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by barracuda » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:49 am
Wombaticus Rex wrote:
by Bruce Dazzling » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:58 am
NYPD To Drunks, Criminals: Why Not Occupy Wall Street?
James Thilman / Gothamist
As the Occupy Wall Street protesters entrench themselves in Zuccotti Park with tents, tarps (and pedal-powering generators) there is concern that the environment at the park itself is attracting drunks, drug dealers, and garden-variety criminals in increasingly greater numbers. There may be a reason for this: the NYPD is allegedly telling lawbreakers to take their activities to Zuccotti.
Harry Siegel reports in the Daily News on the divide between the East and West sides of the park, with the East populated by the working groups (Sanitation, Press, Legal) and the West filled up with "the carnival crowd" of "crusty punks, angry drunks, drug dealers and the city's many varieties of park denizens." But Siegel points to something far more cynical that mere self-selection for an increase in the number of dubious occupiers:Two different drunks I spoke with last week told me they’d been encouraged to “take it to Zuccotti” by officers who’d found them drinking in other parks, and members of the community affairs working group related several similar stories they’d heard while talking with intoxicated or aggressive new arrivals.
When one "clearly disturbed man" continued to scream and sing at 3 a.m., Siegel heard an officer say, “He’s got a right to express himself, you’ve got a right to express yourself." A protester then joked that it was "the first time I've heard cops mention our First Amendment rights."
Though Zuccotti's kitchen has cut back on hours and on menu items, and the protesters use mediators with walkie-talkies to patrol the park, it's unclear if those who support the movement itself will be able to peacefully excise those who break the law and pollute the group's message.
If there's one thing the protesters may have in their favor, it's that most members of Community Board 1 seem to know the difference between those who occupy the park respectfully and those who sell drugs and jeopardize the safety of the neighborhood. If it's determined that the NYPD and the Bloomberg administration are responsible for more people defecating on their doorsteps, their focus may shift from how the protesters can peacefully coexist with residents to why those in charge are preventing them from doing so.
by barracuda » Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:07 pm
by psynapz » Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:26 pm
by Bruce Dazzling » Mon Oct 31, 2011 1:00 pm
Trespassing in public: RVA Police break up the occupation and arrest our photographer
Posted by: Ian – Oct 31, 2011
I had no political agenda when I arrived at Kanawa Plaza at about one thirty in the morning. I'd been shooting a party that night; I was reasonably well paid to photograph costumed party-goers at an extremely popular local hot-spot, and politics were the furthest thing from my mind. It was Preston's information of imminent documentary opportunities that hastened my retreat from central heat to a thirty-five degree autumn night. I have written many more words about my encounter with the Richmond City Police this morning, however, I feel it would be a mistake for me to publish them currently, as I have charges pending with said police force regarding exactly what transpired. I am confident that the photographic and video record will speak in my favor. The officers were generally respectful of my person and property, as evidenced by the photograph below, which I took while my hands were bound behind my back in matching, connected steel bracelets.
We left the bar shortly after 1am, motivated by SMS that Occupy Richmond was being raided by police. Upon arrival, we were threatened with arrest several times while standing on city sidewalks on the perimeter, not within, Kanawha Plaza. After acquiescing to the unlawful requests of police, we moved to a corner we were informed was the designated location for the press. Ian then attempted to cross the street, at a crosswalk, and was apprehended for trespassing.
This wasn't supposed to be about me, dammit. I was there to photograph the police dissemble the occupation, and therefore what many call the trampling of the first and possibly second amendments. The people assembled in a (literal) public square, were paid lip service to by local authorities, and on the last morning of October, the local police were forced into thuggery by an order from on high. Again, I was not at Kanawa Plaza to make a political statement, I wanted to take some pictures... and instead, I got arrested for crossing the fucking street.
On public, city property, not legally restricted to particular hours. The following photographs were taken before, during, and after his arrest, which was evidently predicated on a fear of media documentation held by law enforcement officials. Immediately following his arrest, I attempted to retrieve his camera from him, was physically restrained by police, and subsequently asked by the officer in charge if I would be willing to try to calm those relegated to the corner allocated for the media, in exchange for said camera. No deal.
Ian was released on summons for a crime he did not commit. These are the images that resulted from this confrontation. Freedom of the press is not a designated street corner, it is the eyes of the people watching authority, and the voice of the people speaking truth to it.
Whatever your political bias, this is an undeniable violation of our constitutional right to monitor the actions of our government. This is unquestionable evidence that we live in a police state. This is the question your American values are posing to you, right now: What does freedom actually mean to you?
by norton ash » Mon Oct 31, 2011 1:06 pm
psynapz wrote:[ We are the 99th page ]
JB, excellent work. The tiny sliver of your point that got through, got through.
Curious though, why the Christian-first angle?
by operator kos » Mon Oct 31, 2011 1:37 pm
by Jeff » Mon Oct 31, 2011 2:31 pm
Boots Riley wrote:SEIU guy on KGO radio just now:
"We are encouraging workers to take the day off!"
They cant legally say "strike". We wildcat this shit.
... Oakland General Strike.
November 2.
No work. No school.
A warning shot to the 1%.
It's goin down.
by Wombaticus Rex » Mon Oct 31, 2011 2:36 pm
by 2012 Countdown » Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:05 pm
by 2012 Countdown » Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:53 pm
by 2012 Countdown » Mon Oct 31, 2011 4:34 pm
by StarmanSkye » Mon Oct 31, 2011 4:49 pm
by elfismiles » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:54 pm
by elfismiles » Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:03 pm
Press Releases
CA Nurses Call for Long-Term Sites for Occupy Oakland and Occupy SF
Nurses Call for Peaceful Protests, and End to Arrests, Confrontations
Latest Income Data Reminder of Message of the Occupy Protests
In the aftermath of Oakland’s raid of the peaceful Occupy Oakland encampment Tuesday and a similar crackdown expected in San Francisco, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United today called for Oakland and San Francisco officials to work with the occupy movement for permanent sites for an ongoing peaceful protest and an end to arrests and confrontations.
CNA also noted the release of a Congressional Budget Office report Tuesday on income disparity as reminder of the original “we are the 99 percent” message of the occupy movement.
The CBO report documented that over the past three decades the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans saw a massive 275 percent increase in real after-tax income, compared to just an 18 percent increase for the poorest fifth of the population.
That data also is a reminder of why CNA and NNU have called for a tax on Wall Street financial transactions to help raise sufficient revenue to help address the economic crisis and provide funding for jobs, healthcare for all, quality public education, and other social needs. Nurses will be participating in major actions for a Financial Transaction Tax next week at the G-20 summit in France, as well as in protests in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
“Oakland and San Francisco city officials should learn from the peaceful response of the city of Los Angeles that it is possible to protect the right of free speech and assembly without arrests and confrontation with the occupy protest movement,” said CNA Treasurer Martha Kuhl, RN, an Oakland resident who has joined the occupy protests and encouraged other labor support.
One way to accomplish that is with permanent encampments, as has been shown to be successful in Los Angeles with the more enlightened administrative response by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles City Council to OccupyLA.
“The purpose of this movement, as evidenced in the concerns voiced by the tens of thousands of people participating in more than 1,000 occupy actions around the U.S. is to highlight the disparities in the U.S. and the economic dislocation and suffering caused by the excesses and reckless behavior of Wall Street,” said Kuhl.
“Cities, especially those whose residents have borne the brunt of the economic crisis, should support the goals of the movement, and not waste vital local resources on unnecessary confrontation and arrests.”
Additionally, Kuhl encourage the occupy movement, which has been almost unanimously peaceful in its actions, “to avoid confrontation that detracts from the goals of the protests and only assists those who would undermine the occupy movement.”
http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/pre ... occupy-sf/
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