Today may be the biggest
event on the Occupy calendar, with protests planned in over 100 cities across
the country–not to mention the massive
marches and actions in places as far flung as Moscow and Manila.
Historically, May Day has been a European affair, despite its very American
origins. But Occupy plans to bring it all back home today with marches, dance-offs,
and of course the occasional bike cavalry ride.
So far today big outlets
like the New York Times have been
pretty silent on what’s happening, but that doesn’t mean things are quiet.
There are plenty of places to get the latest on happenings on Wall Street, Frank Ogawa
Plaza, and the dozens of
other flashpoints erupting today. Here are some of our favorites:
A lot of sources are
touting up-to-the-minute coverage of Occupy events, but Adbusters has taken it one step further. The site offers live streaming video
from Wall Street, London, Barcelona, and other international hotspots.
R88R, the creator of Utne
AltWire, has launched an aggregator site devoted
exclusively to Occupy. Here you can see the Occupy stories tweeted by
Influencers like Democracy Now! and @OccupyWallSt. The site also features
live feeds from groups like the Media
Consortium and pages featuring trending topics like pepper spray and
surveillance. But be warned: it’s addictive.
From Chicago, In
These Times has been all over today’s events. The magazine’s Uprising page
has had extensive coverage in the
lead-up to May 1, including articles on Occupy’s Spanish connection and a
growing student movement. A story published today by Rebecca Burns explores Occupy
Chicago’s Chicano roots and exactly what a general strike means nowadays.
And for those who haven’t yet
seen it, Occupy Wall Street‘s official page has rapid-fire live updates
from around New York City.
The latest: Brooklyn Occupiers are crossing the Williamsburg
Bridge into Manhattan to begin a march to Wall Street. On
the West Coast, protesters and strikers have formed picket lines at LAX that
will likely delay travelers. Students in Portland
have gathered outside public schools. The site also has a number of links to
live sources like Occupied Wall Street
Journal and the Village Voice.
On Twitter, hashtags to follow are #M1GS and #GeneralStrike.
For a little context, ZNet has a number of new articles and essays
by Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, and other scholars and thinkers. Amy Goodman’s
interview with historian David Harvey, published this morning, explores the
shifting meaning of public space, from Haymarket to Occupy. In another
essay, Rachel Leone reflects on mutual
aid possibilities in a corporate society.
And from our friends at
the Media Consortium, Media for the 99% features an
interactive map of stories, events, and arrests across the country and a live
OWS stream from Free Speech TV. The site also boasts its own live coverage of
Occupy happenings, from media partners nationwide.
Image above by RMajouji, licensed under Creative Commons.
Check out Free Speech’s live feed right here, and check back at Utne.com for updates later on.
