OWS – 5 Years Ago Something Big Started
Five years on and what has changed? Some might say nothing. We still have candidates of the 1% – this time one of them proudly running as the king of the Billionaires, the other just your standard SuperPAC funded politico. Transparency in government and in the business world sure as hell hasn’t gotten any better. Wells Fargo defrauds thousands and no one gets in trouble, Clinton runs a private e-mail server to avoid FOIA laws and transparency and she just gets a scolding. But what did we expect? Did we ever dream that OWS would have changed all that? A…
Pay 2 Play – Democracy’s High Stakes
The Utne Reader calls it “a stirring plea to level the playing field in our political system by ending “pay to play”—the quid pro quo of trading political favors for campaign donations. Picking up on the themes of Occupy Wall Street, the film rails against corporate personhood, dark money, and calls for the repeal of Citizens United. Daily Kos says: “I believe that this is a must watch film because it puts everything together in a way that anyone can understand this complex issue and it even puts a strategy on the table to get America to a functioning democracy.” But…
A Call To Cameras – More Photographers needed in Indy Media
I was on the Matthew Filipowicz Show last week discussing the need for independent media to have professional photographers on staff. On Matt’s show I discuss why news groups having access to a photographers back catalogue and being able to look at a wider edit of photos is intrinsic to being able to analyze events and stories. Please check it out at his site. http://matthewf.net
Beaten and Arrested Occupier Facing 7 Years
Occupier Cecily McMillan who was found guilty of striking a NYC Police Officer is looking at 7 years in jail. Many of the jurors have signed onto a plea to the judge for her to just receive community service – claiming that they had no idea that their sentence of guilty on felony assault charges would mean such a lengthy sentence. The jurors criminal ignorance aside – many of her fellow Occupiers, lawyers and citizens have called for leniency from the judge. Sentencing for Cecily will be held Monday the 19th.
Occupying Two Years – The Crest of a High and Beautiful Wave
“It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era — the kind of peak that never comes again…” – Hunter S Thompson It may, or may not, but damn – it was a great ride. Two years ago this month I was standing by the bull – that famous one by Wall Street. It was surrounded by metal police barricades – something that would become the norm during the life of Occupy. Those barricades became a defining characteristic of the protest – keeping marchers on a defined route, keeping them out of Zuccotti Park, keeping the press contained…
Corporate Giant vs. Retirees in West Virginia
Today is May Day – in honor of International Workers Day we’re publishing James Fassinger’s, moving photo-essay about a group of retirees in West Virginia fighting a corporate giant for benefits promised to them. They’re doing it Occupy style. James has sent us this story to get the word out about this struggle. He’s an internationally published photographer – with the Guardian, The New York Times and the Times of London. This is the first in a monthly series that TheMudflats.net will be posting featuring the very best in photo-journalism. Please share this story widely. Nearly one year ago,…
Mudflats ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Coverage
TheMudflats.net and yours truly have been singled out for honor by the prestigious magazine The Atlantic this week. Was it for our amazing investigative reporting? For the awesome photo spreads we do? In depth coverage of the proposed Pebble Mine? Unfortunately, no. It’s because I nearly got my head beat in at Occupy Wall Street. I’ve written about 15,000 words, and taken about a terabyte of photos at OWS over the past year – witnessed the worst and best of America, broke news stories, got shots that no one else did – and yet this is what we get singled…
The Return of Occupy: Beaten, but Not Down
You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming. ~Pablo Neruda My head hurts. Three months after my arrest during an Occupy Wall Street protest on #D17, and two days away from my meeting with the Assistant DA about said arrest, I got beaten just outside of Zuccotti Park. I wasn’t the only one, and I have no doubt I won’t be the last. The NYPD has complete authority in this town. I hate using the term “police state,” but when I saw a girl thrown from a bus and tossed to the ground, in handcuffs, having…