Occupy Zurich
This is the english version of OccupyZuerich. It is operated by english speaking Occupy Zurich activists selectively translating text and blog posts for the worldwide english speaking audience.
Paradeplatz
Like so many Occupy movements, this one also started 15th October 2011 at the main banking place in Zurich: Paradeplatz. It was occupied for two days, until Monday 17th October, when the police came and voiced we should go, we did.
Lindenhof
Monday 17th October we moved into the historic center of Zurich, the Lindenhof -the police and political authorities signalized we would be tolerated there. We pitched our tents and during 4 weeks the camp grew up to 60 tents and the evening GA were attended by up to 60-120 people at a time.
About 30 days later Tuesday 15th November we got evicted. A group of 30 activists did resist non-violently to the eviction and got carried away. The green/left city council never seriously considered a tolerance or permit to stay at the Lindenhof – they gave in political pressure from the right and comparing growing camp problems in the US, as a city council admited.
Church St. Jacob
A few days prior eviction, the evangelical church St. Jacob offered us place to rest. Since the place was too small only a few people actually started to camp, about 20 activists, the majority started to live and reorganize themselves in several activists appartments.
November 30th 2011 it was decided at a GA to take the camp down with all the tents, as the problems with alcoholics and homeless people got beyond control with the few activists camping there. It was also decided in that GA to keep the information booth and extend it further.
Occupy Homes
Since beginning of December the Occupy movement has organized itself decentralized in several appartments in Zurich.
One main General Assemblies (GA) per week (Wednesday), workgroup meetings (Tuesday & Friday) each 19:00 at Gemeindesaal near the Stauffacher. Thursday 18:00 at University of Zurich in the Lichthof. And Saturdays at the Paradeplatz at 13:30 also an informal GA.
3. March 2012 at 06:30
G’day Paul (& Folks),It’s been a while but I have still been reading the good ol’ Chronicles.The thing that waved the dsedert flag in my mind as I was reading this article was highly educated’. Why? I’ll use this statement as a focal point The world is an integrated system. In an apparently collapsing world, literally brimming with more highly educated’ people than ever before, have you not wondered why you and so many others have needed to spend so many years and resources trying to point this simple and glaringly obvious, yet notably inconvenient truth, to those very same people?Like you Paul (in regard to the 1%), I am not speaking in absolutes. There are some highly educated’ people that do understand that The world is an integrated system. What I am saying is that by taking a global observation, would it not be reasonable to consider that in general the highly educated’ could be argued to be part of the problem’ having greatly contributed to the very dilemmae’ we face? e.g. We cannot solve problems with the mindsets that created them’, or that good ol’ definition for insanity Doing the same things over and over expecting the results to change’ .This observation may be biased by my recent experience. I went back to University this year (as a 50 year old). Though I have had contact with Universities often over the years, it is some 20+ years since I have studied as a full-time student.Maybe it’s my age and experience, but I have to tell you that I am gravely disappointed at how little attitudes have actually changed and how much the quality of teaching has devolved (usually argued to be due to a lack of funding), and how much the status quo’ remains the contextual undercurrent. It is my view that increasingly, Universities are behaving like giant Registered Training Organisations. Their modus operandi is increasingly more tied to the acquisition of funding, which is in turn tied to the certification of work-place ready, bums on seats. A very sad affair. Call me a romantic, but to me a University is a place of learning not of box-ticking and qualifying for the sake of funding.I think that when, what we call systems in nature’ behave to the detriment of those around them, then changes occur (no, not corrections, changes). Not to restore some human conceived notion of balance’ (which we seem to embody in our machines). I don’t think that balance’ is either relevant or possible (save as a conjectural reference point. But even then it should be considered to be dynamic at best). We are part of nature still. It is how it is we can either enjoy what we have, or we can continue to struggle to control it, and fear a loss of control that we never had. I’m with you Paul. We made it up we can make it up again and we aren’t dead yet. Is it not from the 99%’ (here meaning the not so highly educated’), that compassion, common-sense and civility has ever sprung? Apparently our word Education’ comes from the Latin -’Edu-catus’ meaning, to draw from within. One does not need a degree in engineering to have, comprehend and express human feelings nor does one need a degree in Psychology to make those feelings valid or their insights real or true. We only need listen and respect. And we don’t need a degree in Law, Theology or Ethics to do that. Oh contrare We need degrees to refine the expression of what we draw from within. But we are in great danger when those with degrees become the self-ordained source of our expressions. Ring any bells? Thanks again Paul great article, great discussion, great time to be alive CheersStephen G