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IAWTC.
Now I didn't come around until day 15, but this dynamic you describe never really went away IMHO. Some of us believe in "do-ocracy" and those people tend to just stop showing up to meetings because A) they're busy, B) empty talk with no action bores the shit out of them.
The flip side is, the talk at the meetings isn't always (or even usually) empty, it's just that there's nothing really discouraging the kind of waste-of-everybody's-time discussion where permission is asked of the group to carry out what can and should be an autonomous action. Sometimes really great ideas and insights have come out of various Occupy meetings, and they take a long time to filter out to the more-action oriented folk because we haven't really done very much about making the meetings themselves productive and action-oriented.
This is where the materials gathering / list making part of AntiShock (#OpRadar) comes into play. Do what you're good at. Especially small things you can do repeatedly.
A few things come to mind:
1. Getting that talk talk talk unspent energy out.
OpRadar analysis: The unspent energy generates noise.
There's a simple way to drain that talking energy and that's starting exercise routes at all the Occupies. To get the lead out you can even tell people you're going to do small protest tours. A few of the guys on we're doing this in the early days.
2. Making Occupy a community friendly space that locals can visit and learn/work with.
OpShield analysis: Consensus takes a long time because all the talk is fluff. Even the stuff about debt (mortgage, student).
Consensus takes forever if much of what goes on is discussing theory, ideology, being nice to every single species. Occupies should take an interest in the local area. They should try to apply ideas they've already discussed. I think a couple of us have already said something similar.
3. Occupy consensus should find most useful actions for getting what the city, county, state, and federal level refuse to provide.
OpPulse analysis: The govt of each level (city, county, state, federal) is not listening.
Govts are either unresponsive (corrupt) or dependent (ideologically stuck on the wrong path). We have to start connecting interested locals and start naming names of officials and what they fail to do. Consensus needs to be relevant otherwise it's just chickens with their heads cut off.
4. Occupy should take the successful projects and start cutting the umbilical cord.
OpShadow: Make the change.
Do the things that you feel comfortable with and do them consistently.