article, gushing that in its heyday it had “enjoyed widespread popularity, and politicians responded with resolutions of support.”
Shyong lamented, however, that “as demonstrations wore on and public sentiment shifted, cities got tougher with protesters.” Oddly enough, Shyong failed to note a huge factor in the shifting public sentiment: Occupy camps were plagued with violent crimes, including rape. What's more, on at least one occasion, a child was left abandoned in one of the squalid squatters' camps.
On Nov. 28, 2012, Forbes released a report on the 25 highest paid musicians of the year. Ironically enough, four of this year’s top earners were outspoken supporters of the Occupy Wall Street Movement last year. Apparently they didn’t see hypocrisy of being a top earner in an industry while speaking out against other top earners.
In a transparent effort to yet again applaud the left-wing Occupy Wall Street movement on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams introduced the broadcast's Making a Difference segment by proclaiming: "We all remember the Occupy Wall Street movement. We covered them here a lot....Whatever you think of their agenda and them, they've re-formed now, into Occupy Sandy. They're redirecting their energy into helping hurricane victims..."
In the report that followed, correspondent Katy Tur announced: "Remember the Occupy Wall Street movement famous for taking over New York's Zuccotti Park and coining the term 1%? Well, now they have Occupy Sandy. Within days after Sandy hit, Occupy went to work."
Proudly claiming the legendary outlaw Robin Hood as their inspiration, liberal groups and past Occupy Wall Street supporters are pushing for a “Robin Hood Tax” on corporate transactions. George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, Bill Moyers’s Schumann Center for Media and Democracy and the liberal Tides Foundation and Proteus Fund have given over $4 million to organizations that support the tax, according to the official Robin Hood Tax website.
Support for The Robin Hood Tax has come from both Europe and the United States. Although they haven’t gotten specific about which corporate transactions would be taxed, advocates claim such a tax would raise hundreds of billions of dollars, which could then be used to promote social programs or climate change prevention initiatives. Many of its proponents also have ties to the Occupy Wall Street movement.