The nineteenth edition of The Occupied Times comes out this Monday, with a fresh new layout and design. This issue features two key themes.
One full spread focuses on the institutional flaws in intellectual property, providing criticism of the restrictive ways in which it is leveraged and exposing methodologies for building towards a digital commons. We have pieces by practitioners in the digital commons and comment from academics in the field. Our cover by OT illustrator Alex Charnley complements this theme.
Also highlighted this month is a movement which has recently began gathering strength across parts of Europe and the US; a coalescence around debt resistance, the illegitimacy of debt and how to utilise the power held by ‘the indebted’. This spread features a collection of infographics and investigates the beginnings of the Strike Debt movement and its context here in the UK.
Our international coverage pulls in a variety of emergent situations. We have a piece from Yiannis Baboulias about the rise of Golden Dawn in Greece and its worrying connection with big business. With Israel and Palestine in the news again recently, we feature a piece dispelling myths propagated by the Israeli PR machine. Our Great Debate feature is revived as we hear different views on the ‘Boycott Israel’ campaign. We also cover aggressive moves being made against the Zapatista movement in Mexico, and the response of the community there.
You’ll see a strong environmental spread this issue, covering both local and international topics. The powerful response of the Occupy movement to Hurricane Sandy is explored, alongside the capacity for mutual aid to empower communities. Closer to home, a re-emerging anti-road building campaign harks back to the movement of the early 90s.
Regular contributor Reverend Nemu and another ‘Tale from the Grind’ can be found in the back pages of the paper, juxtaposed by a rank display of sentimentality in the form of a Christmas-tinged lulz page. A subverted Christmas carol and our special greeting from Santa will make an excellent substitute if you can’t find any wrapping paper on Christmas Eve.
Copies of OT19 will be distributed at events and within communities throughout December and early January. You can also find a copy on the shelves of independent businesses across the capital, including Housmans, Black Gull Books, Ray’s Jazz Cafe, Banner Repeater, 56a, The Cockpit and the London Review Bookshop. The full list of stockists can be found on the OT Stockists Map on our website.
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