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
1 January - 31 January 12
This page is an archive. Future OWS updates will go on the new page.
The Raleigh Telegram
31 January 12
Chapel Hill - The Chapel Hill Town Council recently voted to apologize to the News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh and one of its reporters who was arrested and detained by Chapel Hill police while covering a story in November. In a resolution introduced by town council member Laurin Easthom at the council meeting on January 9th, the council voted to extend an apology for the Chapel Hill Police Department's actions.
Journalists Arrested at Saturday Occupy Oakland protest
31 January 12
Nearly 400 people were swept up in mass arrests at an Occupy Oakland protest on Saturday night, according to a city of Oakland press release, including six local journalists.
Occupy Tulsa Protesters Reject Plea Deal
02 February 12
The more than 40 people charged with the misdemeanor city ordinance violation already have been arraigned and have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Tuesday's hearing was the first time the group has appeared together in the same court on one docket.
Occupy Sydney Protest Campsite Removed
02 February 12
The Occupy Sydney protest campsite was removed and six people were arrested in an early morning police raid today.
Officers from The Rocks police station arrested three men and three women in Martin Place in the CBD at 6.30am today.
They were expected to be charged with breaches of the regulations of a local government act, police said.
Police were still removing the campsite after 7.30am.
The protesters have been at the site near the Reserve Bank of Australia building for several months as part of a global movement, which started in New York as Occupy Wall Street on September 17.
Occupy Boston Still Making Waves
02 February 12
Coming soon, to a television station near you: Occupy Boston. With a talk show aimed at making social change, and plans to air short films “on everyday action that people can take to challenge the 1 percent,” Occupy Boston members are taking to the airwaves.
Occupy Protester's Twitter Posts Subpoenaed
31 January 12
Prosecutors have subpoenaed the Twitter records of an Occupy Wall Street protester who was arrested in October during a mass protest on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Occupy Must Learn From Sundance
01 February 12
So, late last year, I said - to some controversy here - that the violent crackdown against the Occupy movement in the United States represented the first salvos of a civil war initiated by political and allied economic elites against protesters in a nascent movement whose still-not-fully articulated agenda would represent a threat to their unmediated and untransparent hold on profits. And a civil war it has indeed turned out to be.
Over the weekend, 2,000 citizens marched in support of Occupy Oakland - and were met by flash grenades and, some witnesses assert, rubber bullets. The Los Angeles Police Department is engaging in training exercises with the US military. At a parallel march in support, in New York City, a new apparition - large groups of masked men - joined the protesters, which is, globally, a sign that provocateurs intent on violence have joined the scene; and journalist Tim Pool was assaulted.
And reports continue to surface around the nation, most recently from Atlanta, of heightened local law enforcement investment in military-style hardware to use against domestic dissent. Predictably enough, after the NDAA created a clause allowing for the indefinite detention of domestic terrorists, Oakland council member referred to the Occupy protesters as "domestic terrorists".
Jean Quan Plans to Call National Occupy Leaders
31 January 12
Faced with ever-increasing violence between police and Occupy protesters, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan is seeking help from a new source: Occupy Wall Street.
Quan plans to ask leaders of the national Occupy movement to convince their Oakland cohorts to shun violence during their protests over economic inequality, officials said Monday.
Occupy DC Protesters Make 'Citizens' Arrest' of Fox News Van
31 January 12
It's no secret that Occupy DC protesters aren't exactly fans of Fox News. So when the protesters noticed a Fox van illegally parked on K Street Monday, they took advantage of the situation.
Police Tear Down Occupy Charlotte Camp; 7 Arrested
31 January 12
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police waded into the Occupy Charlotte protest site Monday afternoon, arresting at least seven people and dismantling the campground that the group had established last fall.
A group of about 30 police officers crossed the street into the protest site at about 2:45 p.m., moments after Capt. Jeff Estes had given Occupy Charlotte's members "one final warning" to take down their tents and comply with an order he had given for the first time almost eight hours earlier.
The Party People of Wall Street
31 January 12
A week or so ago, we read in The New York Times about what in the Gilded Age of the Roman Empire was known as a bacchanal - a big blowout at which the imperial swells got together and whooped it up.
[The St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan was the site of a black-tie dinner for Kappa Beta Phi, whose members were told "what happens at the St. Regis stays at the St. Regis." (John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times))]
The St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan was the site of a black-tie dinner for Kappa Beta Phi, whose members were told "what happens at the St. Regis stays at the St. Regis."
Uniting the 99%
31 January 12
I love the Occupy Movement's "1% vs. 99%" frame. It speaks clearly and directly to the major problem holding back social progress in a wide range of areas: the control of obscene wealth and political and economic power by a tiny minority at the expense of everyone else.
The truth is, though, that there's little chance that the "99%" is going to be united anytime soon to stop that "1%" from the society- suicidal path they've got us on. However, it is possible that a big chunk of it, a majority or even 2/3 or more, could come together in some way in the not too far off future.
Occupiers Prepare for Showdown in DC
30 January 12
At one entrance to Occupy DC at McPherson Square there is a large white banner with the words "Showdown at High Noon." Even before you enter the square you can see a huge blue tarp covering the statue in the center of the park. All that is visible of General McPherson's horse are the ears; General McPherson's head protrudes through the top as the only recognizable part of the statue that's in view.
As you get closer you notice that tents surround the base of the statue behind a short wrought-iron fence that protects the monument.
Throughout the day, even after the noon deadline, this was the only sign of escalation between the Occupiers and the police. It will likely prove to be the flashpoint when the Park Service begins enforcing the camping regulations in the two Occupy encampments in Washington DC.
All afternoon the media outnumbered the police in the two parks. Things were very laid-back in Freedom Plaza, all of the tents had open doors with no bedding visible to comply with the Park Service's request. There wasn't a Park Police officer in sight.
McPherson was a different story. Just two blocks away police mustered, with a few stationed at each corner of the park. Even with the park's iconic statue covered the police did not move in. Some of the tents were open, with Occupiers sitting in front of them holding signs that read: "We Do Not Consent to This Search."
There is loud music and Occupiers are in a festive mood, but you get the feeling they are preparing for battle. At one point someone noticed a Fox News van illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant. There was a ticket on the window, but the crew chose to ignore it and continued to shoot footage in the park. Dozens of Occupiers marched on the van and declared a citizens' arrest. The crew inside closed the windows as the protesters asked the police if they would also just get a ticket on their tents but be allowed to remain inside. The police officer did not respond, and soon sirens filled the air as the DC Police arrived to protect the Fox News van.
There were no arrests, and the Fox News crew packed up and left with the parking ticket as Occupiers cheered their retreat.
As night falls we will soon see if the police do begin to enforce the camping regulations. Will it be a gradual crackdown? Or will McPherson be raided like Zuccotti Park? We will continue to update through the night and the days ahead.
Occupy Oakland Police Brutality, Jan. 28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFaviIoy4rg
Is Oakland America's Fallujah?
30 January 12
Officials surveyed damage Sunday from a volatile Occupy protest that resulted in hundreds of arrests the day before and left the historic City Hall vandalized after demonstrators broke into the building, smashed display cases, cut electrical wires and burned an American flag.
Police placed the number of arrests at about 400 from Saturday's daylong protest - the most contentious since authorities dismantled the Occupy Oakland encampment late last year.
A Call for Mass Action Against Suppression of Occupy Movement
30 January 12
These past several months have witnessed something very different in the U.S. People from many different walks of life came together to occupy public space in nearly 1,000 cities in the U.S.
They stood up to vicious police violence, they broke through the confines of "protest as usual," and in the middle of all that, they built community. Even in the face of media attempts to ridicule, distort, and demonize these protests, their basic message began to get through.
12 Arrested in Occupy Wall Street March
30 January 12
NEW YORK, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A dozen people were arrested in a New York City Occupy Wall Street march called to show support for Occupy protesters in Oakland, Calif., police said.
Occupier Attacked and Hospitalized by Park Service; Occupy DC Will Fight #J30 Eviction at 12 Noon!!
30 January 12
Sunday morning, while the National Park Service police were handing out "no camping" notices to McPherson Square, an occupier at Occupy DC was tazed apparently for walking near his home. The tazing resulted in a seizure - most likely due to a pre-existing medical condition. Witnesses say the victim attempted to notify the police about his medical condition but the police initially blocked his request for an ambulance. He was eventually sent to a hospital. The attacking officer's name is allegedly Lemke - NPS badge number #398.
Police Fire Tear Gas at Occupy Oakland, 300 Arrested
29 January 12
Dozens of police maintained a late-night guard around City Hall following daylong protests that resulted in 300 arrests. Occupy Oakland demonstrators broke into the historic building and burned a U.S. flag, as officers earlier fired tear gas to disperse people throwing rocks and tearing down fencing at a convention center.
Saturday's protests - the most turbulent since Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment in November - came just days after the group said it planned to use a vacant building as a social center and political hub and threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.
Both DC Occupations Facing Eviction Monday
28 January 12
The United States Park Service, under pressure from Congressional Republicans, issued warnings to both Occupy encampments in Washington DC today that overnight sleeping would no longer be tolerated.
The warnings were issued within days of a Congressional hearing chaired by Rep. Darryl Issa where Republicans pressed the Park Service to enforce Federal regulations against camping in undesignated areas.
Officials from the Park Service told the committee they would begin to enforce the camping regulation in McPherson Square soon, with no mention of Freedom Plaza, but the warnings were issued in both locations.
Occupy Protest Seizes UC Davis Building, Blocks Bank
28 January 12
Taking advantage of some extra patience on the part of administrators who came under heavy criticism for the pepper-spraying of demonstrators in November, student protesters on the UC Davis campus have seized control of a vacant campus building and are sporadically blocking access to an on-campus bank.
Two days into the Occupy movement takeover of a single-story cottage that formerly served as the Cross Cultural Center, the administration hasn't officially told the students they can't be in the building. The lights and heat remain on as the university examines its options.
One Hundred Brooklyn Community Members and Occupiers Peacefully Disrupt Foreclosure Auction
26 January 12
Approximately 35 people arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience, singing in courtroom: “Mr. Auctioneer, all the people here are asking you to stop all the sales right now.”
Greetings from OWS PR! Let's Clear the Air.
25 January 12
Greetings from the Occupy Wall Street Public Relations Working Group, sometimes called the OWS Press Team, which goes back to the earliest days of the Occupation in New York City. Many of you may have met us at the Press Table in Liberty Square and many more of you media-makers have continued to reach out and tell the stories of the 99%. Yesterday a press release went around that gave many the impression that Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is represented by a public relations firm. There are many talented people who are part of the OWS Press Team and the press relations endeavor, including PR professionals, but we are NOT and never will be represented by private PR firms or agents.
Adbusters Issues New Call to Action: Occupy Chicago for G8/NATO Summit
25 January 12
Hey you redeemers, rebels and radicals out there,
Against the backdrop of a global uprising that is simmering in dozens of countries and thousands of cities and towns, the G8 and NATO will hold a rare simultaneous summit in Chicago this May. The world’s military and political elites, heads of state, 7,500 officials from 80 nations, and more than 2,500 journalists will be there.
And so will we.
On May 1, 50,000 people from all over the world will flock to Chicago, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and #OCCUPYCHICAGO for a month. With a bit of luck, we’ll pull off the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen.
Official: US Park Police Will Soon Cite Occupy DC Protesters for Camping; No Eviction Planned
24 January 12
WASHINGTON — Occupy DC protesters will soon receive civil citations from U.S. Park Police if they continue camping in Washington’s McPherson Square, a top federal official said Tuesday. But enforcement of a camping ban will be conducted against individuals and will not lead to a full-scale eviction of demonstrators.
Mic check! Occupy Wall Street Offers a Rebuttal to State of the Union
24 January 12
Everybody’s got a response to the State of the Union these days — including Occupy Wall Street. Or at least a branch of Occupiers in D.C. do. They were supposed to deliver it live post-State of the Union in McPherson Square in Washington.
Occupy Movement Spreads to University of Massachusetts Boston
24 January 12
From the dome in Harvard Yard to the tents in Boston’s Dewey Square to the camp near Wall Street that started it all, Occupy movements across the country have shut down in recent weeks. But students, faculty, and staff at the University of Massachusetts Boston bucked the trend Monday, when they raised a new, indoor encampment inside the university’s campus center.
Occupy Movement Gets Help from its Musical Friends
23 January 12
Yoko Ono, Debbie Harry, Jackson Browne and Willie Nelson are among dozens of artists contributing to "Occupy This Album," to raise money for the Occupy Wall Street movement against economic inequality, a publicity firm said on Monday.
Occupy Protesters Drop Lawsuit Over Camping Out
23 January 12
Occupy Wall Street protesters have dropped a lawsuit challenging their eviction from Zuccotti Park, two months after they were rousted from their encampment by police during a surprise late-night raid.
Occupy DC to Face Eviction Soon
26 January 12
he director of the National Park Service said Tuesday that US Park Police will "very soon" begin enforcing a no-camping law at McPherson Square, but that the Occupy DC movement has a prevailing First Amendment right to continue its vigil there.
The statement was made during a hearing of a subcommittee meeting of the House Government Reform Committee, which oversees the District of Columbia. Chairman Darryl Issa is on a crusade to end the encampments at both McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza.
The DC government has been pushing for a closing of the McPherson Square encampment based on health concerns, and would like to see the two encampments consolidated into one at Freedom Plaza. The encampment at Freedom Plaza has a permit through February, and has not generated the controversy that the McPherson camp has.
Occupy Post Offices
24 January 12
The destruction of the Post Office has moved into a higher gear. Last year 3600 communities were put on notice that they will likely lose their local post office. "We will start to see post offices closing at the rate of a hundred a week," predicts Steve Hutkins whose Save the Post Office is by far the single best source of information on all things post office. "They've been closing at a rate of one hundred a year for the past 40 years."
Occupy San Francisco Gets Down to Business
22 January 12
Act II of the Occupy Wall Street movement, San Francisco version, kicked off on a rainy, blustery Friday in the heart of the city’s financial district. Targeting specific corporations like Wells Fargo and Bank of America and emphasizing real, tangible issues like home foreclosures, affordable health care and education as well as broader ones like the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, several hundred protesters – the exact number was impossible to estimate – fanned out across the city, snarling traffic, getting arrested, holding sidewalk teach-ins, and generally serving notice that after its brief winter hibernation, the Occupy movement was back and kicking.
Oppose House Bill 2638
22 January 12
House Bill being presented to Legislature to evict Occupy Nashville and all other Occupy encampments across the state of Tennessee.
'Occupy The Courts' Comes at an Opportune Moment
20 January 12
At some point on Friday, protesters across the United States plan to "Occupy the Courts" at rallies across the country. An offshoot of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, Occupy the Courts is attempting to draw national attention to the second anniversary of the US supreme court's now-infamous Citizens United v FEC decision, which removed spending limits by corporations and labor unions on political campaigns.
Protesters to Demonstrate Outside US Courthouses
20 January 12
NEW YORK - Protesters plan to "occupy" courthouses in more than 100 cities across the U.S. on Friday to protest a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that removed most limits on corporate and labor spending in federal elections.
The grassroots coalition, called Move to Amend, said the protest will kick off petition drives to gain support for a constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United v. FEC, a 2010 court ruling that allowed private groups to spend huge amounts on political campaigns with few restrictions. Occupy Wall Street activists are joining the protest.
"The courts created the idea that the corporation is a person with constitutional rights," said David Cobb, an Occupy the Courts organizer. "It's the justification for the whole corporate takeover of our government."
Occupy Protest Movement to Go Into Schools
20 January 12
The idea developed after members of the St Paul's camp were invited into a number of schools and universities.
The camp's "Tent City University" has won support from numerous high-profile speakers and academics.
Former citizenship teacher Jamie Kelsey Fry says that with protesters due to be evicted within weeks, an outreach programme is the natural next step.
Protesters from the Occupy movement - which campaigns against inequality, social injustice and corporate greed - have been camped outside St Paul's Cathedral next to the London Stock Exchange since 15 October.
But they are expected to be removed on 27 January, after the City of London won a High Court case over their eviction.
The protest group says the point of its occupation is to reclaim "the space in the face of the financial system and using it to voice ideas for how we can work towards a better future."
Occupy 2.0 Reboots Today in San Francisco
20 January 12
Dubbed Occupy Wall Street West, a second wave of protests against banks and corporations hits the streets today in The City’s Financial District.
The dozens of planned protests will be Occupy’s largest presence in San Francisco since its sprawling downtown tent cities were raided by police in December. But not everyone affiliated with the earlier Occupy SF protests is fully endorsing today’s mass demonstrations.
Robb Benson, an original member and treasurer of Occupy SF, had a brief run-in on Wednesday with Occupy Wall Street West organizers - which include several union representatives - during a news conference to announce today’s mass action. Benson said while labor groups originally told Occupiers they just wanted to help, it now seems as if they are taking the reins - and the power - of the Occupy moniker.
Occupy Wall Street Looms Over Wins vs. SOPA Bill, Oil Pipeline and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
20 January 12
This nation’s fast-growing populist movement against unbridled corporate power scored an astonishing trifecta this week.
In the span of just a few hours on Wednesday, three vastly different protest movements all achieved startling success the same way: by mobilizing the fury of tens of thousands of ordinary citizens.
An unprecedented one-day Internet blackout drew the most attention. Organized by free speech advocates, and backed by several major Internet companies, the protest sought to derail bills in Congress that the powerful entertainment industry has demanded against online piracy of movies and music.
If that legislation passes, its critics argue, the government will be able to shut down access to any website suspected of carrying copyrighted works, even if the website operator does so unknowingly, and even before any court hearing is held.
"These bills are very badly written," Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales told me in an interview yesterday. "It’s all well and good ... to find solutions to criminal behavior online. It’s not OK to set up a censorship regime in response to that."
Wikipedia and more than 10,000 websites went dark, while firms like Tumblr, Google and Facebook directed millions of their users to flood Congress with phone calls and petitions.
By the end of the day, several stunned senators and congressmen who had originally supported the legislation - including both Democrats and Republicans - had jumped ship, and the bills in their current forms now seem dead.
Scott Olsen: Casualty of the Occupation
19 January 12
A little more than six weeks after being shot in the head, Scott Olsen boarded a BART train and rode it across San Francisco Bay to Oakland. Olsen can't say for sure who shot him, or what with, but all evidence suggests it was probably a tear-gas canister fired by riot police as they cleared out the Occupy Oakland encampment last October. The chaotic footage of the night raid ended up all over YouTube. Billowing clouds of tear gas enveloped the streets surrounding Oakland's City Hall and took on an eerie, sulfurous glow, at least in the videos, while flash grenades erupted disorientingly and masked, silhouetted figures - many of the protesters had bandannas tied across their faces, guerrilla-style - scrambled for cover. For weeks, Occupy protesters had been complaining about heavy-handed police tactics, but this evidence didn't make anyone think of the Rodney King tape. It looked like a military crackdown in the West Bank.
The projectile that struck Olsen fractured his skull and left him in critical condition. More crucially for the narrative, Olsen turned out to be a 24-year-old ex-Marine who'd survived two tours of duty in Iraq. For a movement supposedly without leaders, this sort of compelling personal story was enough to make him an overnight icon, the perfect almost-martyr. Though he couldn't even speak for days, a shaky video of other protesters carrying him to safety got endless replays. In the footage, you can hear people around him screaming, "Medic! Medic!" as if a MASH unit might be somewhere nearby, and see Olsen himself, who looks absurdly young, staring up wide-eyed, but unable to speak, as someone shouts, "What's your name?" As the bedlam churns around him, Olsen slowly reaches up and touches his bleeding head.
"When I heard he was a Marine, I was expecting some six-foot-four guy," the Bay Area journalist Edwin Dobb, who has been covering Occupy Oakland, told me. "But he could pass for a junior in high school."
Occupy Movement Recharges for 2012
19 January 12
When a movement completely changes the way a nation looks at itself in its first month – as Occupy did in getting even Republicans to talk about growing income inequality – it’s not easy to quickly come up with a second act. This helps explain the floundering that Occupy exhibited at the end of 2011, which led some to question the movement’s future.
But events targeting Wall Street and the banking industry are resuming, and spirits appear high. One challenge Occupy faces is how to bring issues like “Wall Street” and “Big Banks” down to a manageable size. Foreclosure protests and bank occupations could soon become overdone, requiring new strategies to maintain public attention. Activists working to combat the massive issue of climate change faced a similar question in 2011, and found a great strategy in campaigning against the Keystone XL Pipeline. Occupiers might want to take a page from their struggle.
Video: Occupy London Protesters Lose High Court Eviction Case
19 January 12
City of London Corporation wins legal battle to remove the Occupy LSX protest camp from St Paul's churchyard, on the steps of the cathedral. Supporters of the movement listened outside the Royal Courts of Justice to hear Tammy Samede, as the principal named defendant, and her lawyer, John Cooper QC, confirm they will seek leave to appeal on Thursday, 19 January.
Occupiers Converge on Washington
18 January 12
Hundreds of Occupiers from around the country converged on Washington Tuesday in an event billed as Occupy Congress. Despite rain and cold weather hundreds gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol. They participated in teach-ins and non-violence trainings before a National General Assembly that began at noon.
The General Assembly broke down into four working groups. The working groups were: National Actions, Interoccupy Communications, Differing Tactics, and those staying in DC to Occupy.
At around 2 pm the Occupiers broke down into three groups: Red, Black and Green, and headed to Congressional office buildings. They broke down further in the buildings as they met with members of Congress.
America Occupies the Capital
17 January 12
Washington, DC - On January 17 Americans from across the nation and the world will assemble in the shadows of a broken system to participate in real democracy. At 9 am on the opening day of Congress, Occupy Congress will convene for a day of action against a corrupt political institution. Actions include a multi-occupational General Assembly, teach-ins, an OCCUParty, a pink slip for every congressional "representative" and a march on all three branches of a puppet government that sold our rights and our futures to the 1%.
Occupy the Dream Pastors Spell Out Demands
17 January 12
In 16 cities around the country, ministers from African-American churches offered a unified set of demands as they served notice that they are joining the Occupy movement. The demonstrations took place at Federal Reserve banks because, as the organizers explained, it was the Fed that bailed out the banks and Wall Street while Main Street was left to suffer.
In Washington DC, the Reverend Jamal Bryant of the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore spelled out the demands in front of the Federal Reserve headquarters.
Another focus of the Occupy the Dream movement will be to hit the banks where it will hurt. They are calling for everyone to move their money from the big banks to minority-owned or community banks and credit unions. February 14th will be the day of the initial push.
Occupy Movement Organizes Protest at 80 Courthouses on Anniversary of 'Citizens United v. FEC'
17 January 12
Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement will turn their attention to the legal system on Friday. They plan to gather at the Prince Kuhio Federal Building in Honolulu and 79 other court houses across the country to rally against the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision by the U.S. Supreme Court issued two years ago on January 21, 2010.
Protesters Ready Igloos to Occupy Davos
17 January 12
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Occupy protesters with their sights set on the World Economic Forum, the annual gathering next week of the rich and powerful in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, unveiled their igloo accommodation on Monday.
When fully erected, Camp Igloo will include two heated teepees and a field kitchen alongside the ice houses to sleep about 50 people in sub-zero temperatures, activists said.
Davos, which brings together politicians, central bankers and business leaders, has become a byword for globalization.
Occupy Wall Street Marks MLK Day in NY, 4 Arrested
17 January 12
NEW YORK - About 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters marched from the city's African Burial Ground to the Federal Reserve for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, saying the civil rights leader's work echoes in their own fight for more economic opportunity.
A smaller group also protested Monday at a Bank of America branch in Manhattan. Police arrested four members of that group on charges of trespassing.
The protesters prayed and sang "We Shall Overcome" at the burial ground, and a group of children played violins. The site is a national monument and marks the cemetery where free and enslaved Africans were buried during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Robocall Congress
17 January 12
For those of you who are unable to attend occupy congress in person on #J17, you can use this service to occupy your congressperson: http://www.ReverseRobocall.com/
ReverseRobocall.com provides voters an easy way to communicate with one or hundreds of politicians or political groups using the same technology politicians use, the robocall or automated phone call.
Gray Wants Occupy Protesters Removed from McPherson Square
12 January 12
Mayor Vincent C. Gray called on the National Park Service today to remove protesters from McPherson Square to “allow for elimination of the rat infestation, clean up, and restoration” of the downtown park.
In a letter to Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis, Gray suggests moving the McPherson protesters, who have camped in the park since October, to a separate encampment at Freedom Plaza.
Because both sites are on Park Service land, Gray does not have the authority to directly order an eviction. But today’s demand is Gray’s most dramatic pronoucement yet on the ongoing protests.
2 Oakland Police Officers Disciplined for Occupy Actions
12 January 12
Reporting from San Francisco -- Two officers involved in Occupy protests have been punished by the Oakland Police Department for violating official policy, after an onlooker's video showed one of them with dark tape obscuring his nameplate, according to court documents.
After an expedited internal affairs investigation into the actions of Officer John Hargraves and Lieutenant Clifford Wong, interim Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan "immediately moved to implement what, in my judgment as chief of police, was appropriate personnel action," Jordan said in a recent written declaration.
Jordan did not disclose the punishment "on advice of my legal counsel," he said in the declaration.
Attorneys in a more than decadelong legal case against Oakland and its Police Department took Hargraves and Wong to federal court in connection with their actions during a daylong general strike called by Occupy Oakland in early November.
Why Occupy? Here's Why.
07 January 12
The rift between master and slave is as old as human history. The rift has been continuous, just the names have changed. For centuries it was between the landed gentry and the peasants. Since the industrial revolution it has been between capital and labor. Always, between the two there was a small mercantile group as well as the traders and craftsmen that supplied that group. Previously this group fared better than labor but not so much better than labor today.
The history of labor vs. capital in the United States, of workers vs. owners, is well documented. The rich have almost always grown richer. But the worker gained in income as well. Professor Richard D. Wolff, Capitalism Hits the Fan, documents that workers gained in income each decade from the 1800s through 1970s. When adjusted for inflation, wages peaked in 1973. Since 1973, essentially none of the gains in worker productivity have been shared with the workers; business has retained literally all of it. Since, according to the Economic Policy Institute, through 2007 the richest 10 percent of Americans received 98 percent of all growth in income leaving 2 percent for the remaining 90 percent of us. From 1988 through 2008, income for the bottom 90 percent of us actually declined. The portion gained by the top 1 percent in general and the top 0.1 percent in particular is obscene.
The improved standards of living gained by labor unions, through higher wages and benefits for its members through 1973, were believed to be a burdensome cost to profits. Chicago's School of Economics' Milton Friedman had declared profits to be the only legitimate purpose of business. Something dramatic, something of epoch proportions, must have occurred in the 1970's that supported Friedman's contention. What could have happened?
Wednesday: Protest Against State Repression at the NYC Nigerian Consulate
11 January 12
Wednesday, January 11th
3pm-4pm leafletting at 43rd St and 7th Ave
4pm March to the Nigerian Consulate at 44th St and 2nd Ave
5pm Rally at the Nigerian Consulate
On Facebook
Called by an affinity group of participants in the Occupy Movement in NYC working against the NDAA:
This upcoming Wednesday, January 11th is the 10 year anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay Prison. This day is a somber recognition of previous repressive state measures that violate not only people on individual levels, but our international agreements on Universal Human Rights. We will be protesting in solidarity with others all over the world.
The Nigerian people are striking that same day, after the Nigerian government cut oil subsidies for citizens January 1st 2012. In response, Occupy Nigeria blocked the shipping routes and shut down petrol stations this past Tuesday. Though it was a peaceful protest, the state attacked the protesters with teargas and gunfire, killing 23 year old Mustapha Opobiyi. This mirrors the systemic state violence witnessed world-wide over the past year since the beginning of the Arab Spring -- but this ongoing repression builds resistance.
Occupy Wall Street Returns to Zuccotti Park
12 January 12
Security guards working for Brookfield Properties took down a cordon of metal barricades surrounding Zuccotti Park on Tuesday evening, but entered the park later that night to enforce rules forbidding anyone to lie down.
The police arrested three people late Tuesday, a woman and two men, and charged them with trespassing, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.
More than 200 Occupy Wall Street protesters milled inside the park past midnight, celebrating the removal of the barricades, which some lawyers had said violated city laws.
Charges Against 21 Occupy Wall Street Protesters Are Dropped
09 January 12
Prosecutors dropped charges on Monday against nearly two dozen people picked up in the first mass arrest of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators. About 50 other cases are headed to trial.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office asked a judge to dismiss 21 cases stemming from a Sept. 24 march to Union Square, during which some protesters marched in the street without a permit.
Prosecutors said they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the conduct in those cases was illegal. The people had faced charges of disorderly conduct.
The march came a week after the protest began at Zuccotti Park. The about 80 arrests helped draw attention to the movement after activists posted online a video that showed a police officer using pepper spray on a group, mostly women, whom officers had corralled behind orange netting near Union Square.
Occupy Our Homes Action in New York City Enters Second Month
10 January 12
In New York City, an occupation of a vacant home has entered its second month. Community organizations, church groups and Occupy Wall Street protesters took over the property on December 6 during an Occupy Our Homes action to reclaim foreclosed homes from bailed-out banks. The home is located in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood, which is marked with high rates of foreclosures and abandoned property. Alfredo Carrasquillo says he hopes to inspire similar actions across the country.
Occupiers Target 'Mayor 1% Emanuel's' Anti-Protest Ordinance
10 January 12
Occupy Rogers Park, Occupy the South Side campaign against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's NATO/G-8 ordinance; "This measure is a permanent attack on public protest in the City of Chicago." Last month Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced anti-protester legislation for the upcoming NATO and G-8 summits in Chicago.
Chicago's WBEZ reported: "During the summits, which could draw thousands of protesters, Emanuel wants to increase the minimum fine from $25 to $200 and double the maximum fine to $1,000. His proposed ordinance would also close parks, playgrounds and beaches overnight for longer periods of time."
This past Tuesday, Emanuel clarified that these measures would in fact be permanent, and not just during the time of the summits. From WBEZ: In fact, Emanuel said his proposal to dramatically increase fines for protesters who resist arrest - even passively - should be permanent. Some of the other sweeping powers the mayor is seeking - one would allow his office to unilaterally approve some city contracts - would expire once the May summits are over, he said.
As 'Right to Work' Law Looms, Indiana Occupiers Brace Limestone Strikers
10 January 12
An unexpected alliance is blooming seven weeks into a hard winter strike by 50 Millworkers at the Indiana Limestone Company: The participants of Occupy Bloomington in that nearby college town are rallying to their cause. The millworkers, members of Local 8093 of the Carpenters Industrial Council in Oolitic, Indiana, rejected a concessionary contract and by unanimous vote went on strike November 15.
Union negotiators had been expecting the company, once family-owned but now part of a private equity firm, to move on some of its demands for work rule concessions. The company had proposed ending weekly safety meetings in a job where Millworkers operate heavy machinery, precision cutting tools, and move limestone pieces that weigh in excess of 6 tons. The company had also demanded an end to just cause standards for discipline and radical changes in attendance policies.
Instead the company upped the ante: Not only did the concessions remain, but management now wanted to cancel basic seniority rights. Local 8093 members decided to make a stand and hit the picket line, supported by 18 members of the Journeymen Stonecutters and Machinists who perform the skilled task of fabricating the end product at the mill. The Stonecutters negotiate separately but felt their bargaining position was bound up in solidarity with the Millwrights.
What Occupy Can Learn From Dystopian Fiction
10 January 12
"YOU CAN’T EVICT AN IDEA," proclaim the banners fronting an otherwise dull building in east London, owned by banking giant UBS but inhabited and decorated by squatters from the Occupy movement. They've adapted the phrase from Alan Moore and David Lloyd's graphic novel "V for Vendetta," in which the titular terrorist explains his seeming immortality to a detective who has just shot him: "Ideas are bulletproof." A poster of V's trademark Guy Fawkes mask smiles eerily at all who walk into the foyer of 8 Sun Street, now dubbed "The Bank of Ideas" and used as a community center. The caption underneath reads, "We are the 99%, and so are you."
It's fitting that the Occupy movement should have drawn inspiration from dystopian fiction, an increasingly popular genre for teenagers and young adults in particular.
'Wild Old Women' Close San Francisco Bank of America Branch
10 January 12
It was a slow-moving Occupy Wall Street protest, but it was an effective one. A dozen senior citizens calling themselves "the wild old women" succeeded in closing a Bank of America branch in Bernal Heights Thursday.
The women, aged 69 to 82, who live at the senior home up Mission Street from the Bernal Heights Bank of America branch, decided to hold their own protest by doing what they called a "run on the bank."
Tita Caldwell, 80, who led the charge of women with walkers and wheelchairs, said that they're demanding the bank lower fees, pay higher taxes, and stop foreclosing on, and evicting, homeowners.
Occupy Albany Settles In, Rents Office Space
09 January 12
ALBANY — Since their rough eviction from a park near the state Capitol on the first day of winter, the Occupy Albany movement has regrouped out of a storefront a few blocks away, where members meet and organize protests and marches to help correct what they consider American democracy bent to favor the rich.
The small office on a downtown street of mostly residential brownstones has the movement's name stenciled on the window and a poster next to it that says, "Tax the 1 percent." Fliers are neatly laid out on a table, protest signs stacked against a wall, and one utilitarian desk has a computer, connected to the Internet where the movement maintains a Web site and Facebook page and uses other social networks to connect.
"We're in it for the long term," said Colin Donnaruma, one of the protesters pepper sprayed during a confrontation with police when the outdoor encampment was dismantled. "The movement isn't contingent on physically occupying a place."
Occupy Oakland Plans More Anti-Police Rallies
09 January 12
Tensions between Oakland police and Occupy protesters escalated Sunday, a day after an antipolice rally downtown turned violent and resulted in six arrests.
Protesters pledged to hold weekly demonstrations against the police, who they say have been overzealous in enforcing no-lodging, trespassing and other laws to break up Occupy encampments.
"The solution is very obvious. All (Mayor Jean Quan) has to do is stop enforcing these laws," said Occupy Oakland activist Phil Horne. "If they set reasonable rules, we'll abide by them."
Clashes with police have been a hallmark of Occupy Oakland since October, when police made their initial clearance of a camp in front of City Hall that had become a gathering spot for economic injustice protests modeled on Occupy Wall Street.
Saturday night, protesters marched peacefully from City Hall seven blocks to police headquarters carrying "F- the police" banners, hoping to draw attention to what they described as ongoing police harassment, oppression and abuse.
As protesters approached the police station, officers in riot helmets stopped marchers along Washington Street near Seventh Street, where protesters started a bonfire and some threw bottles at officers from the back of the crowd. During the protest, protesters spray-painted a letter "A" with a circle around it - the symbol for anarchy - on a media van, and broke windows at a Starbucks coffee shop and on patrol cars, authorities said.
Livestreaming Journalists Want to Occupy the Skies With Cheap Drones
07 January 12
It may not sound like much: A video blogger bought a toy helicopter.
But the blogger is 25-year-old Tim Pool - an internationally known journalist who attracts tens of thousands of viewers to his live-stream broadcasts from Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, DC, LA and other cities. (His feeds and archival footage are also aired on mainstream networks such as NBC.) He and his partners hope that the toy chopper - the $300 Parrot AR Drone - will be one step toward a citizen-driven alternative to mainstream news.
Along with "general assembly" and "99 percenters," Occupy Wall Street has brought the phrase "livestreaming" to the forefront. Rising-star reporters - known best by their Twitter and Ustream handles - such as Pool (timcast) in New York City and Spencer Mills (oakfosho) in Oakland are passionate, deeply embedded correspondents who provide live video reporting - sometimes lasting a dozen hours or more - of protests, general assemblies and other Occupy events. Instead of using a satellite truck, they broadcast live "TV" coverage from 3G- and 4G-equipped smartphones over video networks such as Ustream.com and Livestream.com.
Occupying Grand Central Station
07 January 12
Tuesday, occupiers mobilized against the National Defense Authorization Action signed by President Obama on New Year's Eve. After a lunchtime march to the offices of New York senators, occupiers gathered in the Grand Central train station, where multiple people were arrested while leading "People's Mic" recitations of an anti-NDAA script. The indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA have become a lightning rod for Occupy actions, including Philadelphia-where activists presented "Fascist of the Year" awards to actors portraying their Senators-and Iowa, where they occupied the hotel headquartering the DNC.
Occupy Oakland Activists Barred from City Hall
06 January 12
Police arrested a dozen Occupy Oakland protesters and dismantled a tepee outside City Hall late Wednesday, prompting an unsuccessful attempt by demonstrators Thursday to confront Mayor Jean Quan in her office.
Officers in riot helmets converged on Frank Ogawa Plaza about 11:50 p.m. and arrested the protesters, some of whom had been sleeping near the tepee in violation of a temporary permit that the city had revoked two days earlier, officials said. The 12 were booked on suspicion of resisting police.
National Lawyers Guild Demands OPD End Harassment of Occupy Oakland Protesters
05 January 12
SAN FRANCISCO - As an organization dedicated to upholding human rights and social justice, the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (NLGSF) is alarmed by the Oakland Police (OPD) and Alameda County Sheriff's Departments' ongoing violence, harassment, and unconstitutional arrests of Occupy Oakland protesters.
Last night, January 4, 2012, video footage again showed OPD violating its own Crowd Control policy by raiding the Occupy Oakland demonstration at Oscar Grant/Frank Ogawa Plaza and grabbing select individuals for arrest, without warning and for no apparent reason. OPD has repeatedly targeted well-known Occupy Oakland activists for arrest, mostly without legal grounds or on petty offenses, in an apparent attempt to suppress the Occupy movement's legitimate First Amendment activity. Over the past three weeks, OPD has repeatedly raided the lawful protest vigil at Oscar Grant Plaza, using selective and bizarre interpretations of city and state ordinances to justify aggressively arresting and jailing the demonstrators. Again and again, the police have charged into crowds of peaceful protesters and grabbed individuals protesters who were doing nothing wrong and posed no threat.
"We have already had to sue the Oakland Police twice in the past year for violating their own Crowd Control Policy, but the violations continue," explained attorney Mike Flynn, president of NLGSF. “We have ongoing litigation in federal court to stop the unconstitutional arrests, violence against, and illegal prolonged detention of demonstrators in the Alameda County Jails. Yet, OPD has continued to assault Occupy Oakland protesters, confiscate their food and belongings, and hold them under cruel conditions in jail for days at a time, only to release most with no charges or with only very minor violations.”
Occupy Oakland Activist May Face Three Strikes, Life in Prison
05 January 12
The threat of life imprisonment looms for Occupy Oakland activist Marcel Johnson - better known by his alias, Khali - after a third-strike arrest during the demonstration. Having spent about 15 years incarcerated already, 38 year-old Khali said he was trying to turn his life around by distributing food to the needy at the Occupy Oakland encampment, where he was a frequent, vocal, sometimes endearing presence. On December 16 he was arrested outside City Hall for violating anti-encroachment laws - namely, for a dispute about a blanket - which normally wouldn't have warranted more than a few hours jail time. Since Khali was in fact violating his probation terms for a different case in Sacramento, he was taken to Santa Rita and made to serve some jail time in lieu of going to trial, his attorney Dan Siegel explained. There, Khali was held in solitary confinement and not given his psychiatric medications, which might explain why he got into an altercation with a peace officer - the exact circumstances of which are still widely disputed. Now, Khali faces a felony assault charge in place of his original misdemeanor. As of Friday, December 23, Khali's bail was set at $580,000, according his attorney, Dan Siegel.
"So he's basically arrested for littering, and a week later he's facing felony charges," Siegel said, in an interview on December 23.
Detention Provisions of Defense Bill Spark New York 'Occupy' Protest
04 January 12
Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City stormed Grand Central Station during rush hour Tuesday evening, rallying against the Defense Authorization Act.
The protesters were objecting to provisions in the bill, which President Obama signed into law on Saturday, that civil liberties groups say allow the United States to detain American citizens indefinitely in military custody.
Occupy the Courtroom: Activists Put Guantanamo on Trial
03 January 12
A jury trial for five anti-torture activists begins on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 in D.C. Superior Court before Judge Fisher on a charge of unlawful conduct.
“Our strategy is to put Guantanamo on trial,” says Josie Setzler, a human rights advocate and grandmother from Ohio, “to demand action from our elected Representatives and our President, to see Guantanamo shut down and this travesty ended.” On June 23, 2011, as the House of Representatives voted on an appropriations bill containing a measure to strip funding from any efforts to repatriate Guantanamo detainees, the activists stood one by one and addressed the men and women elected to represent their interests.
On Occupy Wall Street’s Radical Roots
28 December 11
As it moves into a new year, and an election year no less, the Occupy movement will likely be claimed by more and more hopefuls in the mainstream trying to benefit from it, and to sanitize it in the process. I guess that’s why I’ve found myself writing a lot lately about the movement’s radical roots, radical ambitions, and radical tactics—to remind us that if it had played by the rules some now want it to play by, it wouldn’t have gotten where it is in the first place.
For the occasion of a recent panel discussion at Columbia Law School on Occupy Wall Street and the First Amendment, I wrote this essay, subsequently published on the website of Harper’s Magazine. It argues that one should not take the movement’s appeals to the Bill of Rights too literally in legal terms, and that its tactics and aims have always been infused with an impulse more revolutionary than the law could ever accommodate. The whole discussion at Columbia, which also included WNV contributor and legal scholar Jeremy Kessler, can now be watched here:
Protesters Inspire 'Occupy 101' University Course
04 January 12
Columbia University is offering a new course next semester based on the ‘Occupy’ movement.
Run by the Anthropology department, the class is taught by Dr. Hannah Appel, who has previously spent time camped out in Zuccotti Park with Occupy Wall Street protesters. Even though Appel is a participant, the lecturer believes she can teach the course in an objective manner.
NYPD Marks New Year by Arresting, Throwing Around Occupy Wall Street Protesters
01 January 12
The New York Police Department (NYPD) responded with brute force in the first hours of the New Year to Occupy Wall Street’s attempt to re-take Zuccotti Park. The police went after live streamers, others with cameras and even bystanders and a National Lawyers Guild (NLG) observer.
At least 68 were arrested. Updates posted on the action by Occupy Wall Street that unfolded indicate NYPD threw around livestreamers and bystanders as they were removing people and making arrests. The police also blockaded the sidewalk stopping a march and told Occupy Wall Street demonstrators they were “blocking traffic.” They brought in horses. They searched for individuals with “official press passes,” ready to eject citizen journalists who wanted to remain and bear witness to the NYPD’s aggressive policing.
Again, a member of the Global Revolution livestream team was seemingly targeted and arrested. NYPD has seemingly targeted Occupy Wall Street media team members in the past months. In December, NYPD targeted 17 people, who all had some level of involvement with media. They had been covering a flash mob action in Brookfield Properties’ Winter Garden.
An NLG legal observer was “ejected” and left as ordered. When the observer made a phone call, the NYPD ordered the observer to put down the phone. The observer was then arrested.
Police arrested people for simply crossing the street. They had been ordered to cross and when they did cross they were subsequently arrested.
Occupy The Caucus’ Activists Target Iowa Campaign Headquarters
01 January 12
99 Percenters allied to Occupy Wall Street have launched what they call “Occupy The Caucus” to protest against corporate influence in American politics by occupying the offices of various campaign headquarters in the state of Iowa.
Scores of protesters marched on the campaign headquarters of candidates including Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich (the “lobbyist” of the one percent). Eighteen demonstrators were arrested on Saturday, as demonstrators called for kicking money out of politics. Watch protesters get arrested outside Bachmann’s office.
Occupy the Rose Parade
01 January 12
OTRP's Main Action is the Occupy "People's Parade" which will be on Monday from 7am - 2pm. Details for the People's Parade are in the PDF schedule and further below. Please note that there is also an ongoing "hangout area" at Memorial Park for Occupiers from 6 am to 10 pm on Jan 1st & Jan 2nd. Please note that -- for several logistics reasons -- the locations for the "Corporate Accountability", "End Corporate Personhood" & "Stop Foreclosures" discussions have been recently shifted to Memorial Park at earlier times. However, the main "Discussion on Faith-Based Institutions" will be still at All Saints Church from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm (location details in PDF file). Please contact the Phase 1 coordinator, Dan Niswander, if you have any questions. Dan can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and 323-640-1805.
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