Food Not Bombs (FNB) is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, sharing free, usually vegan and vegetarian food with others. The group believes that corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance. To demonstrate this, FNB serves surplus food gathered from grocery stores, bakeries and markets which would otherwise go to waste, or occasionally has already been thrown away. The group exhibits a form of franchise activism.
The 38th G8 summit was held in Camp David, Maryland, United States, on 18–19 May 2012.
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a left-wing populist movement against economic inequality, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, and lasted for fifty-nine days—from September 17 to November 15, 2011.
The following is a timeline of Occupy Wall Street (OWS), a protest which began on September 17, 2011 on Wall Street, the financial district of New York City and included the occupation of Zuccotti Park, where protesters established a permanent encampment. The Occupy movement splintered after NYC Mayor Bloomberg had police raid the encampment in Zuccotti Park on November 15, 2011. The timeline here is limited to this particular protest during this approximate time-frame.
Occupy Portland was a collaboration that began on October 6, 2011, in downtown Portland, Oregon, as a protest and demonstration against economic inequality worldwide. The movement was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17, 2011.
Occupy San José was a peaceful protest and demonstration in City Hall Plaza in San Jose, California. The demonstration was inspired by Occupy Wall Street and is part of the larger "Occupy" protest movement. The aim of the demonstration was to begin a sustained occupation in downtown San José, the 10th largest city in the United States, to protest perceived corporate greed and social inequality, including opposing corporate influence in U.S. politics, the influence of money and corporations on democracy and a lack of legal and political repercussions for the 2007–2008 financial crisis.
The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of real democracy around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and economic justice and different forms of democracy. The movement has had many different scopes, since local groups often had different focuses, but its prime concerns included how large corporations and the global financial system control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and causes instability.
Occupy Canada was a collective of peaceful protests and demonstrations that were part of the larger Occupy Together movement which first manifested in the financial district of New York City with Occupy Wall Street, and subsequently spread to over 900 cities around the world.
The 15 October 2011 global protests were part of a series of protests inspired by the Arab Spring, the Icelandic protests, the Portuguese "Geração à Rasca", the Spanish "Indignants", the Greek protests, and the Occupy movement. The protests were launched under the slogan "United for #GlobalChange", to which the slogan "United for Global Democracy" was added by many people's assemblies. The protest was first called for by the Spanish Plataforma ¡Democracia Real YA! in May 2011 and endorsed by people's assemblies across the world. Reasons were varied but mainly targeted growing economic inequality, corporate influence over government and international institutions, and the lack of truly democratic institutions allowing direct public participation at all levels, local to global. Global demonstrations were held on 15 October in more than 950 cities in 82 countries. The date was chosen to coincide with the 5-month anniversary of the first protest in Spain. General assemblies, the social network n-1, mailing lists, Mumble voice chat, open pads such as Pirate Pad and Titan Pad, and Facebook were used to coordinate the events. Some protests were only a few hundred in number, whereas others numbered in the hundreds of thousands, with the largest in Madrid numbering half a million and the second largest city Barcelona with 400,000.
Occupy Oakland refers to a collaboration and series of demonstrations in Oakland, California, that started in October 2011. As part of the Occupy movement, protesters have staged occupations, most notably at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall.
Occupy San Diego was one of the many occupation protest movements in the United States. Located in San Diego, California, the protest movement initially began in the city's downtown district at the Civic Center. According to authorities, it had "a growing problem with violence and mounting trash". However this assertion was disputed by protesters and eyewitnesses, since Occupy protesters have been actively cleaning the site since October, 2011. It is based on the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City on September 17 and is one of several "Occupy" protest sites in the Southern California, including Occupy Los Angeles.
Occupy Providence began on Saturday October 15, 2011. According to the Boston Globe, well over 1,000 demonstrators, including children and adults of various ages, peacefully marched through the capital city before setting up camp at Burnside Park in downtown Providence, RI and turning the park into a 24 hour protest. The march made its way through the streets of downtown Providence, pausing outside such institutions as Bank of America, Providence Place Mall, and the Rhode Island State House.
Occupy Las Vegas was an occupation and peaceful protest that began on October 6, 2011. It is affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York City, and also with the "Occupy" movement in the United States and around the world. A series of meetings that were titled "The General Assembly" or "GA" were held to plan the beginning of the event on October 6, 2011, and were held to create a consensus on policies and planning for the occupation.
Occupy Nashville was a collaboration that began with demonstrations and an occupation located at Legislative Plaza in Nashville, Tennessee. Special legislation attempting to oust the Occupy Nashville demonstration passed the Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee Senate in February 2012.
The Occupy movement spread to many other cities in the United States and worldwide beginning with the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City in September 2011. The movement sought to advance social and economic justice and different forms of democracy but each local group varied in specific aims. The demonstrations and encampment in New York City spread to other major and smaller cities. Some camps lasted through 2012. What follows is an alphabetical, non-chronological summary of Occupy encampments in the United States.
Occupy St. Louis (OccupySTL) was a postpartisan people's movement that began on October 1, 2011 as a peaceful protest against corporate greed, its influence over the economy, its corruption of government, and ensuing inequality. Although people possess differing viewpoints and diversity of views is a central tenet, commonly held themes seek an equal playing field in the economy with more equal opportunities for all people as well as accountability for corporate and financial malfeasance. Many of those in the movement argue that structural, systemic change is necessary and that incremental reform is insufficient and in any case not possible without popular countervailing power to the power of moneyed interests. Occupy St. Louis is in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. It is located at Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis near an area which includes many financial institutions such as commercial banks and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The following is a timeline of Occupy Oakland which began on Monday, October 10, 2011, as an occupation of Frank H. Ogawa Plaza located in front of Oakland City Hall in downtown Oakland, and is an ongoing demonstration. It is allied with Occupy Wall Street, which began in New York City on September 17, 2011, and is one of several "Occupy" protest sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other sites include Occupy San Francisco and Occupy San Jose.
The 2012 Chicago summit was the 24th summit of the heads of state and heads of government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), held in Chicago, Illinois, on 20 and 21 May 2012. This was the first time ever that a NATO summit was held in the United States outside of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. The event was originally scheduled to coincide and be held after the 2012 G8 summit in Chicago as well, but the G8 summit was later rescheduled to be held at Camp David.
Occupy Minneapolis (OccupyMN) is a grassroots collaboration that began in October 2011 with a series of demonstrations in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters have staged numerous occupations, most notably of the Hennepin County Government Center plaza.
