The aim of #OCCUPYWALLSTREET is to draw protesters to New York's financial district in a non-violent protest to spark a mass movement against corporate dominance. While the corporate media ignores the protest, Reader Supported News will continue to report on the latest developments.
A demonstrator holds a sign during an Occupy Wall Street protest in lower Manhattan. The protests moved into their third week on Monday. (photo: Reuters)
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Occupy Worldwide
4 November - 11 November
This page is an archive. Future OWS updates will go on the new page.
Boston Judge Temporarily Blocks Occupy Removal
16 November 11
BOSTON—A Boston judge on Wednesday ordered the city not to remove Occupy Boston protesters or their tents from their encampment in the city's financial district without court approval, except in an emergency.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre granted the temporary restraining order sought by Occupy Boston after a lengthy court hearing. The protesters filed a lawsuit against the city Tuesday, saying they were concerned they could be forced out in the middle of the night as Occupy protesters in New York City were this week.
Trumka: Organized Labor Will Continue Standing With Evicted Protesters
15 November 11
An interesting move here from AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka, who is going out with an email to his list today strongly standing by the protesters who were evicted from Zuccotti Park:
100 March on NYPD 1st Precinct to Demand Dignity; Women in Custody Being Harassed, Police Protocols In Question
16 November 11
Message from Protestors to NYPD: If you SEE something, a fellow officer violating protocol, SAY something. Over 100 people, mostly women, marched from Liberty Square to NYPD’s 1st Precinct HQ at 11pm Tuesday night to demand that all women in custody be treated with respect and dignity by the police. The march was organized after our sisters in custody made various complaints of male officers patrolling the women’s cells, unannounced. We were told that male members of the NYPD were specifically making unannounced patrols by the women’s cells, and by the shared women’s toilet (in plain view of all women and officers)--which is a common tactic used to humiliate those in custody.
Police Being Sued for Violent Crackdown on Occupy Oakland
15 November 11
The National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed suit on Monday against the Oakland Police Department, and any local agencies assisting them, for its widespread use of excessive force against Occupy Oakland protesters on October 25 and during the night of November 2.
Occupy Movement: City-By-City Police Crackdowns So Far
16 November 11
Police raids have begun sweeping Occupy camps across the country. See what happened and how protesters are reacting
Seattle City Council Backs Occupy Seattle
16 November 11
In a lengthy resolution that borrows language from the Declaration of Independence — it has 14 “Whereas” clauses — the Seattle City Council on Monday gave its blessing to the Occupy Seattle protest.
The resolution, which passed on a 9-0 vote, was sponsored by activist Council members Nick Licata and Mike O’Brien.
The Council “recognizes the peaceful and lawful exercise of First Amendment rights by Occupy Seattle and others,” said the resolution, which goes on to demand multiple cures to the nation’s social ills.
“Our resolution does not endorse any group or movement,” Councilman Tim Burgess said in an interview.
But the Seattle City Council wants action by legislative bodies in Washington, D.C. and Olympia. “The structural causes of the economic crisis facing our society require decisive and sustained action at the national and state levels,” declared the resolution.
The sweeping resolution covers everything from a review of Seattle’s banking and investment practices, to a demand that Bush-era cuts in federal income taxes be allowed to expire.
Brian Eno and Laurie Anderson at Occupy Wall Street
15 November 11
After Violent UC Berkeley Crackdown, Faculty and Students Call Out Administration, Plan Schoolwide Strike
15 November 11
University of California—Berkeley students stand in front of a line of police officers on Wednesday afternoon, arms locked or slung around each other. Moments before—in less sensational video footage—they chanted, “PEACE-FUL PRO-TEST.” When the officers advance and begin snapping their batons at students’ torsos, the chants give way to screams and a cry of “Stop beating students!” One student is knocked over by the blows; as his friends rally to help him up, the baton strikes continue.
It’s clear there was no physical provocation for the assaults: Students were trying to prevent police from taking down a fledgling Occupy Cal encampment.
Karl Rove Flips Out at Protesters
16 November 11
Last night, former Bush official Karl Rove appeared at Johns Hopkins University to speak as a part of the annual Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium. Rove soon discovered that he wasn't going to deliver his right-wing rhetoric unopposed, as a cry of "Mic Check!" rang out among the audience.
"Karl Rove is the architect of Occupy Iraq, the architect of Occupy Afghanistan!" yelled the demonstrators. Occupy Baltimore had infiltrated the crowd and began chanting against Rove. "Who gave you the right to occupy America?" asked Rove to the protesters, apparently unaware of the Bill of Rights. As they repeated their slogan, "We are the 99 percent!" Rove petulantly responded, "No you're not!" He snidely added, "You wanna keep jumping up and yelling that you're the 99 percent? How presumptuous and arrogant can you think are!"
About 15 protesters were asked to leave and some were forcibly removed. No one was arrested.
84-Year-Old Woman Now the Pepper-Sprayed Face of Occupy Seattle
16 November 11
Seattle photographer Joshua Trujillo captured what may become the defining image of this week of Occupy unrest - an elderly woman being led away from the mayhem, her face covered with pepper spray. A pregnant woman and a priest were also hit with pepper spray during a march on Tuesday night. You can see more photos of the confrontation at SeattlePI.com. (More photos here as well.)
The Seattle branch of the Occupy movement, which has been camped out near Seattle Central Community College, held the march in support of the New York camp, which faced a day long eviction battle with the city yesterday. On Monday, Occupy Oakland was the scene of another attempt by police to drive campers out of a city park. There were reports that both Occupy San Francisco and Occupy Cal (on the Berkeley campus of the University of California) are being raided on Wednesday morning. The week of police crackdown comes amid reports that the federal government and is coordinating with multiple on legal strategies that can shut down the Occupy protests.
What Occupy Wall Street Has Taught Me
16 November 11
ave you seen Hard Times: Lost on Long Island? The film won the Audience Award/Best Documentary at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October. The documentary follows a group of unemployed men and women, ranging in age from their late thirties into their sixties, who are looking for work while living in certain middle class suburbs on Long Island. I had not seen the film during the festival itself, but when I screened it the other day, I realized the true meaning, for me, of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Hard Times is a disturbing film that puts a face to the unemployment crisis in America in a rather effective way. At times, talk radio broadcasts play over footage of the principals as they trundle off to another day of staring down their own obsolescence. Over the airwaves, voices of people like Rush Limbaugh can be heard exhorting his listeners about the evil of unemployment benefits and how such programs only encourage procrastination and sloth.
In America today, we are told that unemployment now hovers at around nine percent, while other sources insist that those statistics are underreported and are closer to 12.5 percent. At nine percent, we are confronted with a situation where one in eleven working Americans is without an income. At 12.5 percent, we are talking about one in eight.
OWS Protesters Calling for 'Day of Action' Following Loss of Camp in Zuccotti Park
16 November 11
The loss of their camp at Zuccotti Park doesn't seem to be slowing down the Occupy Wall Street movement as protesters are calling for "a national day of direct action" on Thursday. According to their website, protesters are planning three major actions Thursday starting with a "shut down" of Wall Street. It all starts with a rally in Liberty Square starting at 7 a.m. to "put an end to Wall Street's reign of terror."
Inside Occupy Wall Street's (Kinda) Secret Media HQ
16 November 11
With the move from a free tent to a $400-a-month brick-and-mortar home, the global revolution is being broadcast from a narrow room on the second floor of a rundown building, filled with cobbled-together gear and a hint of body odor. The operation runs a global livestreaming video campaign, where activists monitor hundreds of livestream feeds, culling the best to feature on the semi-official Occupy online video hub called globalrevolution.tv.
"It's really important that it's decentralized so people can tell their own stories," said Spike. "We get to report these stories before any mainstream media do. We break the news, and they pick it up." In fact, on Tuesday they broadcast from inside the besieged park until the moment that police hauled the livestreaming video team off to jail.
Long before Tuesday's raid, the move had the benefit of getting the videographers away from the crowds at Zuccotti Park.
Los Angeles Occupy Encampment Still Stands
16 November 11
Early on, the City Council of Los Angeles issued a resolution supporting the Occupiers. Several city council members, including City Council President Eric Garcetti, visited the encampment. Although there have been rumors of an ejectment of the Occupiers, so far it hasn't happened. In the eyes of many, this is a good thing.
Dems Criticize Eviction of Occupy Protesters
15 November 11
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to evict Occupy Wall Street protesters from a Lower Manhattan park is a blow to free speech, several House Democrats said.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, warned that in preventing protesters from camping out in Zuccotti Park, the city has "effectively removed [the protesters'] ability to be there 24/7."
Why Being Evicted Was the Best Thing to Happen to OWS in Weeks
15 November 11
Today looked disastrous for OWS, which is now in its second month as a global movement against income inequality. But it was actually the best one in a long time for the occupiers.
Hijacking the First Amendment
16 November 11
A funny thing happened to the First Amendment on its way to the public forum. According to the Supreme Court, money is now speech and corporations are now people. But when real people without money assemble to express their dissatisfaction with the political consequences of this, they're treated as public nuisances and evicted.
First things first. The Supreme Court's rulings that money is speech and corporations are people have now opened the floodgates to unlimited (and often secret) political contributions from millionaires and billionaires. Consider the Koch brothers (worth $25 billion each), who are bankrolling the Tea Party and already running millions of dollars worth of ads against Democrats.
Such millionaires and billionaires aren't contributing their money out of sheer love of country. They have a more self-interested motive. Their political spending is analogous to their other investments. Mostly they want low tax rates and friendly regulations.
Occupy Crackdowns Coordinated With Federal Law Enforcement Officials
16 November 11
Over the past ten days, more than a dozen cities have moved to evict "Occupy" protesters from city parks and other public spaces. As was the case in last night's move in New York City, each of the police actions shares a number of characteristics. And according to one Justice official, each of those actions was coordinated with help from Homeland Security, the FBI and other federal police agencies.
The official, who spoke on background to me late Monday evening, said that while local police agencies had received tactical and planning advice from national agencies, the ultimate decision on how each jurisdiction handles the Occupy protests ultimately rests with local law enforcement.
According to this official, in several recent conference calls and briefings, local police agencies were advised to seek a legal reason to evict residents of tent cities, focusing on zoning laws and existing curfew rules. Agencies were also advised to demonstrate a massive show of police force, including large numbers in riot gear. In particular, the FBI reportedly advised on press relations, with one presentation suggesting that any moves to evict protesters be coordinated for a time when the press was the least likely to be present.
A Militarized Force Takes to Zuccotti for the Economic Elite
15 November 11
Your right to peaceably assemble for the redress of grievances, and how you may do it, and what you may say, will be defined by the police power of the state, backed by its political establishment and the business elite. They will define "acceptable" forms of public protest, even (and especially) public protest against them. This is the way it is now. This is the way it has been for some time. It's just that people didn't notice. And that was the problem with the Occupy protests.
Journalists Detained in Occupy Wall Street Raid
15 November 11
Journalists at the overnight raid of Occupy Wall Street's New York encampment were kept at a distance from covering it Tuesday, and several were arrested, handcuffed and hauled onto police buses along with hundreds of protesters.
At least half a dozen journalists were among those arrested in and around Zuccotti Park and at other protest sites in downtown Manhattan, according to demonstrators and other journalists who photographed and filmed their peers being taken into custody.
Judge Upholds Eviction of New York 'Occupy' Camp
15 November 11
A New York judge has upheld the city's dismantling of the Occupy Wall Street encampment, saying that the protesters' First Amendment rights don't entitle them to camp out indefinitely in the plaza.
Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman on Tuesday denied a motion by the demonstrators seeking to be allowed back into the park with their tents and sleeping bags. (Read his ruling here.)
Protesters filled Zuccotti Park after they were allowed back in about 5:30 p.m. EST, but without camping gear.
From Occupy Wall Street Web Site:
URGENT: EVERYONE TO LIBERTY SQUARE! NOW! WE ARE RE-OCCUPYING!
15 November 11
Liberty Square is our home. The 1% stole the homes of thousands, but they will not steal Liberty Square! Reoccupation begins NOW!
If you're in the NYC area: join the thousands gathering to defend our home, our movement, and our rights! Come to Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) now!
If you're elsewhere: blast this call with every form of media the 99% can muster!
From Occupy Wall Street Web Site:
NYPD Occupying Liberty Square; Demands Unclear
15 November 11
The NYPD have been occupying Liberty Square since 1:00am Tuesday morning, with the brand new occupation now set to enter its second day in just a few short hours. But will anyone listen to them when their message is so incoherent?
"What are their demands?" asked social historian Patrick Bruner. "They have not articulated any platform. How do they expect to be taken seriously?"
Critics of the new occupation allege that meddling billionaire Michael Bloomberg is behind the movement. Others question the new occupiers' militant posture, concerned about the potential effects on the neighborhood.
FOCUS: This Is What Revolution Looks Like
15 November 11
Welcome to the revolution. Our elites have exposed their hand. They have nothing to offer. They can destroy but they cannot build.
They can repress but they cannot lead. They can steal but they cannot share. They can talk but they cannot speak.
Occupy Wall Street, Angry Over Eviction, Occupies a New Corner
15 November 11
Hundreds more protesters, many carrying American flags, then marched to Canal and 6th, where they quickly settled into another park. People stood on walls, and some had temporary structures set up with signs reading "Liberate, Occupy." "We are unstoppable; another world is possible!" some chanted.
Garrett Perkins, 29, was among the protesters. He came to New York from Chugiak, Alaska, three weeks ago, and had managed to get out of Zuccotti Park with his tent and bags strapped to him. Perkins said that, as soon as he saw police converging on the park overnight, he packed his belongings and strapped them to his body to ensure they weren't seized.
Protesters Vow to Retake Emptied Park
15 November 11
Some of the displaced protesters regrouped a few blocks away at Foley Square, with the row of courthouses on Centre Street as a backdrop, and swapped stories of their confrontations with the police as they talked about what to do next.
One protester, Nate Barchus, 23, said the eviction from Zuccotti Park was likely to galvanize supporters, particularly because a series of gatherings had already been planned for Thursday, the protest's two-month anniversary. "This," he said, referring to the early morning sweep, "reminds everyone who was occupying exactly why they were occupying."
"Hero" Cops Arrest NYC Council Member at 'Occupy' Raid
15 November 11
New York City council member Jumaane Williams tweets that his colleague on the dais, Ydanis Rodriguez, "was hit and arrested" during tonight's raid at the Occupy Wall Street site. Let the record show that NYPD did not discriminate in its evacuation proceedings!
READ MOREReporters Say Police Denied Access to Protest Site
15 November 11
Some members of the media said they were shoved by the police. As the police approached the park they did not distinguish between protesters and members of the press, said Lindsey Christ, a reporter for NY1, a local cable news channel. "Those 20 minutes were some of the scariest of my life," she said.
Ms. Christ said that police officers took a New York Post reporter standing near her and "threw him in a choke-hold."
US Mayors Crack Down on Occupy Wall Street
15 November 11
Police and the park's owners told protesters at 1 a.m. local time that they could return to the park after city workers cleared it of their belongings, without the tents, tarps and sleeping bags they had used to establish a continuing presence. The action followed moves that shut camps in Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon.
Media Blackout on Mayor Bloomberg's Raid on Zuccotti Park
15 November 11
When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to stage a middle of the night raid on the Occupy Wall Street protesters in Zuccotti Park, there was one thing he didn't want ... media coverage. So Bloomberg said screw the First Amendment:
New York Observer Politics Reporter Hunter Walker:
I was blocked from viewing nypd raid at #occupywallstreet along with reporters from cnbc, nbc, cbs, wsj and reuters #mediablackout
Occupy disrupts Chamber luncheon
14 November 11
Occupy Wall Street protesters disrupted a U.S. Chamber of Commerce luncheon featuring the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield.
The interruption at the Chamber’s office in D.C. was caught on C-SPAN, which was broadcasting Scott Serota’s speech about the future of the healthcare insurance industry.
Cleveland: A Small Victory for OWS; A Big One for a Single Mother
14 November 11
In Cleveland, a single mother with two small children was facing foreclosure and eviction. Nothing new there; happens all the time. But this time, Occupy Cleveland heard about it.
Some of them went to her house and pitched a few tents in the dead of night. They brought in legal counsel, who went to a local magistrate. Just a day before the Sheriff was scheduled to evict her and her family, the magistrate issued a 30 day stay on the foreclosure.
Court Order Allows Occupy Wall St. Protesters Back
15 November 11
Hundreds of police officers in riot gear raided Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, evicting dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters from what has become the epicenter of the worldwide movement protesting corporate greed and economic inequality.
Hours later, the National Lawyers Guild obtained a court order allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters to return with tents to the park. The guild said the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on Occupy Wall Street protesters.
OWS: Tear-Gassing of Kitchen, Violent Arrests, Pepper Spray
15 November 11
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Oakland Mayor's Top Legal Adviser Resigns Over Raid
15 November 11
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser, a longtime friend, resigned Monday after what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.
Dan Siegel was one of two aides to defect from Quan's administration Monday. Deputy Mayor Sharon Cornu also quit but said her resignation had nothing to do with the police sweep.
Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics, said the city should have done more to work with campers before sending in police
Fear: American Style
14 November 11
Several Fridays ago, I attended an excellent panel discussion on Occupy Wall Street sponsored by Jacobin Magazine. It featured Doug Henwood and Jodi Dean - representing a more state - centered, socialist - style left - and Malcolm Harris and Natasha Lennard, representing a more anarchist - inflected left.
Natasha Lennard is a freelance writer who's been covering the OWS story for the New York Times. After a video of the panel was brought to the Times' attention, the paper reviewed it as well as Lennard's reporting and decided to take her off the OWS beat.
Occupy Portland Protesters Push Back After Camp Closures
14 November 11
Several hundred protesters, some wearing goggles and gas masks, marched past authorities downtown Sunday, hours after riot police forced Occupy Portland demonstrators out of two encampments in parks.
Police moved in shortly before noon and drove protesters into the street after dozens remained in the camps in defiance of city officials. Mayor Sam Adams had ordered that the camps be shut down Saturday at midnight, citing unhealthy conditions and the increasing number of drug users and thieves.
Former US Marine and anti-war activist Scott Olsen, recovering from head injuries sustained from being
struck in the head by a police tear-gas canister in Oakland, California, 10/25/11. (photo: Scott Olsen)
A Message From Scott Olsen
14 November 11
"I'm feeling a lot better, with a long road in front of me. After my freedom of speech was quite literally taken from me ..."
BREAKING: Police Raid of Occupy Oakland in Progress
14 November 11
Law-enforcement officers from numerous Bay Area agencies began arriving in force at 5 a.m. as a police helicopter flew overhead. Clad in armor and riot helmets, they stood in lines and surrounded the camp near the corner of 14th Street and Broadway adjacent to Frank Ogawa Plaza, where dozens of demonstrators have been camping to protest economic inequity and corporate greed.
UC Looking to Avoid 2nd Clash with Protesters
13 November 11
Mocked and criticized, UC Berkeley administrators are softening their defense of the violent response by campus police against protesters, and say they hope to avoid similar aggression this week at a planned student walkout.
At the same time, campus police say they are investigating their response and considering whether pepper spray and tear gas might be used in future protests.
"We're extremely disturbed by the images on the video and will work very hard to not repeat the violence on Tuesday," said Claire Holmes, associate vice chancellor of public affairs, who sits on the school's crisis management team formed last year to improve their handling of protests.
The New Progressive Movement
13 November 11
Occupy Wall Street and its allied movements around the country are more than a walk in the park. They are most likely the start of a new era in America. Historians have noted that American politics moves in long swings.
We are at the end of the 30-year Reagan era, a period that has culminated in soaring income for the top 1 percent and crushing unemployment or income stagnation for much of the rest. The overarching challenge of the coming years is to restore prosperity and power for the 99 percent.
Labor Unions, Occupy Wall Street Plan 'Day of Action'
13 November 11
Unions and Occupy Wall Street protesters will be joining forces next week for a "day of action" to pressure lawmakers on jobs.
The AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union and the Laborers' International Union of North America will partner with Occupy Wall Street for "We are the 99 percent" rallies on Thursday. Liberal groups like MoveOn.org and the American Dream Movement plan to participate.
Many of the events, union officials said, will be focused on urging lawmakers to pass more federal funding for infrastructure.
Occupy Portland in Tense Standoff With Police
13 November 11
Occupy Portland protesters are locked in a tense standoff with police vowing to evict them. Crowd size estimates vary widely, but the reluctance of police who are on scene to move in and conduct the raid give credence to the larger crowd size estimates, some ranging as high as two to five thousand.
Elsewhere arrests did take place at Occupy Encampments across America:
24 Arrested @ Occupy Albany, New York
19 Arrested @ Occupy Salt Lake City, Utah
17 Arrested @ Occupy Denver, Colorado
Occupy Mandate: Oust the Bums!
12 November 11
Fighting for our Democracy comes in many forms, and on the day when the US pays homage to veterans who fought in "wars," I would be remiss if I did not honor the "civil war" efforts of the current Occupy movement. It is magnificent in its fervor and its peaceful work to defend our freedoms. That it's happening at all is a miracle of modern technology and communication and vigorous youth.
And it's growing ... fast.
And it's painful to watch, or to take the hits, as hateful, armed police jam their batons into the protesters' guts.
Oakland Mayor Leaves Decision to Raid Camp in Police Hands
12 November 11
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Oakland, California Mayor Jean Quan has left the decision of, whether or not to launch a raid to clear the Occupy Oakland encampment, to Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan. Quoting the Chronicle:
"According to sources, Quan went into the meeting asking for more time for negotiations with Occupy Oakland, suggesting that its camp be transplanted to nearby Jefferson Park while an unidentified benefactor tries to line up an empty building for the movement. "Time, however, is not something that other officials and public safety workers believe the city can spare. And when the meeting ended, Quan agreed to a police sweep if and when Jordan finds one necessary.
"'As soon as we can get the mutual aid set up, we are going to go,'" said one official, who like others we talked to spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the eviction planning."
Occupy St. Louis Protesters Return to Park Despite Friday's Arrests
12 November 11
Several Occupy St. Louis protesters returned Saturday to a downtown park where they've been camping for weeks, hours after police arrested about two dozen of them for disobeying an order to leave.
The protesters had returned to Kiener Plaza by 6 a.m. Saturday, and they obeyed a police request to take down a tent, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Police arrested about two dozen people just after midnight Friday after US District Judge Carol Jackson declined the protesters' request for a temporary injunction allowing them to remain in the park at least through the weekend. She scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to consider whether the protesters should be allowed to move to a different area of the park.
Mayor, Police Prepare Second Raid on Occupy Oakland
12 November 11
After an intense day of behind-closed-door meetings Friday, Oakland officials are moving forward with plans to evict Occupy Oakland from Frank Ogawa Plaza.
The eviction, which has the blessing of a majority of the City Council and the reluctant concurrence of Mayor Jean Quan, is likely to come sooner rather than later.
That's the word we're getting from several officials who were in on the meetings Friday, trying to find a way out of the mess surrounding the month-old encampment outside City Hall.
At Occupy Camps, Veterans Bring the Wars Home
12 November 11
We're in a coffee shop near McPherson Square, the location of Occupy DC, and Michael Patterson, 21, and I are having hot cocoa on a cold November night. He's wearing an Iraq Veterans Against the War sweatshirt and baggy shorts. It's freezing outside. "I'm from Alaska," he offers as an explanation. He's been sleeping in a tent in D.C. for over a month now. I've traveled to five Occupations in two countries. In every demonstration (including the one in Canada) I've found a vet to talk to:
In Zuccotti Park, Army Specialist Jerry Bordeleau, 24, was sitting next to a table of IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) literature. On his sweater were two buttons: an Iraq Campaign metal and one from the IWW. He served two tours in Iraq and now says he's unemployed and can't find work for over $10 an hour. And he can't live on $10 an hour. When I asked him why he's at Occupy Wall Street he says, "I went and fought for capitalism and that's why I'm now a Marxist."
At Occupy Baltimore, I met 21-year-old Justin Carson, who tells me he served in the Army National Guard in Iraq from 2009 until this February. His nickname is Crazy Craze. He says he has PTSD and is bipolar but won't "do pharmaceuticals." Then he told me I should look into the Illuminati since I'm writing an article.
Michele Bachmann Gets a, MIC CHECK!
11 November 11
Michele Bachmann was forced off the stage at a speech in South Carolina Thursday after a group of Occupy Charleston protesters swarmed the event and began shouting down the congresswoman.
The protest occurred as Bachmann was delivering a foreign policy speech aboard the USS Yorktown in Charleston.
"This will only take a minute," the two dozen protesters shouted, using the "human microphone" technique that has become a symbol of the Occupy Wall Street protests. "You capitalize on dividing Americans ... claiming people that disagree with you… are unpatriotic socialists ... and you promote discrimination."
Walking Wall Street
11 November 11
Certain times require a spark: not merely to ignite action but to foster some sense of historical understanding. This is one of those moments and Occupy Wall Street struck the match. Frustrated over the seemingly intractable character of the financial crisis that began in 2007, and the inability of established political organizations to do anything about it, American activists and anarchists of a new stripe took up a suggestion from the Canadian magazine Adbusters to occupy the center of New York's financial district and the heart of global capitalism. These activists were not part of some half-crazed mob of fanatics as suggested by Newt Gingrich, Eric Cantor, Bill O'Reilly and other luminaries of the Tea Party and Fox News. Occupy Wall Street was inspired by the Arab Spring, but even more by the street protests in Greece, Italy, and other nations teetering on the brink of financial insolvency. Everywhere the insatiable greed and arrogant irresponsibility of banks "too big to fail" and their lavishly paid CEO's had generated the kind of economic inequality that was virtually unimaginable a generation ago. So it was that the bold actions of those who flocked to tiny Zuccotti Park in Manhattan on September 17, 2011, produced a chain reaction of other occupations in major cities throughout the United States and nearly one thousand cities worldwide - undoubtedly with more to follow.
FOCUS: Legality of Police Violence at Berkeley Questioned
11 November 11
A debate over the use of police force has reignited at the UC Berkeley campus after videos surfaced showing officers repeatedly shoving and jabbing screaming students who tried to keep officers from dismantling a nascent Occupy encampment.
The videos taken by protesters, journalists and casual observers show UC Berkeley police and Alameda County sheriff's deputies in riot gear ordering students with linked arms to leave a grassy area outside the campus administration building Wednesday. When the students didn't move, police lowered their face shields and began hitting the protesters with batons.
University police say the students, who chanted "You're beating students" during the incident, were not innocent bystanders, and that the human fence they tried to build around seven tents amounted to a violent stance against police.
Veterans March Planned Friday in Support of Wounded Occupy Protesters
11 November 11
Outrage erupted among a group of veterans at the Occupy Wall Street protest last week after Iraq War veteran Kayvan Sabeghi said police clubbed him during a Nov. 3 standoff between officers and supporters of Occupy Oakland. On Friday, fellow former service members plan to march in Oakland to denounce police brutality that they say was the cause of Sabeghi's ruptured spleen and the injury suffered by another Iraq War veteran and Occupy Oakland protester, Scott Olsen, who witnesses said was hit by a police projectile on Oct. 25.
"No one should be treated like that whether they're a veteran or not," said Michael Thurman, who helped spearhead Friday's march, which leaves from Frank Ogawa Plaza at 4 p.m.
Veterans Day Concert and Rally for the 99% Foley Square 1pm
11 November 11
When: Friday, 11/11/11, 1 PM
Where: Foley Square, New York City
Who: Sergent Shamar Thomas, Joan Baez, Ryan Harvey, Max Rameau from Take Back the Land, a speaker from OWS Direct Action, and a speaker from the Iraq Veterans Against The War. Other amazing artists and speakers to be announced soon. Stay Tuned.
Veteran Shoots Self at Vt. Encampment
11 November 11
Police said preliminary investigations show a 35-year-old military veteran fatally shot himself in the head Thursday at an Occupy Wall Street encampment in Vermont's largest city.
In a statement issued late Thursday, Occupy Burlington said, "We mourn the loss of a great friend tonight, while discovering an ever-deeper resolve to stand with our most vulnerable citizens."
On the March With Occupy Wall Street
11 November 11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Wd9JEgv4s
Finally, a Judge Stands Up to Wall Street
10 November 11
Federal judge Jed Rakoff, a former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's office here in New York, is fast becoming a sort of legal hero of our time. He showed that again yesterday when he shat all over the SEC's latest dirty settlement with serial fraud offender Citigroup, refusing to let the captured regulatory agency sweep yet another case of high-level criminal malfeasance under the rug.
The SEC had brought an action against Citigroup for misleading investors about the way a certain package of mortgage-backed assets had been chosen. The case is very similar to the notorious Abacus case involving Goldman Sachs, in which Goldman allowed short-selling billionaire John Paulson (who was betting against the package) to pick the assets, then told a pair of European banks that the "designed to fail" package they were buying had been put together independently.
This case was similar, but worse. Here, Citi similarly told investors a package of mortgages had been chosen independently, when in fact Citi itself had chosen the stuff and was betting against the whole pile.
Experts Question Shooting of Occupy Oakland Filmer
10 November 11
The Oakland Police Department also has been criticized for wounding an Iraq War veteran during an Oct. 25 skirmish. City spokeswoman Karen Boyd said Tuesday that anyone who thinks they witnessed improper police conduct is encouraged to make a report with the police department's Internal Affairs division or Oakland's Civilian Police Review Board.
University of South Carolina criminal justice professor Geoffrey Alpert said that unless something occurred off-camera to provoke the officer, the shooting was "one of the most outrageous uses of a firearm" he'd ever seen.
In Test of Willpower, 'Occupy' Movement Prepares for Winter
10 November 11
Occupy Wall Street is intent on surviving the winter months, the stubborn encampments sprinkled throughout America having become a symbol of the constant need to push back against the powerful corporations dominating a broken politics in Washington.
But social movements in the United States have rarely expressed themselves in sustained public occupations quite like this, which makes the next few months critical -- and tough to predict.
"Political encampments are not so common," said Todd Gitlin, a professor at Columbia University and leader of Students for a Democratic Society in the 1960s. "The master stroke was in conceiving that the occupation, without any clear trajectory, was a big symbolic phenomenon. A kind of homesteading."
Logistical preparations have been ongoing for weeks, and are ramping up now that the season's first snow has blanketed the Northeast. In some cases, activists are finding local law enforcement and public workers happy to lend a hand.
'Our Valley Forge Moment': Engineers Seek to Keep Occupy Protesters Warm
10 November 11
The fear began to spread: Is Occupy on its last legs? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed skeptical of the movement's resolve; asked how long he believed it would last, he replied: "I think part of it probably has to do with the weather." The New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg worried that winter would "pare the numbers in the camps," leaving just the hardline radicals, who he feared, might opt for "more provocative, less mellow forms of civil disobedience" and "mess up the message." Occupiers began to call it their "Valley Forge moment." Could they, like George Washington's Continental Army, survive a Northeast winter?
Enter the geeks. At Occupy Boston, a short walk away from the site of the (actual) Tea Party, a ragtag group of revolutionary biologists, engineers, and architects from MIT, Harvard, and beyond are fighting to keep the movement alive and warm.
Occupy Movement Debates How to Police its Fringe
09 November 11
How can a movement that claims to speak for everyone turn anyone away? Occupy Wall Street is struggling with how to police unwelcome elements as sex arrests, hate speech and activists pushing causes from the Chinese Communist Party to gas drilling threaten to muddle its message.
The fires and shattered windows at protests in Oakland, Calif., a sex assault arrest in New York's Zuccotti Park and complaints of drug use elsewhere have drawn blanket statements from demonstrators against violence and unsafe behavior.
UC Berkeley Police Beat Students in Sproul Plaza
10 November 11
The unarmed 'Occupy Cal' protesters were ousted from their encampment late Wednesday, but regrouped for a mass rally and sit-in.
In iconic Sproul Plaza, many hundreds or perhaps thousands of UC Berkeley students and Occupy Oakland activists clashed with university police late into the night Wednesday, after officers carried out instructions from administrators to clear Occupy Cal protesters from their makeshift encampment. "We formed a human barricade around our tents, and they just beat their way through it with batons," said one student. "It really, really hurt - I got the wind knocked out of me," another protester, doctoral student Shane Boyle, told the San Francisco Chronicle, showing the reporter a red welt on his chest. "I was lucky I only got hit twice," he added.
"After warning protesters that camping at the university is illegal, officers moved in and shoved demonstrators out of the way as they pushed toward the camp," the Contra Costa Times reported. "Six UC Berkeley students and an associate professor were arrested; charges included resisting officers and failing to disperse." The police succeeded in clearing away tents, but protesters refused to leave the plaza, insisting that they'd camp there with or without equipment. Protesters with smartphones took turns webcasting video from the scene, and ultimately voted around 1 am to approve a University of California-wide general strike to be held Tuesday of next week.
Occupy America
10 November 11
Beginning with Occupy Wall Street in September 2011, a protest movement spread across the United States to 70 major cities and hundreds of other communities. Similar actions emerged in scores of other nations.
For the first two weeks, the corporate-owned mainstream media along with NPR did what they usually do with progressive protests: they ignored them. These were the same media that had given the Tea Party supporters saturation coverage for weeks on end, ordaining them "a major political force."
The most common and effective mode of news repression is omission. By saying nothing or next to nothing about dissenting events, movements, candidates, or incidents, the media consign them to oblivion. When the Occupy movement spread across the country and could no longer be ignored, the media moved to the second manipulative method: trivialization and marginalization.
Occupy Wall Street Airs TV Ads
10 November 11
Not content with how the movement has been covered in the mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street supporters are now buying TV ads to get their message out.
The first ad, which aired this weekend on Fox News, CBS Sports, ESPN, and other stations, features several protesters speaking into a camera, one by one, about what they’re hoping to achieve. “I want corporations out of the government, and people back in,” one says. “I want the top wealthiest Americans to be taxed higher, and that money to go to education,” adds another.
Occupy Together
10 November 11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVQPo62x3UI
UC Berkeley students try to set up Occupy camp
9 November 11
BERKELEY, Calif.—Campus police at the University of California at Berkeley are disbanding an anti-Wall Street encampment students tried setting up and arresting people in their way. Student activists tried establishing an "Occupy Cal" camp on campus Wednesday despite official warnings that such encampments are not allowed.
After marching to a Bank of America branch to protest financial policies they blame for causing deep cuts in higher education spending, several hundred students erected eight tents near the campus' administration building and surrounded more than a dozen police officers who had moved in to remove the structures.
The officers took down one tent, but backed off after the human wall encircled them with chants of, "Whose university? Our university!"
They then donned riot helmets and batons and broke through the circle as students shouted, "Put the guns down."
It was not immediately clear how many were arrested.
Breaking: UC Berkeley Police in Riot Gear Pull Down "Occupy Cal" Tents
09 November 11
Police have broken through a line of protesters on the University of California at Berkeley campus this afternoon and are taking down a half-dozen tents set up by the demonstrators.
At least one protester has been arrested.
The tents had been erected on the lawn in front of Sproul Hall after a noon rally and march to protest tuition and fee increases for university students and funding cuts to all levels of public education.
The demonstration is intended to be in the style of "Occupy Wall Street," "Occupy Oakland" and similar protests, and participants planned to set up an encampment that would stand for at least a day.
The protesters had set up the tents on the lawn after a 1:30 p.m. general assembly, and had linked arms and formed a circle around the tents to prevent police from removing the small encampment.
However, around 3:40 p.m., dozens of police in riot gear pushed their way through the human chain using their batons and began taking the tents down.
There were scuffles between the officers and protesters, and the crowd began chanting, "Stop beating students."
Before police moved in, UC Berkeley police Lt. Eric Tejada reminded the demonstrators that camping is illegal there.
"Remove your tents now," he said.
On Monday, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau sent a letter to students, faculty and staff saying that while the university supports the principles behind the Occupy Wall Street movement, camping will not be allowed on campus.
"Any activities such as pulling fire alarms, occupying buildings, setting up encampments, graffiti, or other destructive actions that disrupt with anyone's ability to conduct regular activities -- go to class, study, carry out their research, etc. -- will not be tolerated," the letter stated.
Behind the Scenes of Occupy Wall Street
Breaking Up With Bank of America
09 November 11
Most of us like our breakups clean and fast.
Close eyes, rip Band-Aid. Be Hemmingway - don't look back, don't mince words, avoid self-inflicted wounds. Just slap your hands in that "I wash my hands of it all" way and move on.
And keep in mind that differences in values are usually the cause of breakups. Who has the energy to pass the years being shrill and unhappy? Just leave, right?
Bloomberg Defends New York's Occupy Protesters
09 November 11
The Occupy Wall Street movement, which has spread to various cities across the US, and has sometimes resulted in violence and arrests, began in Manhattan's Financial District, where protesters are still camped in a park. Bloomberg has clashed with protesters in the past when he indicated they should not be allowed to stay, but took a pragmatic view on Wednesday.
"We watch very carefully and they generally do not break the law," Bloomberg said on MSNBC. "I would prefer that we open up the park and begin to let people come through. The park ... is not necessarily designed for sleeping."
Occupy Wall Street Gets Its Generators Back
09 November 11
Occupy Wall Street got its confiscated generators back on Tuesday after its legal team pressed the Fire Department of New York to release them.
The machines were picked up from the New York City Fire Academy at Randall's Island by the Wikileaks truck, which has been stationed next to Zuccotti Park since the protest's inception. The vehicle with the generators on board made its way back to Zuccotti Park hours before a planned concert by Graham Nash and David Crosby.
China Is Ripe for Its Own Occupy Protests
09 November 11
On October 17, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, after remarking that the issues raised by OWS may be "worth pondering," cautioned the Chinese media, saying that their "reflections should be conducive to maintaining the sound and steady development of the world economy." On the same day, editors of the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times called for people to "calmly observe the protest movement and the global situation, and not be confused by extreme points of view."
A few days later, on October 19 and 20, Beijing authorities - setting aside any ambivalence they might have had about the Occupy movement - issued an order to the Chinese media to cease all reporting and commenting on the OWS movement.
How the War on Terror Militarized the Police
09 November 11
At around 9:00 a.m. on May 5, 2011, officers with the Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff's Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team surrounded the home of 26-year-old José Guerena, a former US Marine and veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq, to serve a search warrant for narcotics. As the officers approached, Guerena lay sleeping in his bedroom after working the graveyard shift at a local mine. When his wife Vanessa woke him up, screaming that she had seen a man outside the window pointing a gun at her, Guerena grabbed his AR-15 rifle, instructed Vanessa to hide in the closet with their four-year-old son, and left the bedroom to investigate.
Within moments, and without Guerena firing a shot - or even switching his rifle off of "safety" - he lay dying, his body riddled with 60 bullets. A subsequent investigation revealed that the initial shot that prompted the SWAT team barrage came from a SWAT team gun, not Guerena's. Guerena, reports later revealed, had no criminal record, and no narcotics were found at his home.
The "People's Mic" Strikes Again
08 November 11
It was another big day for Occupy Wall Street in Liberty Plaza and around the City. I was enjoying the live stream of an acoustic concert in Liberty Plaza by David Crosby and Graham Nash when the live feed suddenly cut away to a meeting.
It was a replay of the New York City Board of Education's Panel for Education Policy meeting. And it was almost as entertaining as Crosby and Nash. The auditorium was packed. I think the panel was discussing a motion, but I wasn't able to hear the speaker because - out of the blue - a young woman shouted, "Mic check!"
In an instant dozens of others echoed her call. She announced that the floor was now open to public comment. The announcement was then repeated, and the auditorium's sound system was immediately and completely drowned out by the "People's Mic."
Occupy The DOE
David Crosby & Graham Nash At Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Edmonton In Need Of Winter Equipment
09 November 11
Occupy Edmonton has a strong and growing community of supporters. Over the past 21 days we have been able to set-up and serve the needs, not only of our community, but many others as well. We have been giving clothing donations to many members disenfranchised by our society and have provided an active food service. We also provide a base of resistance in Alberta, generally referred to as the “Texas of the north” and less than 200 km from the tar sands the largest and one of the most destructive energy developments on the planet.
Over the winter we are hoping to continue our occupation and providing these services. In order to do that we will need some supplies to last Edmonton’s freezing, harsh winters. We have tried to solicit donations both from the general public and from unions and other larger organizations. Despite active attempts we have only been able to raise around $4,000. The majority of this came from when we first started the occupation and has been harder to get since we set-up. This money will be used for the on-going needs of the camp throughout the winter and further winterization items not included in this proposal ie. food supply staples (not donated), arts supplies (not donated), winter sleeping bags and sleeping pads (not donated), smaller personal winter tents, lanterns, sanitation needs (portapotties for the site), etc. etc.
Police Move Against Occupy Protesters in London, Ontario
09 November 11
Police in London, Ont., have become the first in Canada to forcefully evict a group of Occupy protesters, moving in during the early hours of Wednesday morning. One labour leader slammed the city for disrupting a peaceful protest, calling it a "black eye" for the community.
Protesters had spent more than two weeks at the park — one of numerous encampments across this country, the United States and 1,400 cities around the world protesting a range of issues, including corporate greed, high tuition fees and a lack of jobs.
Occupy Movement Inspires Unions to Embrace Bold Tactics
09 November 11
Organized labor’s early flirtation with Occupy Wall Street is starting to get serious. Union leaders, who were initially cautious in embracing the Occupy movement, have in recent weeks showered the protesters with help — tents, air mattresses, propane heaters and tons of food. The protesters, for their part, have joined in union marches and picket lines across the nation.
abor unions, marveling at how the protesters have fired up the public on traditional labor issues like income inequality, are also starting to embrace some of the bold tactics and social media skills of the Occupy movement.
Oakland Police Keeping Scott Olsen Video Under Wraps
08 November 11
The Oakland Police Department is walking back widely reported comments offered by its Interim Chief, Howard Jordan, at an Oct. 25 televised press conference (video posted below) that law enforcement "had to deploy gas in order to stop the crowd and people from pelting us with bottles and rocks."
The press conference had been conducted shortly after a melee which included the deployment of chemical agents on peaceful demonstrators. The police use of force resulted in injuries to, among others, a two-tour Iraq veteran who sustained a fractured skull and was admitted to the hospital in critical condition.
Occupy St. Louis to Mayor Slay: Not So Fast
3:00:pm:est 08 November 11
If this morning's events are any indicator, it looks increasingly unlikely that Occupy St. Louis protesters will leave their camp at downtown's Kiener Plaza without a fight.
Friday, Mayor Francis Slay warned the group that it was violating several city laws. He said complaints were building and, with bad weather approaching and other events scheduled in the plaza this month, it was time for an end to the occupiers' "tenure." The city's parks department had even prepared a list of ordinance violations to present to the group.
But, this morning, Occupy St. Louis alleged that Slay's announcement was just another instance where the city bent to corporate leaders. This time, said the unsigned statement on the Occupy St. Louis website, it was the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis who had swayed the mayor's decisions.
Why Occupying Detroit Is Harder Than It Seems
08 November 11
If ever there was a city that would seem to cry out for an Occupy presence, it's Detroit. The Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn metropolitan area has an official unemployment rate of 14.4 percent - the highest percentage of any of the nation's most populous areas. A fifth of African-American Michiganders are out of work, including over a quarter of black men in Detroit. A third of the city's residents live in poverty, and Detroit is frequently listed as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. The city's infrastructure is crumbling, and its population declined by 25 percent in the last decade, resulting in the loss of much needed federal funding. Meanwhile, some of the surrounding suburbs boast enormous wealth.
Yet the first Occupy Detroit organizing meeting wasn't held until October 10, a full three weeks after protests began in New York.
Occupy Oakland Debates Violence and Black Bloc Anarchists
08 November 11
Video footage taken of the strike-day vandalism at a Whole Foods store and in the streets overnight shows some people in black hooded sweatshirts and bandanas, the trademark of Black Bloc anarchist tactics. A fixture at anticapitalist demonstrations around the world, Black Bloc-ers observe a nearly uniform dress code designed to make participants look alike and prevent authorities from gauging who did what when unlawful acts are committed. Some advocates, however, say anarchists are being stigmatized by being painted in the same shades as Black Bloc; anarchists, they point out, come in all stripes, many of them nonviolent. Others argue that Black Bloc tactics are not tantamount to violence and can be a form of self-defense. "It's for safety, from the cops who came looking to fight," equipped with body armor and tear gas, says Jack, 24, a protester who was shot in the leg with a projectile during the last melee and who claims no affiliation.
David Crosby and Graham Nash to Perform at OWS
08 November 11
Longtime musicians and activists David Crosby and Graham Nash are scheduled to perform a concert at the Occupy Wall Street protest site in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.
Bloomberg vs. Occupy Wall Street
08 November 11
Americans listen when Michael Bloomberg speaks, not only because he is the mayor of New York City, but because he is a self-made billionaire and a smart guy. People think Bloomberg knows a lot about business and investment, which he surely does. But he nevertheless sounds terribly misinformed sometimes, as he did the other day—when he complained that Occupy Wall Street is unfairly blaming the nation’s big bankers for the crash and recession, when the real culprits are Congress and the government-sponsored housing lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Occupy Wall Street Goes Green
08 November 11
Bank Transfer: Successful
08 November 11
This past Saturday was “Bank Transfer Day,” a day of action in which thousands of people moved their money from “too big to fail” banking titans into credit unions and smaller regional banks. While it’s hard to tell precisely how many people followed through on their threats to close accounts on Saturday itself, over the past month credit unions have added 650,000 new members (as opposed to 80,000 in a regular month), resulting in more than $4.5 billion in new deposits.
As Sarah Jaffe at Alternet noted, ABC News aired a remarkable report calling the exodus of customers a “bank revolt” and stating, “as of today, 1 million consumers are hurling a lightning-bolt warning at the big banks, moving their money out in protest.” READ MORE
Occupy the Polls: Tuesday's Critical Tests of Political Power
08 November 11
Americans who are frustrated with the broken politics of the moment will have plenty of opportunities to Occupy the Polls on Tuesday. That's what happened in Boulder, Colorado, last week, when voters shook things up by backing a referendum proposal that calls on Congress to enact a Constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision that corporations can spend as they choose to buy elections. The same election saw Boulder voters endorse a plan to end the city's reliance on private power companies and replace them with a public utility."
There are big issues, big races and big tests of the political potency of organized labor, social movements and progressive politics playing out this Tuesday, on the busiest election day of 2011. In some cases, voting offers an opportunity to make an affirmative statement on behalf of a change in priorities. In other cases, there are opportunities to push back against bad politics and bad policies. In still others, there are signals to be sent about the politics of 2012. READ MORE
Occupy Atlanta Comes to Snellville to Stop Foreclosure
08 November 11
Occupy Atlanta has spent a month in downtown Atlanta, decrying corporate influence in U.S. politics and clashing with local authorities over their right to protest at a local park. Now the protesters are turning their attention to the suburbs, hoping to use a family of five in south Gwinnett to highlight the nation's foreclosure crisis.
"This family is the perfect example of the fraud going on in the mortgage and banking industries," said Latron Price, one of Occupy Atlanta's organizers. "We plan to shed light on the foreclosure issue and we look to make a stand here." READ MORE
Occupy The Highway: The 99% March to Washington
07 November 11
On November 23rd, the Congressional Deficit Reduction Super-Committee will meet to decide on whether or not to keep Obama's extension to the Bush tax-cuts - which only benefit the richest 1% of Americans in any kind of significant way. Luckily, a group of OWS'ers are embarking on a two-week march from Liberty Plaza to the Whitehouse to let the committee know what the 99% think about these cuts. Join the march to make sure these tax cuts for the richest 1% of Americans are allowed to die!
The 20 mile a day/2 week march from Liberty Square to DC is set to leave this Wednesday, November 9 at noon. On Wednesday we'll be leaving Liberty Square and marching to the New York Waterway/Hudson River Ferry and onward to Elizabeth, NJ. This is our first stop. Everyone is welcome to join this two week march. If you'd like to participate, but can't commit for two weeks you're welcome to join us for the day or help send us off! READ MORE
The Globalisation of Protest
07 November 11
The protest movement that began in Tunisia in January, subsequently spreading to Egypt, and then to Spain, has now become global, with the protests engulfing Wall Street and cities across America. Globalization and modern technology now enables social movements to transcend borders as rapidly as ideas can. And social protest has found fertile ground everywhere: a sense that the "system" has failed, and the conviction that even in a democracy, the electoral process will not set things right - at least not without strong pressure from the street. READ MORE
Lone Protester Wrapped in Flag Makes Stand in Atlanta
07 November 11
Five people were arrested early Monday at or near a downtown Atlanta park that has been an off-and-on site of Wall Street protests similar to the ones being held in other US cities, a day after 19 demonstrators were taken to jail by officers in riot gear when a rally spilled into the streets.
Atlanta police said one protester draped in an American flag inside Woodruff Park was arrested after refusing to leave by a Sunday night curfew, and four other people on bicycles were arrested near the park - three for traffic violations and one for obstruction of a law enforcement officer. READ MORE
The War Against the Poor
07 November 11
We've been at war for decades now - not just in Afghanistan or Iraq, but right here at home. Domestically, it's been a war against the poor, but if you hadn't noticed, that's not surprising. You wouldn't often have found the casualty figures from this particular conflict in your local newspaper or on the nightly TV news. Devastating as it's been, the war against the poor has gone largely unnoticed - until now.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has already made the concentration of wealth at the top of this society a central issue in American politics. Now, it promises to do something similar when it comes to the realities of poverty in this country. READ MORE
Atlanta Police Arrest 5 People Following Protest
07 November 11
Atlanta protesters aren't going quietly, despite warnings from police and the mayor. In the latest act of defiance, five people were arrested early Monday at or near a downtown park that has been an off-and-on site of Wall Street protests similar to the ones being held in other US cities.
The developments came a day after 20 demonstrators were taken to jail by officers in riot gear when a rally spilled into the streets. READ MORE
Police Report Occupy Arrests Across US
07 November 11
Protesters in Honolulu asked for donations Sunday to recover $1,700 in bail money after eight people were arrested during a sit-in at one of the city's oldest community parks the previous day. "We are asking support from the community to help raise bail money to pay back those who cannot afford to pay," the group said on its Web site.
Riverside, Calif., police arrested 11 Occupy Riverside protesters near City Hall Sunday after several demonstrators reportedly refused to remove tents from the public plaza, the Los Angeles Times reported. The officers ordered protesters to remove their tents, saying they weren't allowed in the pedestrian plaza.
"Normally we go out there and ask them to move the tents and they do so. Today they decided on civil disobedience and formed a human chain around the tents," Riverside Police Lt. Chuck Griffitts said. Occupy Riverside member Kathryn Stevenson said the police action Sunday was unprovoked. READ MORE
Occupy Wall Street Plans 11-Mile March
07 November 11
Protesters with Occupy Wall Street will march from Washington Heights to Zuccotti Park in an effort to connect other communities in the city to the movement. The 11-mile march is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at 181st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
Labor union representatives and other activists are expected to join the “end to end for 99 percent” march, as protesters are calling it. READ MORE
Occupy Oakland Protester Shot by Police Rubber Bullet
07 November 11
Amateur footage shows a police officer opening fire (at 0min 37sec) and shooting a protester with a rubber bullet. The demonstrator had been filming a police line at the Occupy Oakland protest in California early on 03 November. The protesters aim to highlight police brutality and economic inequality. READ MORE
Finding Freedom in Handcuffs
07 November 11
Faces appeared to me moments before the New York City police arrested us Thursday in front of Goldman Sachs. They were not the faces of the smug Goldman Sachs employees, who peered at us through the revolving glass doors and lobby windows, a pathetic collection of middle-aged fraternity and sorority members. They were not the faces of the blue-uniformed police with their dangling cords of white and black plastic handcuffs, or the thuggish Goldman Sachs security personnel, whose buzz cuts and dead eyes reminded me of the East German secret police, the Stasi. READ MORE
Wells Fargo to Open Bank for Super Rich
07 November 11
Stand down, Zuccotti protesters, the banks have heard your calls for reform and are yielding to your demands. The majority of the country has been enveloped in financial turmoil, and one of the big banks is finally taking steps to institute change: Wells Fargo is creating a boutique bank for the super rich. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the wealth management unit will be named "Abbot Downing" and will only service families with more than $50 million in their coffers. Rumor has it, when you open an account you get free Looney Tunes checks.
Wells Fargo is combining its existing boutique firm Lowry Hill with its Family Wealth department to create Abbot Downing, and it's slated to begin operations next April. The name Abbot Downing comes from a 19th century high-end stagecoach manufacturer, and it is appropriate considering America's wealth disparity is nearing 1830's levels. READ MORE
OWS Encourages The Growth Of Independent Media
07 November 11 11
Occupy Wall Street Protests have increased the traffic flow to independent news sources. It has done so by creating the demand for information outside the official corporate sources. A curious public wants to get closer to the real source of information on the protests themselves, and not have this information filtered out by ceos and politicians. OWS has pushed public distrust of the establishment media to the forefront."
The official news outlets are owned by just a few large companies. These companies support a pro corporate agenda politically, and are reluctant to cover anything that opposes the pro corporate agenda. They have acted as gatekeepers to information, and often they squash viewpoints that they don't like. READ MORE
Gov. Scott Walker Gets Checked, Mic Checked!
Why the 1% Love "Anarchist Violence"
06 November 11
From the trashing of downtown Oakland after the General Strike to burning cars and looting in Rome during a huge anti-capitalist demonstration by the Indignati, no one should be surprised by the militant vandalism of self-described Anarchists dressed in black - or by the police violence they provoke. Protesters of a certain age have seen the pattern too many times, especially in the violence that paid provocateurs created in the 1960s as part of the FBI's Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO). Hopefully, today's nonviolent mass movements can learn from our mistakes, as many in Occupy Oakland seem to be doing. READ MORE
Corzine's Downfall
06 November 11
The collapse this week of the broker-dealer MF Global and the comeuppance of its chief executive Jon Corzine, who resigned Friday, have been and will be put to many political and rhetorical purposes. MF Global’s bankruptcy has been called, possibly, the first domino in a potential collapse of the European banking system; in this rendering, it’s a rough analog to the failure, in the spring of 2008, of Bear Stearns, which presaged the mayhem of autumn. READ MORE
Mic Check: You Say You Want a Revolution?...
06 November 11
The tarps are flapping and the tents are not bringing much warmth.
The harsh winds of winter are lashing the encampment at Zuccotti Park - or as many would prefer, "Liberty Plaza" - the symbol of a wannabe revolution against the status quo and powercrats of the American oligarchy.
The hard, real-world contradictions of urban life have bumped up against the idyllic hopes of the occupiers as all the urban crises that our society has ignored and neglected surface in that half acre of hope. READ MORE
Bank Transfer: 650,000 Answer the Call
06 November 11
As the social media-sparked Bank Transfer Day approaches, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) reports that over 650,000 people have joined credit unions in the last four weeks.
In Minnesota alone, 10,200 joined credit unions between Sept. 29 and Nov. 1, CUNA tells the Minnesota Independent. Credit unions have added $4.5 billion in new accounts since the end of September, CUNA says, reporting that four out of every five credit unions affiliated with the group report that the increase is due to attempts by big banks to raise fees on customers or Bank Transfer Day, a movement birthed by social media that will take place tomorrow. READ MORE
Still Fighting for Their Country, Now Veterans of Occupy
06 November 11
11-11-11 is not a variant of Herman Cain's much-touted 9-9-9 tax plan, but rather the date of this year's Veterans Day. This is especially relevant, as the US has now entered its second decade of war in Afghanistan, the longest war in the nation's history. US veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are appearing more and more on the front lines - the front lines of the Occupy Wall Street protests, that is.
Video from the Occupy Oakland march on Tuesday 25 October looks and sounds like a war zone. The sound of gunfire is nearly constant in the video. Tear-gas projectiles were being fired into the crowd when the cry of "Medic!" rang out. READ MORE
Bank Transfer Day: Six Reasons to Move Your Money
05 November 11
Kristen Christian didn't know she was tapping into a wellspring of consumer discontent. She just knew she was fed up with her "too big to fail" bank's treatment of its customers. So she created a Facebook event called Bank Transfer Day and invited 500 of her contacts to move their money to credit unions. The response went viral.
Within weeks, Bank Transfer Day swelled to nearly 70,000 participants. Credit Union Times reported that several large credit unions were experiencing record account openings and funds transfers. Kristen's event had given thousands of unhappy bank customers a solution, and a day of action: November 5th, 2011. READ MORE
Jean Quan on Occupy Oakland
05 November 11
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan is being heavily criticized for her mixed messages on Occupy Oakland. Here's a look at what Quan has said at various times since Occupy Oakland opened its camp October 10. READ MORE
17 september - 02 October : 02 October - 06 October : 06 October - 10 October : 10 October - 21 October : 22 October - 26 October : 27 October - 4 November : 5 November - 16 November : 17 November - 22 November : 23 November - 30 November : 1 December - 8 December : 9 December - 31 December : 1 January - 31 January : 1 February - 29 February : 1 March - 31 March : 1 April - 30 April : 1 May - 31 May : 1 June - 30 June : 1 July - 31 July : 1 August - 31 August
84-Year-Old Woman Now the Pepper-Sprayed Face of Occupy Seattle
16 November 11
Seattle photographer Joshua Trujillo captured what may become the defining image of this week of Occupy unrest - an elderly woman being led away from the mayhem, her face covered with pepper spray. A pregnant woman and a priest were also hit with pepper spray during a march on Tuesday night. You can see more photos of the confrontation at SeattlePI.com. (More photos here as well.)
The Seattle branch of the Occupy movement, which has been camped out near Seattle Central Community College, held the march in support of the New York camp, which faced a day long eviction battle with the city yesterday. On Monday, Occupy Oakland was the scene of another attempt by police to drive campers out of a city park. There were reports that both Occupy San Francisco and Occupy Cal (on the Berkeley campus of the University of California) are being raided on Wednesday morning. The week of police crackdown comes amid reports that the federal government and is coordinating with multiple on legal strategies that can shut down the Occupy protests.
What Occupy Wall Street Has Taught Me
16 November 11
ave you seen Hard Times: Lost on Long Island? The film won the Audience Award/Best Documentary at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October. The documentary follows a group of unemployed men and women, ranging in age from their late thirties into their sixties, who are looking for work while living in certain middle class suburbs on Long Island. I had not seen the film during the festival itself, but when I screened it the other day, I realized the true meaning, for me, of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Hard Times is a disturbing film that puts a face to the unemployment crisis in America in a rather effective way. At times, talk radio broadcasts play over footage of the principals as they trundle off to another day of staring down their own obsolescence. Over the airwaves, voices of people like Rush Limbaugh can be heard exhorting his listeners about the evil of unemployment benefits and how such programs only encourage procrastination and sloth.
In America today, we are told that unemployment now hovers at around nine percent, while other sources insist that those statistics are underreported and are closer to 12.5 percent. At nine percent, we are confronted with a situation where one in eleven working Americans is without an income. At 12.5 percent, we are talking about one in eight.
OWS Protesters Calling for 'Day of Action' Following Loss of Camp in Zuccotti Park
16 November 11
The loss of their camp at Zuccotti Park doesn't seem to be slowing down the Occupy Wall Street movement as protesters are calling for "a national day of direct action" on Thursday. According to their website, protesters are planning three major actions Thursday starting with a "shut down" of Wall Street. It all starts with a rally in Liberty Square starting at 7 a.m. to "put an end to Wall Street's reign of terror."
Inside Occupy Wall Street's (Kinda) Secret Media HQ
16 November 11
With the move from a free tent to a $400-a-month brick-and-mortar home, the global revolution is being broadcast from a narrow room on the second floor of a rundown building, filled with cobbled-together gear and a hint of body odor. The operation runs a global livestreaming video campaign, where activists monitor hundreds of livestream feeds, culling the best to feature on the semi-official Occupy online video hub called globalrevolution.tv.
"It's really important that it's decentralized so people can tell their own stories," said Spike. "We get to report these stories before any mainstream media do. We break the news, and they pick it up." In fact, on Tuesday they broadcast from inside the besieged park until the moment that police hauled the livestreaming video team off to jail.
Long before Tuesday's raid, the move had the benefit of getting the videographers away from the crowds at Zuccotti Park.
Los Angeles Occupy Encampment Still Stands
16 November 11
Early on, the City Council of Los Angeles issued a resolution supporting the Occupiers. Several city council members, including City Council President Eric Garcetti, visited the encampment. Although there have been rumors of an ejectment of the Occupiers, so far it hasn't happened. In the eyes of many, this is a good thing.
Dems Criticize Eviction of Occupy Protesters
15 November 11
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to evict Occupy Wall Street protesters from a Lower Manhattan park is a blow to free speech, several House Democrats said.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, warned that in preventing protesters from camping out in Zuccotti Park, the city has "effectively removed [the protesters'] ability to be there 24/7."
Why Being Evicted Was the Best Thing to Happen to OWS in Weeks
15 November 11
Today looked disastrous for OWS, which is now in its second month as a global movement against income inequality. But it was actually the best one in a long time for the occupiers.
Hijacking the First Amendment
16 November 11
A funny thing happened to the First Amendment on its way to the public forum. According to the Supreme Court, money is now speech and corporations are now people. But when real people without money assemble to express their dissatisfaction with the political consequences of this, they're treated as public nuisances and evicted.
First things first. The Supreme Court's rulings that money is speech and corporations are people have now opened the floodgates to unlimited (and often secret) political contributions from millionaires and billionaires. Consider the Koch brothers (worth $25 billion each), who are bankrolling the Tea Party and already running millions of dollars worth of ads against Democrats.
Such millionaires and billionaires aren't contributing their money out of sheer love of country. They have a more self-interested motive. Their political spending is analogous to their other investments. Mostly they want low tax rates and friendly regulations.
Occupy Crackdowns Coordinated With Federal Law Enforcement Officials
16 November 11
Over the past ten days, more than a dozen cities have moved to evict "Occupy" protesters from city parks and other public spaces. As was the case in last night's move in New York City, each of the police actions shares a number of characteristics. And according to one Justice official, each of those actions was coordinated with help from Homeland Security, the FBI and other federal police agencies.
The official, who spoke on background to me late Monday evening, said that while local police agencies had received tactical and planning advice from national agencies, the ultimate decision on how each jurisdiction handles the Occupy protests ultimately rests with local law enforcement.
According to this official, in several recent conference calls and briefings, local police agencies were advised to seek a legal reason to evict residents of tent cities, focusing on zoning laws and existing curfew rules. Agencies were also advised to demonstrate a massive show of police force, including large numbers in riot gear. In particular, the FBI reportedly advised on press relations, with one presentation suggesting that any moves to evict protesters be coordinated for a time when the press was the least likely to be present.
A Militarized Force Takes to Zuccotti for the Economic Elite
15 November 11
Your right to peaceably assemble for the redress of grievances, and how you may do it, and what you may say, will be defined by the police power of the state, backed by its political establishment and the business elite. They will define "acceptable" forms of public protest, even (and especially) public protest against them. This is the way it is now. This is the way it has been for some time. It's just that people didn't notice. And that was the problem with the Occupy protests.
Journalists Detained in Occupy Wall Street Raid
15 November 11
Journalists at the overnight raid of Occupy Wall Street's New York encampment were kept at a distance from covering it Tuesday, and several were arrested, handcuffed and hauled onto police buses along with hundreds of protesters.
At least half a dozen journalists were among those arrested in and around Zuccotti Park and at other protest sites in downtown Manhattan, according to demonstrators and other journalists who photographed and filmed their peers being taken into custody.
Judge Upholds Eviction of New York 'Occupy' Camp
15 November 11
A New York judge has upheld the city's dismantling of the Occupy Wall Street encampment, saying that the protesters' First Amendment rights don't entitle them to camp out indefinitely in the plaza.
Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman on Tuesday denied a motion by the demonstrators seeking to be allowed back into the park with their tents and sleeping bags. (Read his ruling here.)
Protesters filled Zuccotti Park after they were allowed back in about 5:30 p.m. EST, but without camping gear.
From Occupy Wall Street Web Site:
URGENT: EVERYONE TO LIBERTY SQUARE! NOW! WE ARE RE-OCCUPYING!
15 November 11
Liberty Square is our home. The 1% stole the homes of thousands, but they will not steal Liberty Square! Reoccupation begins NOW!
If you're in the NYC area: join the thousands gathering to defend our home, our movement, and our rights! Come to Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) now!
If you're elsewhere: blast this call with every form of media the 99% can muster!
From Occupy Wall Street Web Site:
NYPD Occupying Liberty Square; Demands Unclear
15 November 11
The NYPD have been occupying Liberty Square since 1:00am Tuesday morning, with the brand new occupation now set to enter its second day in just a few short hours. But will anyone listen to them when their message is so incoherent?
"What are their demands?" asked social historian Patrick Bruner. "They have not articulated any platform. How do they expect to be taken seriously?"
Critics of the new occupation allege that meddling billionaire Michael Bloomberg is behind the movement. Others question the new occupiers' militant posture, concerned about the potential effects on the neighborhood.
FOCUS: This Is What Revolution Looks Like
15 November 11
Welcome to the revolution. Our elites have exposed their hand. They have nothing to offer. They can destroy but they cannot build.
They can repress but they cannot lead. They can steal but they cannot share. They can talk but they cannot speak.
Occupy Wall Street, Angry Over Eviction, Occupies a New Corner
15 November 11
Hundreds more protesters, many carrying American flags, then marched to Canal and 6th, where they quickly settled into another park. People stood on walls, and some had temporary structures set up with signs reading "Liberate, Occupy." "We are unstoppable; another world is possible!" some chanted.
Garrett Perkins, 29, was among the protesters. He came to New York from Chugiak, Alaska, three weeks ago, and had managed to get out of Zuccotti Park with his tent and bags strapped to him. Perkins said that, as soon as he saw police converging on the park overnight, he packed his belongings and strapped them to his body to ensure they weren't seized.
Protesters Vow to Retake Emptied Park
15 November 11
Some of the displaced protesters regrouped a few blocks away at Foley Square, with the row of courthouses on Centre Street as a backdrop, and swapped stories of their confrontations with the police as they talked about what to do next.
One protester, Nate Barchus, 23, said the eviction from Zuccotti Park was likely to galvanize supporters, particularly because a series of gatherings had already been planned for Thursday, the protest's two-month anniversary. "This," he said, referring to the early morning sweep, "reminds everyone who was occupying exactly why they were occupying."
"Hero" Cops Arrest NYC Council Member at 'Occupy' Raid
15 November 11
New York City council member Jumaane Williams tweets that his colleague on the dais, Ydanis Rodriguez, "was hit and arrested" during tonight's raid at the Occupy Wall Street site. Let the record show that NYPD did not discriminate in its evacuation proceedings!
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