#OCCUPYWALLSTREET campaign - September 17

[82_28]

I just got back from Zuccotti Park.

It started out very quietly, with a few hundred people milling around the perimeter (the park is currently fenced off with temporary fencing).

About 25 minutes ago another few hundred (3, maybe 4 hundred) came marching down Broadway chanting "this isn't over" and "we're coming home."

It was a pretty amazing moment.

There were several mic checks, including one where someone held up a writ claiming that they had a legal right to go back to the park WITH their tents, etc.

The police didn't even bat an eyelash, though.

Another mic check was done by this guy...



...who, even though he looks like a sweet old man, proceeded to attempt to incite the crowd towards attacking "the fucking police."

Everything was still up in the air when I left, but two entire blocks of Broadway are currently lined with Stormtroopers, police vans, and NYPD school buses, and the last time I saw that much force was at the Brooklyn Bridge...

Cross your fingers and wish them luck.

Oh, and how could I forget that I ended up next to Reverend Billy for about ten minutes as he held court and urged everyone to remain non-violent and "remember that the police aren't all bad, they just have too much donut sugar running through their veins." That guy must be nuclear powered. He never stops!

Photos later tonight.

Glaring misspellings by inciters always prompt me to reach for my stick that I've gotten branded with the word "BULLSHIT" on it. Misspellings add a level of detail (to me) that some may not notice. If you have taken the time to "care" about Afghanistan and then you go on to announce "attack the fucking police", but your sign says "Afganistan", it means you're too stupid to know anything about what this is about and are not exacting enough to get it right OR it says you're an agent playing a joke on those who do notice such things and the seriousness is real to them.

I don't know what it is, but for a long time, once the big time mis-spellers come out in message boards, comment boards etc, I get this kind of spidey sense tingle that what you're reading is not the sentiments of anybody real. I think "they" know this and is why "they" do it. Too clever by half because most people are doubling down on dumb.

Like the famous "Morans" sign from 2003ish. I tried and tried to analyze it for photshopping artifacts way back when. Nothing conclusive. But I don't think it was a "real sign" (probably not photoshopped). I think it was meant to go viral. And by viral I mean that it was pounced upon as an attribute and not a shortcoming, much as dubya always saying nucULAR as opposed to nuclear. The attributes of the creeping double bind. Too smart by half.

Oh, another instance of this was someone on Kunstler's blog saying yesterday they were a teacher for years and years and went on to add something that included this phrase: "sow your wild oaks". Ummm. Everything else for the most part checked out in the comment, but the blatant stupidity, lack of knowledge (where some is present) of even typing that old maxim but getting it wrong while maintaining you're a teacher brings up a serious red flag.

[Project Willow]

I realize this is a boring question, but... what is the plan to influence the next elections? Are candidates in development?

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119446728166304

National Occupation of Washington, DC (NOW,DC)
Friday, March 30, 2012 · 9:00am - 12:00pm
Location
National Mall
15th St and Constitution Ave., NW
Created By
Stop the Machine! Create a New World
More Info
Join us for a national occupation of Washington, DC as the occupations unite for an American Spring.

Begin setting up the encampment on March 30th. The first General Assembly will be held on Sunday, April 1 at 6 pm. Direct actions will begin on Monday, April 2. We will demonstrate the failure of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress to represent the views of the majority of people, the Supreme Court for allowing the Constitution to be perverted and for ignoring the rule of law and the Chamber of Commerce and lobbyists on K St for dominating the political process in favor of the 1% at the expense of the 99%.

We seek to end corporate rule and place human needs before corporate greed.
[url]OccupyWashingtonDC.org[/url]

[dqueue]

I realize this is a boring question, but... what is the plan to influence the next elections? Are candidates in development?

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119446728166304

National Occupation of Washington, DC (NOW,DC)
Friday, March 30, 2012 · 9:00am - 12:00pm
Location
National Mall
15th St and Constitution Ave., NW
Created By
Stop the Machine! Create a New World
More Info
Join us for a national occupation of Washington, DC as the occupations unite for an American Spring.

Begin setting up the encampment on March 30th. The first General Assembly will be held on Sunday, April 1 at 6 pm. Direct actions will begin on Monday, April 2. We will demonstrate the failure of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress to represent the views of the majority of people, the Supreme Court for allowing the Constitution to be perverted and for ignoring the rule of law and the Chamber of Commerce and lobbyists on K St for dominating the political process in favor of the 1% at the expense of the 99%.

We seek to end corporate rule and place human needs before corporate greed.
[url]OccupyWashingtonDC.org[/url]

So, that's distinctive from the existing OccupyDC gathering? As part of Stop the Machine, I wonder if they are in solidarity with OccupyDC? The URL forwards over the October2011.org, the protest movement that started in DC early October (yet, still separate from Occupy).

Interesting.

[Jeff]

This Is What Revolution Looks Like

Chris Hedges, today.

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. They are as dead and useless to us as the water-soaked books, tents, sleeping bags, suitcases, food boxes and clothes that were tossed by sanitation workers Tuesday morning into garbage trucks in New York City. They have no ideas, no plans and no vision for the future.

[Jeff]

Judge Lucy Billings, who signed Occupy Wall Street order, is an ACLU veteran
Hearing on the order to be held Tuesday with different judge

BY Barbara Ross , Greg B. Smith & Tracy Connor
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Originally Published: Tuesday, November 15 2011, 10:03 AM

BY BARBARA ROSS, GREG SMITH and TRACY CONNOR

When the cops raided Zuccotti Park, lawyers for Occupy Wall Street woke up a judge with a civil liberties background and asked for help.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings signed an early-morning order temporarily barring cops from keeping protesters and tents out of Zuccotti Park.

But within hours, she was off the case as court administrators chose a new judge — and excluded Billings’ name from the list of candidates.

Billings’ biography notes that before she became a judge in 1997, she spent 25 years as a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

...

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/jud ... z1dnSdiHk4

Maybe they found a Second Mile volunteer?

[Jeff]

Occupy Wall Street: NYPD attempt media blackout at Zuccotti Park
Journalists report aggressive treatment as media blocked from protest camp during surprise police raid

New York police attempted to impose a media blackout as they cleared Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park late last night.

As police swooped on the park in the early hours of Tuesday, the city closed airspace in lower Manhattan to prevent news helicopters taking aerial shots of the scene. Vans were used to obscure views of the park and a police cordon effectively blocked accredited media from reaching the site. Some of those members of the press who were in the park or were able to get there say they were arrested, pepper sprayed or treated aggressively.

One of the few reporters on the scene when the police moved in was Josh Harkinson, a writer for Mother Jones magazine. As police used tear gas to remove the last protesters from the park Harkinson identified himself as a member of the media and was physically dragged out of the park. He was told that reporters had to stay in a "press pen".

...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/no ... a-blackout

[Bruce Dazzling]

They just interviewed "hipster cop" on the live stream.

He came off as an affable chap.

[Jeff]

Up close with Brookfield's security.

[Jeff]

Throwing Billings of the case worked, one percenters.

Decision: no tents.

https://twitter.com/#!/USLaw_com

[Nordic]

Throwing Billings of the case worked, one percenters.

Decision: no tents.

https://twitter.com/#!/USLaw_com

No tents? Then build cabins.

[thurnundtaxis]

A text alert has been sent out to draw everyone to Zuccotti Park.

5:10 p.m.

I'm on my way.

Sleeping bags are apparently okay, a loophole perhaps because lawyers have confirmed that only tents, tarps, and stoves are prohibited
in the language of the ruling.

[Seamus OBlimey]

For your own sakes spread out.

[Project Willow]

I'm not an attorney but I read the order and I do believe they are subject to the owner's newly constructed rules:

To the extent that City law prohibits the erection of structures, the use of gas or other
combustible materials, and the accumulation of garbage and human waste in public places,
enforcement of the law and the owner's rules appears reasonable to permit the owner to maintain its
space in a hygienic, safe, and lawful condition, and to prevent it from being liable by the City or others
for violations of law, or in tort It also permits public access by those who live and work in the area
who are the intended beneficiaries of this zoning bonus.

The owner's rules: [prohibited]

"Camping and/or the erection of tents or other structures.
Lying down on the ground, or lying down on benches ...
The placement of tarps or sleeping bags or other covering on the property
Storage of placement of personal property on the ground, benches, sitting areas or
walkways which unreasonably interferes with the use of such areas by others"

?

[Wombaticus Rex]

This was solid: http://www.truth-out.org/smear-campaign ... 1321386431

[illogik]

occupy toronto is facing eviction tonight at midnight, although now i'm hearing that there is a court ordered injunction. lots of love to my tdot peoples out there!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/11/15/occupy-toronto-mayor.html


A lawyer for a defiant group of protesters has secured an injunction to stop the eviction of those still camped out at Toronto's St. James Park.

Several members of Occupy Toronto had pledged to hold their ground despite eviction notices handed out early Tuesday, even if the injunction had failed to pass in court.

Still, the temporary reprieve means they will not be forced out by the midnight deadline.

The notice had called on the Occupy Toronto demonstrators, many of who have been camping in the downtown park for more than a month, to take down their tents immediately and vacate the premises before 12 a.m. ET.

Although some protesters reacted by taking down their tents — not wanting to risk confrontation, fines, or criminal charges — others destroyed the notices and hunkered down.

Labour activists have promised to flood the park in a show of solidarity Tuesday night.

Sid Ryan, the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, pledged to join the occupiers along with other labour activists to "link arms with the Occupy Movement."

"Be aware that if you do not reconsider your heavy-handed decision, you will be adding greater momentum to this movement," warned Ryan in an open letter to Mayor Rob Ford.

"It is not too late to cancel this eviction and instead dedicate your City Council deliberations to addressing the urgent concerns raised by the occupiers, namely protecting public services, creating jobs and eliminating poverty."