I can't keep houseplants alive because of the extreme temperature fluctuations from my woodstove, but my lack of houseplants is not the subject of this post. I have a friend, however, who does have houseplants, and those house plants seem to have mites on their leaves -- which have also become sticky. (The first plant I saw with this trouble was a peace plant, but this seems to be true for a spider plant as well.)

So, mites? Something else? And what's with the stickiness?

Wow! Corrente is back!

In case folks haven’t seen it yet, there’s a fantastic new documentary out about Gene Sharp’s work and its implementation:
How to Start a Revolution
The TV cut is being broadcast multiple times on cable (Current TV schedule).

Other links of interest (embedded in tweets):

Gandhi Meets Monty Python: The Comedic Turn In Nonviolent Tactics http://t.co/ShxrfQel #Occupy #OWS

about 2 hours ago via

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Tim Affinis

Erica Chenoweth: how nonviolent resistance movements achieve their goals more often than violent insurgencies http://t.co/5tmZp9sV #OWS

about 2 hours ago via

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Tim Affinis

Susie Cagle: “What tends to be popular among the masses—that beloved 99%—is 1. cute, and 2. funny.” http://t.co/pEXWZAWs #Occupy #OWS #OO

about 1 hour ago via

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Tim Affinis

Rebecca Solnit’s important #ows essay: Thoughts on the Importance of Nonviolence in the Occupy Revolution #occupyCal http://t.co/SA2LH9Km

about 21 hours ago via

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@jaspergregory

Jasper Gregory

By

Nancy Bordier and Joseph M. Firestone

As the Occupy Wall Street movement grows, OWS members are weighing their options for obtaining redress of their grievances.

Holding and expanding the ground they occupy is an obvious priority. It draws worldwide attention to their grievances and increasing numbers. It gives them a place to meet, build relationships, discuss and debate their issues, and plan.

Foiling violent action on the part of the police and anarchists is a constant distraction, but it helps the movement develop rules of engagement for everybody. Civil disobedience and voluntary arrests is another avenue, as is direct action, like preventing the seizure of illegally foreclosed homes.

Seeking redress through the political process is even more problematic. Many OWS members believe it would be a futile exercise to try to get lawmakers who have been corrupted by special interests to pass laws in their favor. Using the ballot box to replace their elected representatives is difficult, if not impossible, now that the U.S. Supreme court has given corporations a green light to spend unlimited amounts of corporate funds to influence elections.

The nation's two major parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are a major stumbling block to non-party candidates trying to win electoral victories over party-backed candidates. The parties' grip on the nation's electoral machinery, and their ability to raise huge amounts of money for their candidates from special interests, gives them decisive advantages over their adversaries at the ballot box.

Efforts to pass laws reforming this corrupt system appear equally futile. Few lawmakers would vote to overturn the laws (governing campaign finance, gerrymandering and elections) that get them elected and enable them to hold on to office.

Despite these obstacles, we think there is a way OWS members can use the political process to redress their grievances. It is by taking advantage of the Internet and a new web-based organizing platform to build winning voting blocs and electoral coalitions that OWS members control.

(This Open Letter to Bernie Sanders was posted on November 20. I’m very glad I can now post it here on my favorite political blog.)

Dear Bernie,

Today, you told the “Democrats stop caving in … ” to the interests of corporations, the tea party, wealthy individuals, and the Republicans in Congress. The only problem with your fiery statement is that you began it by “caving in” to them yourself. You did this by immediately legitimizing their frame of reference by saying:

“Here is something we all can agree on: Federal deficits are a serious problem.”

Correntewire I mean…..

Phalaenopsis elegant 'Polka Dots'

Moth orchid

Polka dot orchids ... hmmmm, I'm not sure if this is an accident or what. Not that it matters. Orchids are the supreme beings of the plant world, imo -- they can do no wrong. Phalaenopsis have the added advantage of being easy to grow, which can't be said for all orchids. There are some fussy ones out there.

The occupiers have been at city hall for several weeks, but now the mayor has officially asked them to leave, by 11pm, Friday night.

Their livestream channel (offline right at the moment) is here (or follow this link to view archived videos).

h/t digby:

FYI via TPM: The Occupy Wall Street tech working group has created a live-updating, crowdsourced map,#OccupyMap, that pulls in Tweets, videos, emails and other reports submitted to the website from those on the ground in Manhattan. To submit your own reports on Twitter, use the hashtag #occupymap and include location information (street intersection).

pretty cool.

RT @heratylaw: news helicopter estimates Foley Sq has 10,000 demonstrators - if not more. @nbcnewyork http://t.co/SvX15AGk #ows #n17

2011-11-17 via SeesmicReplyRetweetFavorite

@Newyorkist

Newyorkist

Consider this an open thread on tonight’s events!

NOTE Thanks to so many Corrente contributors for pitching in while I experience a series of RL issues, some actually good. I am awed and gratified. In a way, it’s good for me to let go a bit!

Headline on ABC News (dated Nov 17, 2011 9:23am):

"Day of Destruction"?!?!?!?
OWS called for a day of "Mass Action".
occupywallst.org specifies "#OWS calls for nonviolent solidarity on November 17th"
The sloppiness and bias that can prevail in the MSM is BREATHTAKING.

Arundhati Roy spoke this week in New York and her remarks are in The Guardian. "We are All Occupiers".

In case you don't think OWS is effective listen to Roy:

Few of us dreamed that we would see you, the people of the United States on our side, trying to do this in the heart of Empire. I don't know how to communicate the enormity of what this means.

I guarantee taking 4 minutes to watch this will improve your day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGRXCgMdz9A

Dalechampia dioscoreifolia

Purple wings, Costa Rican butterfly vine

"All the color of bougainvillea without the mess" ... that's how one garden site described this vine. Like bougainvillea or poinsettia, what looks like a flower (in this case, the purple part) is actually a bract. The real flower is that tiny thing in the center of the "wings" (click on the image to enlarge it).

Happened to notice these things on the Twitter:

BREAKING: Dallas Police Asst Chief saying #Occupy campers will have chance to get property and leave before sweep in next few mins. #OWS

2011-11-17 via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@JasonWhitely

Jason Whitely

Thought that title might get your attention. ha.

Next Monday the Delaware River Basin Commission will vote on whether to allow fracking in that area. The commission is state and federal. The 5 voting members of the commission are the governors of the states involved and a representative sent by the President. This is a crucial vote.

"The Delaware is the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi, flowing freely for 330 miles as it travels from New York state, through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Delaware’s 13,539 square mile watershed is only about four-tenths of one percent of the continental U.S. land area, but it supplies water to five percent of the nation’s population — over 15 million people." (from Help Save the Delaware River)

Buried deep within this Reuters story, a gem:

A couple of dozen protesters took refuge at two Manhattan churches that offered them a place to sleep. Hundreds more were put up by New Yorkers who offered their homes, [OWS spokesman Ed] Needham said.

Looks like Abigail Field's suggestion is coming true:

The only way to regain the power of the protest, to eliminate any shred of pretense for police state action, is to sever occupying and camping.

Obama: Each city must decide how to handle Occupy Wall Street demonstrations

Conscripted labor in the UK, how long before it comes here.

RT @allisonkilkenny: Karl Rove Flips Out At Protesters: ‘Who Gave You The Right To Occupy America?’ http://t.co/ORDeo0sr #OWS

2011-11-16 via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@davidcnswanson

David Swanson

Karl Rove Flips Out At Protesters: ‘Who Gave You The Right To Occupy America?’

I agree with Arthur that it is important to define the terms "violence", "non-violence", "vandalism", "aviolence", etc.. To clarify, though I put myself in the "non-violence is best nearly always with few exceptions" category, I'm not a complete pacifist so don't pull the bullshit "Well what if your wife or child was being killed or raped"* deliberate conversation ender**; certainly there are times when violence may be necessary or superior, not only as a tactic but even morally, to the "non-violent" alternative***. But although that conversation should take place, sadly, Arthur's sophistry-laden "observations" are not the place to start. The first problem is he starts with a somewhat loaded description:

D.C. Council says protesters should get to stay

Members of the D.C. Council say Occupy DC protesters should be free to continue camping out in public parks even as police have begun raiding protester encampments in other cities this week. ...

... "I'm glad Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg is not running the District of Columbia -- we are more sensitive to the important expressions of freedom of speech," said Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham, referring to the New York City raid. "I think as long as we have what a reasonable person would consider an orderly protest, I think it ... should be respected."

We Got the 99%, a hilarious photo blog.