Like the flickering, “ironic points of light” that W.H. Auden described during another age of worldwide despair, once-brilliant Occupy encampments across the globe have dimmed in the face of eviction orders and internal social tension. Occupy London, now “a network of mutual support for the lost and destitute”—as New Statesman columnist Laurie Penny puts it—is no exception. –ARK

Laurie Penny at New Statesman:

Three months on, this is what the Occupy movement looks like: a network of mutual support for the lost and destitute, with anti-capitalist overtones. The Bank of Ideas, an abandoned building owned by the Swiss banking giant UBS and transformed into a space for art sessions, lectures and late-night discussion on the future of the free market, is one of four sites squatted by London’s branch of the movement. The occupations began with the encampment on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral, which has just lost its battle against eviction at the Royal Courts of Justice, and branched out to Finsbury Square, and an empty magistrate’s court on Old Street. As other world cities have seen similar protests violently evicted by local police, the occupiers of London have clung on through a winter that has seen the nature of the camps change profoundly.

Read more

Dig, Root, Grow

This year, we’re all on shaky ground, and the need for independent journalism has never been greater. A new administration is openly attacking free press — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Your support is more than a donation. It helps us dig deeper into hidden truths, root out corruption and misinformation, and grow an informed, resilient community.

Independent journalism like Truthdig doesn't just report the news — it helps cultivate a better future.

Your tax-deductible gift powers fearless reporting and uncompromising analysis. Together, we can protect democracy and expose the stories that must be told.

Dig. Root. Grow. Cultivate a better future.

Donate today.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG