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Sent from my iPhone On Nov 24, 2011, at 7:12 AM, Louis Proyect <[email protected]> wrote: > ====================================================================== > Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > ====================================================================== > > > http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/we_are_the_99_20111122/ > > OWS Organizer Questions Intentions of Secretive Affinity Gro > > By Alexander Kelly > > NEW YORK CITY—At 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, I got a text message from a > confidential source who worked closely with Occupy Wall Street for the past > two months. Within 45 minutes the two of us were seated in a Tribeca coffee > shop just a few blocks north of Zuccotti Park. There, over a pair of steaming > coffee cups, I was told that a secret faction has developed within New York > City’s Occupy movement, made up of a coalition of big-name celebrities and > would-be leaders, some of whom look determined to steer the movement in a > direction of their choosing, including into the hands of traditional > political forces. > > It’s not easy getting things done at Occupy. Since day one the group has paid > faithful allegiance to the ideal of direct democracy, working to ensure that > all major decisions—especially the allocation of funds—are made through a > consensus process at nightly general assemblies in which anyone may > participate. As you might guess, this means that things move slowly, and it > is mounting frustration with this challenge that my source believes has > motivated a small group of Occupiers to split away from the main body and > begin making decisions on their own. > > The story seems to center around a young man named Thorin Caristo. Caristo is > an early Occupier who started his own media operation within Liberty Park and > who in an early interview appears exhausted but level-headed and thoughtful. > He has played a foundational role in organizing major events and has pushed > without success for an occupation of Central Park. I’d heard his name before, > mostly in conversation with people from the end of the plaza where the > occupation’s lower-income contingent had gathered, some of whom claimed > Caristo said disparaging things about them. Others from the better-to-do side > of the park have paused and tensed up when I mentioned his name. > > My source accused Caristo of holding secret meetings with an elderly New > York-based activist named Jean-Louis Bourgeois. If a bizarre audiotape posted > on YouTube last Sunday by an independent OWS media team is to be believed, > then Bourgeois is Caristo’s private benefactor, providing him with the cash, > connections and other resources needed to cast their opaque agenda as the > movement’s own. My source asserts that a number of other now visible figures > within the movement have worked or are working closely with Caristo, many of > whom are alleged to have met or exchanged messages with celebrity supporters > and possible financial and publicity sponsors of OWS, including Def Jam > co-founder Russell Simmons; documentary filmmaker Michael Moore; civil rights > attorney, former director of the New York branch of the ACLU and political > aspirant Norman Siegel; and actor and possible New York City mayoral > candidate Alec Baldwin. > > Transparency and accountability kept surfacing as my source’s main concerns. > Repeated attempts to understand what their colleagues were up to while out of > view were met with curt dismissals and claims that they were too busy to > explain. “This is a group that is supposed to represent everybody,” the > source said. “If they’re raising money and organizing independently of the > group, and representing themselves as leaders to celebrities and other > business people—which they’re not—that alone is a giant conflict of interest. > There are no leaders like that. We’re all leaders or the group doesn’t exist. > Nobody should have anything to hide.” > > Bloomberg’s eviction of the Occupiers from Zuccotti Park made it easier for > organizers to work literally behind closed doors, especially at a new office > space on the 12th floor of a building at 50 Broadway that is being funded by > an unnamed sponsor. If my source is right, then Zuccotti Park and its nightly > showings of democracy in action may be at risk of becoming an elaborate front > for a political operation directed by an ambitious, however well-intentioned, > few. In the days ahead, I’ll try to confirm whether Occupy’s supporters have > any reason to be concerned. > *** > > Truthdig reporter Alexander Kelly has been reporting on Occupy Wall Street > from New York City. For more, visit truthdig.com/occupy > > ________________________________________________ > Send list submissions to: [email protected] > Set your options at: > http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/invisibleman_24%40yahoo.com ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
