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)
Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Together, Occupy D.C., Occupy Oakland, Occupy Chicago, Occupy Boston, Occupy San Francisco , Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Live Streams
Use this address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Occupy Worldwide
1 December - 8 December 11
This page is an archive. Future OWS updates will go on the new page.
SF Plaza Clear After Night of Tension
07 December 11
At least one protester tried to set up a tent on San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza this morning, hours after police and Occupy demonstrators said no tents would be allowed and sparred into the night.
Police quickly moved in and removed the tent before requiring the dozen campers who had spent the night sleeping under the stars on the plaza to get up and stop sleeping in the park.
My Occupy LA Arrest
08 December 11
It was horrible to watch, and apparently designed to terrorize the rest of us. At least I was sufficiently terrorized. I unlinked my arms voluntarily and informed the LAPD officers that I would go peacefully and cooperatively. I stood as instructed, and then I had my arms wrenched behind my back, and an officer hyperextended my wrists into my inner arms. It was super violent, it hurt really really bad, and he was doing it on purpose. When I involuntarily recoiled from the pain, the LAPD officer threw me face-first to the pavement. He had my hands behind my back, so I landed right on my face. The officer dropped with his knee on my back and ground my face into the pavement. It really, really hurt and my face started bleeding and I was very scared. I begged for mercy and I promised that I was honestly not resisting and would not resist.
Occupy D.C. protesters Shut Down K Street
08 December 11
The mix of protesters from across the country, including union workers, progressive activists and community organizers, said they’re opposed to the corporate greed embodied by the street known for housing special interest groups and offices of major corporations. Adopting the slogan of the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York, the activists spilling onto K Street said they were fighting for the interests of the “99 percent” of ordinary Americans.
Demonstrators celebrated their success after shutting down K Street for several hours on a busy weekday. “Thousands of unemployed workers and community members are engaging in peaceful civil disobedience this week to make the voices of the 99 percent heard above the power of the 1 percent and their K Street money machine,” said Stephanie Mueller, a spokeswoman for the American Dream Movement, a coalition of labor and progressive groups.
Occupy Movement Seeks Refuge in Court as Evictions Mount
08 December 11
On one end of the spectrum, defeats for Occupy could mean continual police crackdowns in every major city in America until protesters either give up in defeat or imprisonment — which could either end the movement or force it to become more creative in its tactics in its fight against a system that’s built to increasingly expand the gulf between the rich and poor.
On the other, victory could create constitutionally protected encampments dotting city parks on the national map for months — or even years — should occupying be held as a protected right under the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to assemble in protest.
Police dismantle Occupy SF - 70 arrested
07 December 11
Police raided the Occupy SF camp early today, arresting 70 campers and protesters at Justin Herman Plaza and clearing out the two-month-old encampment, authorities said.
Officers, sheriff's deputies, firefighters and public works crews converged on the camp at the foot of Market Street at about 1 a.m. today and gave protesters five minutes to clear out, said Officer Albie Esparza, a San Francisco police spokesman.
Occupy Your Food Supply: Radical Farmer's March Aims to Bridge Urban-Rural Divide, Focus in on "Food Justice"
06 December 11
“I have a confession to make,” said Jim Gerritsen, an organic seed farmer from northern Maine, “This is my first time in New York City. I had no good reason to come until today.”
Jim Gerritsen was one of several farmers, farm laborers, and food activists that came from across the country to the country to the Farmer’s March this past Sunday—a rally and march designed to connect the struggles of rural farmers held captive by the corporate control of big agriculture with the Occupy movement in New York City.
Rooftop Films Gives Occupy Wall Street Its Own Film Series
05 December 11
As a political movement, Occupy Wall Street has attracted plenty of headlines, buzz and creative energy. Now, this being New York, it has its own film series. Rooftop Films, in partnership with several movie houses throughout the city, is presenting a free series of four films from Dec. 13 to 16 featuring issues that ignited the demonstrations.
Rooftop Films is a nonprofit best known for showing movies outdoors (hence the name). In a statement released on Monday, Dan Nuxoll, the program director for Rooftop, said the series was prompted by a public outpouring over the events surrounding Occupy Wall Street.
London Police Include Occupy Movement on ‘Terror’ List
05 December 11
City of London Police have sparked controversy by producing a brief in which the Occupy London movement is listed under domestic terrorism/extremism threats to City businesses.
The document was given to protesters at their “Bank of Ideas” base on Sun Street – a former site of financial corporation UBS. City police have stepped up an effort to quell the movement since they occupied the building on 18 November, with the document stating: “It is likely that activists aspire to identify other locations to occupy, especially those they identify with capitalism.
Occupy Wall Street Takes on Capitol Hill
06 December 11
Today the Occupy movement took another step, moving from cities, colleges, and Wall Street to the actual courthouse — the kangaroo court, if you will, corrupting our nation.
Occupy Congress descended on the bull’s-eye of Washington today — a beautiful thing in our view! Members from a broad range of organizations marched to the Capital and then spread out to meet with their representatives, air their grievances, and as they say, “take back the people’s house.”
What better way for the 99% to take a stand against the growing wealth gap than confronting our crushingly ineffective and misaligned Congress, which has not only worked to preserve and strengthen the finances of the richest Americans, but is half full of millionaires itself?
This comes on the heels of a standoff at Washington’s McPherson Square, where 31 Occupiers were arrested, with some Occupiers forcibly removed.
David Goodfriend on Occupy Wall Street: "Let Them Occupy"
07 December 11
I’m troubled by the images of Occupy protesters being forcibly removed from McPherson Square park here in Washington, D.C. I didn’t like it when the protesters were removed by force in New York or Oakland, either, but Washington is different. Washington is our public square, it’s where the nation comes together to voice our views, air our grievances, and most important, petition our government. That’s a right granted to all of us by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Throughout our history, the people have come to Washington to express through peaceful protest their ideas and feelings. The Civil Rights marches. The anti-abortion protests. The Million Man March. The Tea Party. Whether you agree with them or not, these are sign posts on our national journey toward forming a more perfect union.
Occupy Movement Heads to Congress Today to Air Grievances
06 December 11
Protesters from the Occupy movement and other groups are planning to converge on Capitol Hill Tuesday to air their grievances in front of members of Congress. Members of a broad range of organizations, including unions and community groups, are expected to travel to Washington to take part in an event dubbed "Take Back the People's House."
Many of the participants plan to assemble in the morning before marching toward the Capitol, according to information posted on the website of Progressive Maryland, a nonprofit organization that says it works to improve conditions for working families.
After arriving at the Capitol, marchers say they intend to fan out for meetings with representatives and "occupy" Congressional offices until closure. Not all participants have meetings scheduled, so some protests are expected in the area around the Capitol.
Occupy London Is 50 Days Old - Now It's Time to Occupy Everywhere
06 December 11
Occupy London is 50 days old on Monday and it's time to take stock. Unlike those occupations across the world that started off small and were able to expand gradually, our occupation was born in the full glare of the media on 15 October, a "big bang" launch that meant we had to hit the ground running. Since then we have expanded to three sites across three London boroughs, each of which is a hive of activity. We currently have 39 working groups based at St Paul's alone, operating across topic areas as diverse as direct democracy, outreach and sanitation.
As a non-hierarchical movement, Occupy is inextricably a joint endeavour. Everyone who joins us – even for an evening - holds equal decision-making weight. At the same time, for those of us who are fully immersed in the process, Occupy is a challenging full-time job that is often combined with other commitments. Seeing the sacrifices people make to keep this project going has been humbling.
Over the last week or so, there have been a variety of news stories - some better intentioned than others - challenging us to aspire to even higher levels of efficiency, transparency and accountability. We take it as a compliment that, after only seven weeks, we are regarded as significant enough to warrant the kind of tough questioning that much more powerful organisations find hard to respond to. Unlike them, we intend to rise to the challenge.
Instead of Going Away Occupy Wall Street Will Be Occupying Everywhere
06 December 11
When OWS first started, the corporate media ignored it hoping it would just go away. When that didn't work, the 1% turned to propaganda. First they mocked the occupy movement describing them as lazy kids who don't know how the world functions. Occupy got stronger. The propaganda got uglier, but was discredited. OWS still gained popularity, surpassing the 1% astro-turfing Tea Party.
That's when the 1%'s minions and supporters turned to creative applications of the law, while overlooking legal niceties like the first amendment. Property was seized. Scott Olsen and Dorli Rainey became national symbols of the violence that Occupy protesters endured.
Olsen survived two tours of Iraq, only to be seriously injured, when a tear gas cannister hit him in the head, while peacefully protesting in Oakland, California. He is still recovering from the injuries he sustained and he is still an Occupy supporter. In a recent, on the Ed Show, Olsen explains why he continues to support the Occupy Movement.
Where Were You When They Crucified My Movement?
05 December 11
Chris Hedges gave an abbreviated version of this talk Saturday morning in Liberty Square in New York City as part of an appeal to Trinity Church to turn over to the Occupy Wall Street movement an empty lot, known as Duarte Square, that the church owns at Canal Street and 6th Avenue. Occupy Wall Street protesters, following the call, began a hunger strike at the gates of the church-owned property. Three of the demonstrators were arrested Sunday on charges of trespassing, and three others took their places.
Fox Pollster Tells GOP Governors Why 'Occupy' Scares Him
05 December 11
When the reigning wordsmith of the Republican right says that he is "frightened to death" by Occupy Wall Street, there must be a compelling reason for him to admit his fear. Such was the confession of Frank Luntz, famed pollster and consultant whose advice has been sought by Fox News, Newt Gingrich and many other leaders in the political and corporate worlds. Speaking before the Republican Governors Association in Florida this week, Luntz went on to warn its members that the public wants to raise taxes on the wealthy, deeply distrusts Wall Street, and even thinks capitalism is "immoral."
Is Joining the Occupy Movement Better Than an Internship?
05 December 11
Finally, our generation is taking a stand, and we have a chance to be a part of something more than serving lattes or spreading guacamole on a Chipotle burrito for a few bucks an hour. We're faced with a choice: continue working an unfulfilling low-wage job or unpaid internship, or become part of something meaningful and future-shaping.
Joshua Holland | Occupy Crackdowns: Naomi Wolf's Response to My Critique Largely Evades the Issue at Hand
02 December 11
It's disappointing that Naomi Wolf's response to my criticism of her November 25 Guardian column – and earlier blog-post -- doesn't address the many misstatements of fact, logical leaps and baseless assertions which I highlighted.
Wolf instead spends much time on a general discussion of heightened federal surveillance and the increased coordination between federal and local law enforcement agencies, which she says I am naïve not to acknowledge, and devotes an enormous amount of space to establishing that federal law enforcement agencies have had some sort of role in at least monitoring the Occupy Movement and offering some guidance to local law enforcement agencies.
Judge: Occupy Boston Protesters Can Stay 2 More Weeks
03 December 11
A Suffolk Superior Court judge says Occupy Boston protesters can stay in an encampment on Dewey Square until Dec. 15.
After a four-hour hearing, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre took both sides' arguments under advisement and said she would issue a ruling in two weeks time. Until then, she said, an injunction that bars the city from booting the protesters remains in place.
The protesters called the decision a "victory."
Occupy Catch-22: Boston Cops Throw Out the Kitchen Sink
03 December 11
Yes, it has come to this - cops and Occupy protestors at one of the last major encampments in the United States are fighting over a kitchen sink.
Boston police moved in with heavy force on Thursday's General Assembly meeting in Boston's Dewey Square to remove a DIY grey-water sink intended to help Occupy Boston members wash their dishes and comply with sanitation requirements that the city says the encampment is violating.
But the Boston cops who surround the Financial camp day and night enforce an embargo on anything durable entering the camp. So after Occupiers gang-rushed the 10-foot-long industrial sink into the camp Thursday night, the cops forced their way into the camp to remove the 'contraband.'
One officer guarded the sink, while he was surrounded by a cold and frustrated crowd chanting, "Let us do the dishes!"
Occupy Richmond Stands Up for Local Tea Party Group
03 December 11
The Richmond Tea Party has been alleging that it is being singled out for unfair treatment from the city of Richmond, Virginia after officials have opened a tax audit of the group. These Tea Partiers complain that the city has been much more lenient on Occupy Richmond (which recently faced arrests after resisting an eviction) and that 99 Percenters are getting preferential treatment.
Yet the Richmond Tea Party just got an unexpected ally in its claim against the city - Occupy Richmond.
The 'Crackdown on Occupy' Controversy
03 December 11
What a firestorm my Comment is free blog post in the Guardian, "The Shocking News Behind the Crackdown on Occupy", has unleashed: some have praised, while others have attacked. Joshua Holland's criticisms of my piece, in a blog post, "Naomi Wolf's Shocking Truth about Occupy is Anything But", was picked up the most widely of the critics' attacks. But the criticisms Holland poses are poorly grounded.
Holland's main premise is that I am part of a "flurry of speculation" that is without basis in fact, and that there was no federal involvement in the crackdown. I cited evidence that DHS was on the 18-member conference call of mayors, which Oakland Mayor Jean Quan alluded to in an interview with the BBC on 15 November, and my source was Wonkette on 15 November. Holland argues that his assertion to contrary has been qualified, and I am happy to adjust the citation accordingly.
But Holland is seriously mistaken in reaching his premature conclusion that there is no evidence of DHS or federal participation in the crackdown, and for attacking me for having asserted the connection: "Mayors in a handful of cities," he concludes, "responding to local political pressures, decided to break up their local occupations – decisions that were announced to the press well in advance – and were advised as to how best to do so."
LA Files Criminal Charges Against Arrested Protesters
2 December 11
LOS ANGELES—LOS ANGELES (AP)—Authorities filed criminal charges against nearly 20 people following this week's police sweep of the Occupy Los Angeles encampment at City Hall Park.
Eighteen Occupy LA protesters were charged Thursday with a misdemeanor count of failure to disperse from the park, where nearly 500 tents had been erected at the peak of an anti-Wall Street protest, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said. A 19th protester was charged with battery and assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest.
Civil Suit Filed Against UC Berkeley
15 November 11
Fourteen of the protesters who attended Wednesday’s Occupy Cal demonstration have agreed to file a civil suit against UC Berkeley and UCPD, as well as the Oakland Police Department and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
Attorneys for BAMN, a national pro-affirmative action group, intend to file the lawsuit by next week on behalf of protesters who either experienced violence or were arrested despite claims of remaining peaceful at the demonstration.
The group held a press conference on Monday afternoon on the steps of Sproul Hall to announce the lawsuit and call on Chancellor Robert Birgeneau to resign.
Defying Police Blockade, Boston's Occupy Builds a City
1 December 11
Between the 19th and the 21st of November, Occupy Boston had two teach-ins, a street-theater training, a reggae concert, and countless meetings - managing to use one of those as a cover to sneak a large weatherized tent past the ever-present Boston Police.
It was a member of the Occupy Boston's Women's caucus that told me they'd managed it, grinning widely, just as the tent was being set up as a dry, safe, and relatively warm place for women to shelter in the Occupy.
"It's considered contraband," she said, though she was gone before I could ask who considered it so. It was my introduction to the problems faced by these new residents of Dewey Square, in Boston's Financial District, where it plays out its particular flavor of protest camp in the shadow of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Peter Yarrow at Freedom Plaza, DC
1 December 11
Occupiers at Freedom Plaza had a surprise visitor this morning. Folk legend Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary dropped by and performed a couple songs and gave words of encouragement.
You Can Arrest an Idea
1 December 11
The bankers slept well. Their homes in Beverly Hills were not spotlighted by a noisy swarm of police helicopters, searchlights burning through the sanctity of the night, harassing the forlorn City Hall encampment of those who dared protest the banks’ seizure of our government. I live within sight of the iconic Los Angeles City Hall, and at first I thought it was being used once again as a movie location, given the massive police presence, as if an alien invasion was being thwarted.
Not eager to test the resilience of my new heart valve, I hesitated until the first crack of dawn to visit the place where former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and I had spoken weeks before at a teach-in on the origins of the economic crisis. I described the scene back then as a Jeffersonian moment, exactly the kind of peaceful assembly to redress grievances that the Founders of our nation enshrined in the Bill of Rights. But at 5 a.m. Wednesday there was only a graveyard of democratic hope. The protesters were gone, 200 arrested for exercising their constitutional rights, and only the television crews stayed to pick over the carcass of tents, books and posters, including one I pulled from the debris that read “99% you can’t arrest an idea.” Actually, you can, and the bankers have, as a result, been able to reoccupy Los Angeles’ City Hall and every other contested outpost of power throughout the nation..
What Would Gandhi Do?
1 December 11
andhi has been all over New York lately. First he appeared at Occupy Wall Street as a patron saint of sorts, inspiring the protest's nonviolent tactics. (The demonstrators even named a lane for him.) Then he emerged at the Metropolitan Opera as the star of Philip Glass's opera "Satyagraha."
But with the Zuccotti Park encampment removed, and the opera closing on Dec. 1, is that it for Gandhi in New York? Or is it worth asking, what would Gandhi do in the world today?
Throughout his life, Gandhi was preoccupied with putting universal morals into practice. In doing so, he attempted to dissolve the division between ideas and action. This blend of ideas and action animates Mr. Glass's "Satyagraha." During the almost four-hour performance, Gandhi's career as a young freedom fighter is set in the context of his intellectual debts to Tolstoy, Tagore and above all the Bhagavad Gita.
Occupy SF Given Until Noon to Move Out of Justin Herman Plaza
1 December 11
Campers at the Occupy SF tent city are preparing to mount their last stand after city officials set a deadline of noon today to evacuate Justin Herman Plaza.
During a meeting Wednesday with representatives of the camp, Department of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru gave them the news.
"I have to tell you that time is short, and we don’t want tents on this property as of noon tomorrow," Nuru said.
In Court, Occupy Boston Fights to Keep Encampment
1 December 11
Occupy Boston’s temporary restraining order against the City of Boston runs out Thursday. All parties are back in court Thursday morning to decide whether police have a right to evict protesters without the court’s approval and whether protesters have a First Amendment right to stay in Dewey Square.
Half a dozen other protesters were handing out flyers to people waiting to buy lunch at food trucks across from South Station.
“We’re from Occupy Boston and we’re just asking you guys to call in the mayor’s office today to help us not get evicted from Dewey Square.”
Occupy Philly Forces Regroup to Await Release of Those Arrested
1 December 11
Regrouping after an overnight eviction from Dilworth Plaza, Occupy Philadelphia participants marched Wednesday through Center City to Police Headquarters, where they awaited the release of 52 fellow protesters arrested during the crackdown.
Toorjo Ghose, 40, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania who was among the first group released from the basement jail Wednesday evening, accused the police of brutal tactics.
"I think we're in an era in this country of militarized police tactics being unleashed on unarmed peaceful citizens," said Ghose, who teaches in the School of Social Policy and Practice.
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
|
THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community. |
