Enter the ‘Sink the Spree’ project demo last week in Berlin, the high-tide point for the anti-gentrification movement so far.Teenagers on inflatable whales, and hipsters in Baywatch-style yellow canoes blockaded tourist boats and the investor’s ship for hours on end. Meanwhile, on the river’s bank, a crowd of several-hundred chucked water bombs at police boats, guzzled beer and flirted. The demonstration’s soundtrack was provided by a group of teh gays pumping Chicks on Speed from their raft.

This Berlin-style protest was the anti-gentrification demo down on the river the other day. And it seems remarkably driven by the sort of hipster ethic prevalent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Or is it Williamsburg that’s become more like Berlin? Have we entered a world with universal cultural lifestyle brands? Read More!