17 Over Wall Street

Over the past several days friends have been asking me my views on the Occupy Wall Street movement. Indeed, the nation itself seems fixated on establishing its views on the Occupy Wall Street folks at present. Thus, while walk/jogging to the sounds of Katatonia's Viva Emptiness and Opeth's Blackwater Park as rain and the first gusts of fall winds washed over, I decided to write on this latest bit of theater.

As could be expected, the Left are embracing the protests:

"As labor unions flocked to their side Wednesday for a massive demonstration in New York City, Occupy Wall Street picked up some fresh political capital with prominent Democrats, and they’re not ashamed to say it. 

"Speaking to The National Memo this week, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) made supportive comments. They were joined by Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and fourth-ranking House Democrat John Larson, who issued similar statements of support.

"So too did Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former Democratic governor of New York whose aggressive stance toward the banking sector was a hallmark of his political record. Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), similarly, tossed his hat in with the Occupy Wall Street protesters, saying it will 'make the tea party look like a tea party.'

"And naturally, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the only declared socialist in Congress, has been out in front of the movement since just after it began. His sentiments have also been echoed by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who insisted the protests are 'making a difference.'

And naturally the Right is already warming up to the idea of the protesters as 'economic terrorists' hell bent on keeping the Obama regime in power. The great, right-wing disinformation outfit World Net Daily 'reports':

"Stephen Lerner, a controversial anti-capitalist SEIU organizer, is one of the forces behind the protests on Wall Street and nationwide, according to quotes obtained by a socialist activist who doubles as a Washington Post columnist...

" Lerner came under fire in the conservative blogosphere and digital news in March after he laid out an economic plan some claimed amounts to economic terrorism. 

"In an oped titled 'This can be our moment,' published in the radical In These Times magazine, Lerner calls on followers to 'go on offense' and 'make Wall Street pay for the trillions it stole from us.'

"Lerner outlined his campaign to 'stoke simmering discontent into concrete, concerted direct action to challenge corporate extremism...'

"Lerner's plan had him dubbed an 'economic terrorist' in headlines by writers for American Thinker and a multitude of blogs. TheBlaze.com owner Glenn Beck used the 'economic terrorist' label for Lerner, as well...

"There are other indications a coalition of radicals and unions is planning chaos using the current economic crisis. 

"WND reported that a slew of extremist organizations, some tied to Obama, are preparing protests to coincide with major NATO and G-8 summits in Chicago next May.

"Foreshadowing possible violent confrontations, some of the same radical trainers behind the infamous 1999 Seattle riots against the World Trade Organization have been mobilizing new protest efforts geared toward world summits as well as the current economic crisis."

Inevitably the Right is also trying to link George Soros to the Occupy Wall Street protests

Already the inevitable Tea Party comparisons are being made by no less than the US Vice-President:

"Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that the ongoing 'Occupy Wall Street' demonstration in Manhattan and other cities was similar to the tea party movement.

“''What is the core of that protest, and why is it increasing in terms of the people it’s attracting?' he said at the third annual Washington Ideas Forum at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. 'The core is the bargain has been breached with the American people. The American people do not think the system is fair or on the level.'

“'There’s a lot in common with the tea party,' Biden continued. 'The tea party started why? TARP. They thought it was unfair, we were bailing out the big guys.'

Vice-President Joe Biden

Its lovely of Biden to express empathy with the common man's frustration over banks all the while the administration he serves works tirelessly to prop them up, at the common man's expense no less. Indeed, between the Tea Party and this fledgling movement, Americans should have ample opportunity to impotently vent their frustration with the status qua. Eventually, they may even get the chance to beat one and other senseless in the streets in the name of red and blue team.

Cynical, you say? Well perhaps, and I certainly don't doubt that there are many fine, well meaning Americans participating in the Occupy Wall Street protests. But the same could also be said of the Tea Party movement. Still, do any of my readers seriously doubt that they're being propped up by the Cryptocracy via various corporate-funded NPOs? If not, consider this piece concerning the Tea Party from the New Yorker:

"A Republican campaign consultant who has done research on behalf of Charles and David Koch said of the Tea Party, 'The Koch brothers gave the money that founded it. It’s like they put the seeds in the ground. Then the rainstorm comes, and the frogs come out of the mud—and they’re our candidates!'

"The Republican campaign consultant said of the family’s political activities, 'To call them under the radar is an understatement. They are underground!' Another former Koch adviser said, 'They’re smart. This right-wing, redneck stuff works for them. They see this as a way to get things done without getting dirty themselves.' Rob Stein, a Democratic political strategist who has studied the conservative movement’s finances, said that the Kochs are 'at the epicenter of the anti-Obama movement. But it’s not just about Obama. They would have done the same to Hillary Clinton. They did the same with Bill Clinton. They are out to destroy progressivism.' "

You have to love the contempt shown for the rank and file of the Tea Party by both the writer of this piece as well as the 'Republican campaign consultant.' I can appreciate the bad vibes many who associate themselves with the Left get from the Tea Party movement. Recluse actually attended one himself down here in 2009 shortly after the movement got going to observe the 'populism' first hand. It was a rather nerve racking experience, to say the least. That said, the Daytona area is rather nerve racking in general. I've also happened to known many swell and intelligent individuals that are heavy Tea Party backers. They are of course badly misguided, but the same could be said of most Americans nowadays.

The Koch brothers mentioned in the above New Yorker piece are of course of the billionaire Koch family behind Koch Industries, the largest privately owned company in the US. I suspect that in the coming months similar links will begin to emerge amongst the Occupy Wall Street crowds. But why would wealthy capitalists back an anti-capitalist movement, you may be wondering?

David Koch, a billionaire backer of the 'grassroots' Tea Party

Simple. The front men of the Cryptocracy, be it corporate America, the churches, or the government itself, are quickly losing all credibility amongst the American populace. In such a climate, its inevitable 'fringe' movements will eventually rise up to challenge the Establishment. Thus, the easiest way for the Establishment to regain credibility is to make the alternative seem even more radical than what they're selling. The easiest way to go about this is to take the initiative and fund 'grassroots' movements to challenge the Establishment that remains in control of the purse strings. This is a tactic that the Cryptocracy put to good use during the Vietnam War to discredit the peace movement.

"According to Army intelligence documents later obtained by CBS news, nearly one out of six demonstrators at the Chicago convention was an undercover operative... 

"The use of informants and provocateurs was part of a massive sub rosa campaign to subvert the forces of dissent in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Joining the FBI in this effort was an alphabet soup of federal agencies: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), the intelligence divisions of all the military services, and numerous local police forces. Over a quarter of a million Americans were under 'active surveillance' during this period, and dossiers were kept on the lawful political activities and personal lives of millions more. Those affiliated with black militant, antiwar, and New Left groups were prime targets of dirty tricks and other underhanded tactics designed to stir up factionalism and 'neutralize' political activities."
(Acid Dreams, Martin A. Lee & Bruce Shlain, pg. 224)

the '68 Democratic National Convention

Now, keep in mind conditions are far worse now than they were back then. Need I say more?

Well, I suppose I could point out one more curious aspect of the Occupy Wall Street movement I'm intrigued by: the demonstrations started on September 17th. I've found no evidence that this date specifically was used for an ancient holiday, though it is close to the Autumn Equinox. September 17th does, however, seem to have a curious linkage to the United States.

Our much celebrated Constitution was signed in the heavily Masonic city of Philadelphia on September 17th. Francis Scott Key finished the lyrics to what would become the "Star Spangled Banner" on that date. More sinisterly, the first major battle of the American Civil War, the Battle of Antietam, was fought on September 17th. This was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and the bloodiest day in US history with a tally of some 23,000 causalities. In that case, the appearance of 17 and 23 in association with such a bloody event is certainly ominous when we consider Robert Anton Wilson's 23 enigma, which he originally called the '23/17 phenomenon.' More recently and ironically, the New York Stock Exchange reopened on September 17th, 2001 to resume trading after the September 11th attacks forced its close.

the Battle of Antietam, a most bloody offering indeed

Regular readers of this blog will remember that I am obsessed with the number 17, which has heavy occult significance. Of it, Aleister Crowley writes:

"17. The number of squares in the Swastika, which by shape is Aleph... Hence 17 recalls 1. Also IAV, IAO, the triune Father."
(Gematria, pg. 29)

"17. Useful, because though it symbolises 1, it does so under the form of a thunderbolt. 'Here is a magic disk for me to hurl, and win heaven by force.' says the Aspirant."
(ibid, pg. 43)

The second citation is certainly interesting in regards to the Occupy Wall Street movement, but this is just scratching the surface.

"This number, together with seventy-two, the first being the sum of nine and eight when added, the second of their product when multiplied together, has vast symbolic importance...

"...the Star, the seventeenth arcanum of the Tarot, which is a symbol of change and rebirth and what Dr Allendy explains as 'deliverance from Karma...' Furthermore, according to the Sufi alchemist Gabir ibn Hayyan, the shape (sura) of all things in the world is seventeen. Seventeen stands for the very foundation of the theory of balance and should be regarded as the law of equilibrium in all things...

"The Ancient Greeks regarded seventeen as standing for the number of consonants in the alphabet, successively broken down into nine (the number of mute consonants) and eight (the number of semi-vowels or semi-consonants). These numbers are also closely related to their theory of music and to the harmony of the spheres."
(Dictionary of Symbols, Jean Chevalier & Alain Gheerbrant, pgs. 866-867)

The number 72 also has vast significance in the occult, so its interesting that it is closely linked with 17. However, it is 17's appearance in the Tarot that may give us the most apt explanation of its significance. Of the 17th trump in the Tarot, known as 'the Star', 33rd degree Freemason Manly P. Hall writes:

"The seventeenth numbered trump is called Les Etoiles, the Stars, and portrays a young girl kneeling with one foot in water and the other on land, her body somewhat suggesting the swastika. She has two urns, the contents of which she pours upon the land and sea. Above the girl's head are eight stars, one of which is exceptionally large and bright. Count de Gebelin considers the great star to be Sothis, or Sirius; the other seven are the sacred planets of the ancients. He believes the female figure to be Isis in the act of causing the inundations of the Nile which accompanied the rising of the Dog Star. The unclothed figure of Isis may well signify that Nature does not receive her garments of verdure until the rising of the Nile waters releases the germinal life of plants and flowers.The bush and bird (or butterfly) signify the growth and resurrection which accompany the rising of the waters."
(The Secret Teachings of All Ages, pgs. 421-422)

In other words, seventeen is closely linked with Sirius, of which I've written much more on here and here. But I digress.

Sirius, the Dog Star and patron of 17

In regards to the Occupy Wall Street movement, there is an especially intriguing synch between them and the Arab Spring revolts involving 17. You see, the Arab Spring revolts were triggered by an event that occurred on December 17th, namely the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia. Protests began in Tunisia on the very next day and eventually spread across the Islamic world. Several governments have been toppled as a result. Bouazizi himself would go on to die of his wounds 17 days after the self-immolation that triggered the revolts.

an image of Bouazizi, the martyr that sparked (har har) the Arab Spring revolts

So, in less than a year, a seemingly minor event that occurred on the seventeenth day of a month turned into a full fledged movement. Is it possible that a similar outbreak of protests could occur in the US? And will these be to the benefit of the masses or the Cryptocracy? If the appearance of the number 17 is any indication, then the answer should be self evident.

the final outcome of the 1960s 'New Left'