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Early this morning, at around 1 am, Mayor Bloomberg’s New York Police Department entered Liberty Square and forced all occupiers to leave. Those who refused to leave were arrested. The police then completely dismantled the camp. So, when I woke up this morning, the Occupy Wall Street camp was gone.
Like a number of Americans, I am just figuring out what unfolded early in the morning.
I have covered this from Day One. I am feeling like there is a huge void this morning. If this is what a journalist or blogger is feeling, I cannot imagine the pain, sorrow and possibly even anger or hatred the occupiers might be feeling, especially those who helped spark this movement by taking Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) on September 17.
Below is streaming video of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators headed to interrupt Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is holding a press conference at 8 am. The mayor proudly defended the decision made to raid the encampment at 1 am in the morning.
Firedoglake’s premier live blog continues now. Here is a Twitter list to follow for the latest news and updates. And, in this moment, recall what David Crosby said, “The park is the spark.”
USTREAM OF OCCUPY WALL STREET DEMONSTRATORS VIA THE OTHER 99
11:36 PM Scene at Occupy Cal (via @joshua_holland1)
10:49 PM Chapel Hill officials defend the militarized police operation against an offshoot of Occupy Chapel Hill, which took over a vacant business.
10:14 PM Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comment” on Mayor Bloomberg’s value to the Occupy movement
9:52 PM Action unfolding at Occupy Seattle. Reports of a pregnant woman being pepper sprayed. Also reports that police are surrounding Seattle occupiers who are marching. Tune in to the Global Revolution livestream for the latest.
9:32 PM This is the livestream of Occupy Cal at UC Berkeley. There is supposedly a police standoff unfolding.
9:24 PM More on the conversations mayors had prior to the Occupy Wall Street eviction:
Mayor Sam Adams of Portland, Ore., said there had been two calls hosted by the organization “to share information about the occupying encampments around the country.” He described the calls as check-ins to share information and advice on how various cities were handling the demonstrations.
“We did not talk about what any mayor was considering in terms of any action or inaction,” Mr. Adams said.
9:05 PM Column from Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! on the eviction of OWS from Liberty Park posted at Truthdig:
One of the People’s Library volunteers, Stephen Boyer, was there as the park was raided. After avoiding arrest and helping others with first aid, he wrote: “Everything we brought to the park is gone. The beautiful library is gone. Our collection of 5,000 books is gone. Our tent that was donated is gone. All the work we’ve put into making it is gone.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office later released a photo of a table with some books stacked on it, claiming the books had been preserved. As the People’s Library tweeted: “We’re glad to see some books are OK. Now, where are the rest of the books and our shelter and our boxes?” The shelter, by the way, was donated to the library by National Book Award winner Patti Smith, the rock ‘n’ roll legend.
9:00 PM ICYMI – This is a copy of the ruling from the hearing on the Occupy Wall Street eviction. The judge did not come down in favor of OWS when it came to tents and generators. However, the judge did find the occupiers had a right to be in the park 24/7 if they wanted and there was nothing about having sleeping bags in the park.
8:58 PM Watch the General Assembly in Liberty Park right now. The occupiers apparently face a curfew that will be enforced at 10 pm. And right now they are talking about how to move forward and establish another home base of operations.
4:36 PM Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons visits Occupy Boston and talks about the Occupy movement’s aversion to celebrities.
3:32 PM OWS occupier spoke on a panel organized by The Nation last week. He spoke about how he thought the biggest thing holding Occupy back was Liberty Square. This is the video of him sharing his wisdom and experience with the audience.
3:22 PM Judge Stallman, presiding over hearing on the temporary restraining order against the city, has retired and is reading papers and considering the issue. According to USLAW blog, he “hopes to have some decision about whether TRO should be extended by 3:00.” Obviously, it is after now and there is no report on his decision yet.
Here’s USLaw’s full live blog on the hearing.
2:01 PM @HuffPostHill posts this photo of a cop punching a protester last night.
1:32 PM Important action to note. The occupiers have not left the are and are still demonstrating in the city. They tried to occupy a space owned by Trinity Church. Daniel Massey, a reporter on the scene, tweeted this series of tweets:
While they waited, riot police began to amass and surround the occupiers. They then moved in the moment it was clear the church was not going to allow an occupation:
1:30 PM Democracy Now! goes inside the raid of Occupy Wall Street, talks to eyewitnesses.
1:14 PM The NYCLU reports Judge Michael Stallman will be presiding over the hearing on the permanent restraining order against the eviction. I found a Village Voice post from 2006 that indicates Stallman could decide in favor of the occupiers. The story is about the city trying to stop Critical Mass bike rides:
In a 24-page ruling issued late Wednesday morning, New York Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Stallman rejected the city’s motion for a preliminary injunction to bar people from going on the monthly rides and gathering in Union Square without permits.
He also rejected the city’s effort to prevent groups like Times Up! from promoting Critical Mass, unless there’s a permit for the event.
Although Stallman didn’t dismiss the city’s lawsuit, he said the arguments the city has presented thus far were unlikely to prevail.
12:31 PM Update on the court order:
Shortly after Judge Billing’s order was released and announced via Twitter, Facebook and verbally at the park, the city briefly reopened and reclosed the park. City officials say the park will remain shut until the issue is resolved by the courts.
A hearing is expected later today after court officials pick a new judge to handle the case.
12:27 PM My post on Bloomberg’s eviction: “Why Tents Have Little to Do With Reason Behind Occupy Wall Street Eviction”
10:39 AM Court order does say occupiers should be able to go back into the park. NYPD under direction of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not complying. (Photo from @elliottjustin )
10:30 AM Yes, normally, I would be covering Occupy Wall Street, as David Dayen acknowledges, but Dayen was up when I was not. He was able to write something and get it together quickly so here is a summary on the eviction with mention of the temporary restraining order the occupation has won.
10:16 AM “Let’s go home!” occupiers chant. Occupy Wall Street is headed back to Liberty Square. Another group is staying put at 6th & Canal. Plans are being hatched for a General Assembly in Liberty Square at 7 pm.
In the meantime, it is worth reminding everyone that these plans existed before the raid and continue to exist:
-7 am – Ring “The People’s Bell” at the New York Stock Exchange (possibly disrupt the opening of the markets)
-3 pm – Occupy The Subways – We will start by Occupying Our Blocks! Then throughout the five boroughs, we will gather at 16 central subway hubs and take our own stories to the trains, using the “People’s Mic”.
Bronx
Fordham Rd
3rd Ave, 138th Street
163rd and Southern Blvd
161st and River – Yankee Stadium
Brooklyn
Broadway Junction
Borough Hall
301 Grove Street
St Jose Patron Church,185 Suydam St, Bushwick
Queens
Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Ave.
Jamaica Center/Parsons/Archer
92-10 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights
Manhattan
125th St. A,B,C,D
Union Sq. (Mass student strike)
23rd St and 8th Ave
Staten Island
St. George, Staten Island Ferry Terminal
479 Port Richmond Avenue, Port Richmond
DINNER: Take The Square – 5:00 p.m.
At 5 pm, tens of thousands of people will gather at Foley Square (just across from City Hall) in solidarity with laborers demanding jobs to rebuild this country’s infrastructure and economy. A gospel choir and a marching band will also be performing.
10:14 AM The NY Daily News has posted a collection of reader-published photos of the raid on OWS this morning.
9:37 AM @OccupyWallSt posts this photo:
9:20 AM Photo via @katz of occupiers at 6th & Grand
9:12 AM On UStream, it seems there is a court order allowing OWS to return with tents. (Same court order linked to below?) A tiny bit of debate going on about leaving the square where they are to return to Liberty Park.
9:02 AM Statement from the group of NLG lawyers, who secured the temporary restraining order this morning:
At around 6 AM on November 15, 2011, attorneys associated with the New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild working as the Liberty Park Legal Working Group obtained a temporary restraining order against the City of New York, various City agencies, and Brookfield properties directing that occupiers be allowed back on the premises with their belongings.
Earlier, at approximately 1 AM, the NYPD began massing around Zuccotti Park “aka Liberty Park.” In the following hours reports surfaced that the NYPD entered the park with police in riot gear backed up by numerous police vehicles, including a bulldozer, evicting occupiers. In the process they destroyed property and arrested dozens of occupiers and protestors including NYC Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez and District Leader Paul Newell.
In the coming hours, days and weeks the LPLWG will pursue all legal options to enable the occupiers to continue to exercise their first amendment rights to speech and assembly for speech. Attorney Yetta Kurland, one of the attorneys from the LPLWG, said, “This is a victory for everyone who believes in the First Amendment. We will continue to fight for everyone’s right to continue the occupation.” In response to the injunction, Daniel Alterman, also an attorney with the LPLWG, stated that, “This is a victory for all Americans, for the constitution and for the 99%.” Gideon Oliver, another attorney with the LPLWG reacted by saying, “The LPLWG has been fighting to ensure their right to free speech from day one of the occupation. The occupiers right to free speech is based in our most core legal principles and we will be here till the end to fight for those rights.”
8:48 AM Mayor Bloomberg press conference wraps. His statement to press was basically the statement circulating on blogs and news sites.
He again stated OWS was violating New Yorkers rights to “passive recreation” in Liberty Park, an argument that basically means #OWS was no longer letting citizens be apathetic so the city had to remove them. He said, the “First Amendment does not allow anyone to sleep in a park or to take it over.” He also used the temporary restraining order issued to absurdly frame the situation. He suggested the order made it so the city could not do what it intended, which is they had planned to let occupiers back in immediately after clearing the park.
When the mayor took questions, he was confronted by a reporter, who wanted justification for why credentialed press had not been allowed to cover the police raid. He said that this happens to press all the time because they have the same rights as everyone else and that is a right to safety. And, Bloomberg concluded his press conference saying OWS had violated NYC tradition of being open and welcoming.
8:13 AM From a New York Times article on the clearing of the park, details on a temporary restraining order against the eviction of Occupy Wall Street:
The police action was quickly challenged as lawyers for the protesters obtained a temporary restraining order barring the city and the park’s private landlord from evicting protesters or removing their belongings. It was not immediately clear how the city would respond. The judge, Justice Lucy Billings of State Supreme Court Judge in Manhattan, scheduled a hearing for later Tuesday.
Here is the court order from the State Supreme Court of New York that was issued, which says Occupy Wall Street should be able to return to the park now.
8:08 AM As I bring this live blog up-to-date, visit the Naked Capitalism blog for a good round-up of tweets and statements on what happened during the morning.
8:05 AM Mayor Bloomberg’s full statement on the clearing of the park.
7:56 AM CNN reporter in cleared Liberty Park reports 100 arrests this morning during raid.
434 Comments
9AM Post-Raid Rally and General Assembly
http://occupywallst.org/article/post-raid-rally-and-general-assembly/
Show your support. Turn out en masse….
Naked Capitalism had a live blog of the action here:
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/11/zuccotti-park-being-raided-now-if-you-can-join-ows.html
Does the phrase “fascist pigs” ring any bells?
Q and A from Bloomberg presser: Why were media kept away? A. police routinely keep media “off to the side” when there’s a police action.
So bloomberg heard of of few minor issues in the park and he sent in the storm troopers yet there is a massive den of fraud, thievery,treason,going on in his city(wallstreet)but he will not do anything about that?
Kevin has put Bloomberg’s presser live stream into the update.
Mayor claims the OWS was preventing others from expressing their views . . . by merely occupying the park. So now, the stomping on free speech is all the fault of OWS
Carry on. Evolve. Encourage individual, autonomous actions. Build the organization. Establish a national network and coordinate. Identify protest targets and make the protests meaningful. Align with sympathetic organizations and individuals. OWS caught the spotlight. Now is time to use it to shine the light on the greed, evil and corruption that is destroying the country.
Bloomberg will have his day…in Hell, if not in court.
This extraordinary jackass says we protect free speech.
Freedom of assembly and free press also found in said amendment shove it !
You can’t evict/erase an IDEA whose time has come.
Masses of people are just individuals together.
Choose an action and do it now and amplify it on Nov. 17.
He knows it. You can detect the fear on his face.
Yes, and this is what’s taking place. I don’t know if they’ll re-occupy Zuccotti Park, or whether it would even be a fruitful action. But this doesn’t feel like the end, only the end of the opening chapter.
There’s always a catharsis in that. But there have been so many of them since the 1960s (i.e., as far back as I can recall), at some point it loses its meaning.
Occupy El Paso Eviction Day One
That’s okay…the thing about rebellion…is that it’s like putting a lid on a boiling pot of water…this is how we grow it!
Suppression is the fuel that lends it’s mojo to the occupiers!
On Democracy Now today Amy Goodman elegantly referred to the pillaged piles of tents, books and supplies of OWS as “the debris of democracy.”
His face looks like a blend of the other fascists bush/nixon.
It’s just possible the Mayor realized the thin legal ice he’s standing upon. And that he’s going to take the hit for this, not the police and not his wall st buddies.
Boxturtle (bet it’s lonely behind that microphone)
Bloomberg lied. The police state used force and arrested those who resisted. Totalitarianism is here. Orwell’s 1984 is now.
The 2012 election has to be undermined.
The farce must end.
I’d be refering to them as “evidence” and looking at charging various NYPD folks with abuse of authority and/or theft.
Boxturtle (but then I’m not in the service of Wall St.)
I wonder if the NY SC decision will be paid attention to. It seems that no one pays any attention to actual laws and courts in the last few years.
I must say, I’m not surprised at anything except this lasted in Zucotti as long as it did.
We are now the “Rabble” and can’t be allowed to interfere or embarrass the high and mighty or inconvenience them in any way.
Still, I can’t help but compare how the Tea Party was treated during the ’10 election cycle with this, legitimate protest that doesn’t have the big bucks behind it.
Look at how violent the cops have been in Oakland and elsewhere; Shapes of things to come
I think what you’re seeing is insanity
I understand the feeling Kevin. It is like you have lost a best friend.
The liberal bastion in wing nuttery KS
A court has issued an injunction against King Bloomberg
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/11/15/368496/morning-briefing-november-15-2011/
Absolutely. In fact she reported about a letter from the city that was distributed throughout Zuccotti that stated all the property would be taken to a specific location for collection later in the day. Turns out it was all thrown into sanitation trucks to be driven to the dump.
And one thing I’ve seen that many are understandably extra upset over is the destruction of the “people’s library” which had some 5000 titles.
Some of these occupiers lost all they had in this world to the garbage trucks. And though the eviction notice stated all confiscated property can be reclaimed at noon at the sanitation garage,one smart-mouth cop told Amy Goodman it was on its way to the landfill.
As has become so well repeated since September 17th, John F. Kennedy’s long ago warning that when peaceful protest is squashed, violent protest inevitably results.
The mothership of the #OWS Movement has been brutally pillaged, sacked and raped. Even 5000 books were destroyed.
Now the protests shifts into outrage, and Kennedy’s prophetic wisdom morphs from a distant echo into a true and unstoppable peoples’ revolution….
How much did NYPD suppress press coverage?
Occupy El Paso Eviction Day Two
Really, shining a light into the eyes of an aircraft pilot? I’m SURE that’s a felony. And against FAA regulations.
Boxturtle (Yet I’d bet that no federal agency will notice or send lawyers)
I was watching the CBS Early show this morning when they reported on the protesters being evicted. They included footage of Bloomberg’s 1 a.m. press conference talking about safety but they never mentioned that a NY Council member had been injured/arrested at Zuccotti AND they never mentioned the order by Justice Lucy Billings. Now if I already knew this information a good 10 minutes before their reporting I know they had the information. There is no excuse for slanting this story and only providing viewers with partial information. They are truly owned, heart and soul, by the 1%. Shame on them!
The reality? Zucotti Park was just a camp. OWS is a movement.
What happens next matters most, but if OWS just regroups and reforms, that will show that they are truly devoted to their cause.
Quite frankly, you are getting ahead of yourself. There are hundreds of local occupy movements meeting and pushing the envelope nonviolently across the country. There is a lot of nonviolent action left to do unless you are impatient and itching to face down a National Guard that has been abused in Iraq and Afghanistan but has not yet decided on resistance.
Right now, the actions of the PtB are aimed at moving the movement to violence which given the numbers can be easily defeated. The failure of the movement to take the bait is driving the PtB nuts and escalating attacks that can’t be hidden behind a narrative of violence. Which is why they want to exclude media coverage and act in darkness.
I just saw this information posted on DU by No Elephants:
Today is a good day to donate to Occupy Supply. I’m waiting on a bank transfer to my account. Once it’s completed I will be donating to Occupy Supply because it sounds like a lot of supplies will need to be re-purchased.
from another blog captures the farce quite well
Bloomberg is asked about this: he says the action was taken to “protect the members of the press. We have to provide protection and we have done exactly that.”
Is Bloomberg seriously suggesting here that the journalists need to be protected? From who? From the protesters? The reference to people getting killed too. Does he think the Occupiers are killers? Is he suggesting that the media helicopter (if the report is true) was grounded because it could be shot down? Have the protesters become ‘terrorists’?
No excuse? The Wall Street Media? They didn’t protest the lack of access to the site loudly either, I bet. Their narrative, which gets picked up by their network affiliates, is part of the NYPD plan.
After that kid had the audacity to sing that song in o’s face for forty five minutes me thinks that o’s
das fatherlandhomeland security is directing this nation wide squash down.Fascist cops seen with” counter terrorism” jackets on taking part in the raid.
A court the New York Supreme court issued the order and it was ordered to be faxed at 8:00 so the mayor is lying his ass off to claim they haven’t seen the order.
Sig heil mayor.
That’s right, there is NO excuse (at least a valid excuse) and they should be called on it repeatedly and LOUDLY.
Comment of the day: “There is the law, and there is reality” — from one of the speakers suggesting how occupiers think about the risks of reentering the park.
Court Order is supposed to last through Tuesday; there is a court hearing this a.m. at 11:30 on whether to make the order permanent.
I feel hurt by this. They are trying to extinquish a light. But I think there are still plenty of people who support this movement. They will be back.
I sent a new sleeping bag, thinking that it would end up with someone in need if the camp was evicted. Despicable to throw away valuable stuff in this economy, but that’s the way they seem to operate – tax dollars, homes, lives, whatever.
We’re about to find out if the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land or a “god damn piece of paper”.
I’ll just bet New York City blew over a $ 100,000 on that rape last night.
” … there is a court hearing this a.m. at 11:30 on whether to make the order permanent.”
Oh dear, does that mean that the First Ammendment will be in effect twenty-four-seven?
Thank you, Scarecrow, for your always thoughtful and informed insights.
Please keep us apprised of this unfolding “test” of the most basic of inalienable rights.
DW
so NYPD imposed a no fly zone over the park??? and blommie says
“Inaction was not an option. We could not wait for someone in the park to get killed”.
Minority report has gone mainstream ‘pre crime intervention”
I was a musician in the NYC Subway for a long time. It’s not a hard place to disrupt. Several people can go to each subway line, ride the trains to minor stations, like 23rd St or 18th st, avoiding major stations like 34th St or Times Square. Simply prevent the train doors from closing for just 20 to 30 seconds at a time, at these minor stations to evade police reactions.
Start in Brooklyn or Queens, or on trains leaving Manhattan, again to avoid police. The secret here is that trains are scheduled to hit switches at certain times. If a train arrives late at a switch, it backs up trains from other lines which use the same switch. For example, the N,R, and B trains all hit the same switches at 36th st in Brooklyn, and again when they meet the Q train at Dekalb Ave. If trains are late arriving at the switch, it backs up the whole system. Be creative.
With clarity, I need to figure out all that is going on and then write a post. It is the figuring out where to start that is a bit off-putting. All is okay though. I know Occupy Wall Street will continue whether they continue in Liberty Square or some other part of the city.
I hope so, but am worried that it will be watered down.
That pretty much sums it up
Folks might want to put up comments on the NYT “City Room” blog. The NYT has their own version on the front page; details of the real action will no doubt come out through other means:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/updates-on-the-clearing-of-zuccotti-park/?hp#preview
Hi Kevin,
try not to let this get you down. if you do an update be great if you could cover what is protected by the first amendment as stated by SCOTUS rulings on this. I know states have passed all kinds of laws to limit the first amendment, but only matters what the SCOTUS says. Well in so far as Scotus has any legitimacy
We do NOT advocate violence on this site. EVER!
Might be a good time to move inside for a few months.
Open a new camp at The NBA Store. They’re not doing anything for the next year…
“visit our new location at 590 Fifth Avenue (between 47th and 48th street) in New York City.”
We all know that this right is more important than the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances. The Founding Fathers just forgot the part about passive recreation.
Water-boarded, you say, mswinkle?
Watered-down “democracy” is very thin gruel, indeed … more akin to a cheap plastic veneer than something of genuine heirloom substance.
Pass it on.
(Or, “pass” on it …)
DW
Greenwald has an excellent post up about this.
I love this part of Greenwald’s piece:
Hopefully the shutdown can be used to help build for N17. After that, maybe it is time to change tactics for a few months and build to come back stronger in the Spring.
You all really believe that you can resist the militarized police forces of the cities? At the beginning of the month I said this was going to happen, and I used the term “jackbooted thugs”. The only way to fight back is to have flash mob protests, often in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning, showing up in the neighborhoods of the council members, mayors and CEOs. Since every protest is meant with overwhelming numbers of police, in riot gear, force them to call out the squads in the middle of the night, on overtime. As soon as they show up, disperse. Then do it again and again and again. Maybe then they’ll get the message.
It seems these Midnight Riders do their best work under the cover of darkness. This just shows the world what cowards the minions of the PTB are. If this was the South in the ’60s they would be wearing white sheets.
I believe this was a preemptive strike to disrupt the planned actions on the 17th to shut down WS and the subways.
They will not stop the Movement.
Perhaps incorporate guerrilla style tactics of hit and run. I can see large crowds showing up at daily protests. Maybe they can occupy Grand Central Station? The police wouldn’t know if you were there as a tourist or a protester. lol
I love that.
I don’t think it took great prescience to predict this. We all saw it coming, but it is still shocking. Your idea is good, but I take issue with the phrase “The only way to” because I keep hearing people make pronouncements like this. The truth is that very few people thought that the original occupation would be more than a small one day event. I certainly learned to value a diversity of tactics. Try your idea and see if it works, but there are LOTS of great ideas circulating.
That requires a large number of people willing to be arrested, of course.
Thank you DW for your inspiring comments and knowledge. People still need to stay involved in any way they can. This movement won’t go away. History has made it clear that the people possess the power in this nation. FDL is a better place with you in it. *G*
I am hoping that the sleeping bags & clothing that I donated last Wednesday are still safe inside the collection center. The weather has been mild and perhaps there’s a chance that they were not distributed bc they weren’t needed yet. And hoping there’s a lot more of the supplies that are still safe in the collection center. They had a significant stockpile when I was there.
I am still trying to stay in contact with Paul with the St. Louis movement. I will try to keep you update as I can. The people will prevail.
You are correct but maybe that is what will be required of all of us. We can then hold an event where everyone who was arrested tells their story. Maybe we can even get on one of the talk shows so that even more people hear about the police tactics that are being used to stifle dissent.
I’m not so sure. The judge in question used to be a—–wait for it, it will make you smile—-civil rights lawyer.
Yep, did public interest law for her whole career.
In St. Louis they dumped all the belongings in garbage trucks and took it to the city. They informed protesters they could pick up their stuff I am not a lawyer but they I don’t think can’t legally keep the confiscated items.
The flash mob and overtime idea is kinda clever.
I like the jujitsu aspect of it. Turning an opponent’s strength against them
That was my first thought as well. That they are worried about N17 and wanted to intimidate
The stuff they trashed from the park will be taken to the dump, according to Amy’s info as of this morning. The collection center for donations is 3 blocks away inside a building. They would have no excuse to go in there & take those supplies away. So, the stuff in the park is gone, but the stuff in the collection center might still be there.
Though, of course, there is no law so they can do anything they want.
Actually, arrests would be less likely if it was a true flash mob.
You pop up, you do your street theatre, and then poof, you’re gone minutes before NYPD arrives.
Think how frustrating that will be for kelly and the white shirts
What is N17?
Never mind. I found it. http://www.redpepper.org.uk/ows-global-day-of-action/
Yes that’s the way fascism works. I am sure they will do anything and everything to dismantle this movement. But IMHO they won’t be able to do so. The beast has been awakened.
When a Billionaire, acting like a bully, can buy a powerful “leadership” position, when a billionaire, acting like a bully, can buy media and use PR/spin/marketing/propaganda/BS to justify actions like this, when a billionaire, acting like a bully, can randomly and selectively enforce laws in ways that ultimately damage our nation’s higher values of civil and constitutional liberties for all of our citizens…
We have to question whether those who hold “leadership” positions are actually providing the leadership our representative democracy requires.
We know what they are. That’s why we have to build our own independent media institutions. So far the livestream, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Occupy blogs are getting the word out. The Wall Street Media is so gone that not many people give them the credibility that they had 40 years ago.
Sweet.
N17 is an international day of direct action. http://2439-occupywallst-com.voxcdn.com/media/img/03QUh.jpg
Thanks.
Well, I suggest you engage your local general assembly and present this idea to them. It might work where you are. Other places it might not. There is no always-workable tactic.
Yeah, WE know but they still have an enormous audience who unfortunately don’t have a clue that they are being spoon fed only the news these people want to tell them. It’s our airwaves and I refuse to politely go away and allow them to continue to bamboozle my fellow citizens.
Someone needs to dox DHS for this raid and every other one that has happened in the country. There is very obviously a master plan detailing how #occupy should be cleared. Dump trucks, theft and destruction of property and all. Can we have some accountability, please?
I agree with your assessment but no accountability in a police state.
Ya think?
I believe that Bloomberg just shot himself in the foot again. I think the announcement of the Nov 17 action had its intended result. What will happen on Nov 17 is likely to be big and nonviolent — unless the NYPD decides to be daytime thugs again. In the light. With cameras. And action.
Of course, you are correct. Going at the problem in only one way is obviously folly. A multi-pronged approach to demonstrating and civil disobedience is best.
Another interesting post on DU by wOnderer:
I wonder what he was thinking when he invented this new expression “passive recreation”. It very much sounds like what was already happening in the park: people lying and sitting and standing around.
Sadly.
What bothers me *most* (beyond the actual destruction of OWS camp) is that there is a clear pattern of behavior throughout the country wrt #occupy camps. Someone created a response plan that is filed away in a drawer at DHS. That document needs to be published and the authors need to be held to account.
I intend to, but even in the complete democracy of the general assembly it is difficult for an idea to gel. In fact, that is a major problem with the GA, but it is inherent in the format of the movement. In some cities it becomes a problem actually getting to the ‘burbs–not insurmountable, but a logistical headache. Popping up at courthouses, city office buildings, train and subway stations, banks headquarters, and on Wall Street, is quite doable.
Let’s try FOIA and see what lies they tell us.
It is not obvious that there is a master plan. What is obvious is that large-city mayors might be consulting with each other trying to find what works. For now it seems they have seized on the Hickenlooper-Denver model of shutting down camps. That won’t work where folks have been complying meticulously with police orders. And there there is the Chicago-Raleigh-Birmingham model of forcing folks to keep moving in order to be within the law on sidewalks.
There is no need for a master plan when local PtB have the same goals and local PDs use carefully planned out tactics and contingency plans from long ago.
But a FOIA request of DHS would be an interesting exercise in determining whether the Occupy Wall Street movement is considered a national threat.
I’m pissed about this.
Betcha there is a document or a verbal agreement arranged in consultation with DHS. Betcha, Tarheel.
FYI: The NY Supreme Court is actually a trial court, or what the rest of the states call a circuit court or a superior court.
What other states denominate as their Supreme Court, NY calls it their Court of Appeals.
So, what happened here as best that I can tell is that lawyers from the National Lawyer’s Guild, who deserve our thanks, sought and obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a trial court in NYC. In effect this is a temporary order that will be in effect for a limited period of time and preset to expire at a date and time in the near future coinciding with a hearing to be held, before the judge who issued the TRO, in which Mayor Bloomberg and the City must show cause why the TRO should not be converted into a preliminary injunction prohibiting the city from evicting the protesters until a complete trial, including witness testimony, can be held to decide whether the injunction should be made permanent.
An injunction is an order prohibiting a party (a named organization and/or person) from doing something. TROs are typically issued without notice to the opposing party upon a showing of necessity (i.e., an emergency such that the party seeking the TRO would suffer immediate and irreparable harm unless the opposing party ceases and desists from doing what it’s doing).
The party seeking the TRO relies on affidavits to make the requisite showing of irreparable harm and, if satisfied, the judge will issue the TRO and set a hearing, often within 48 hours, to allow the opposing party an opportunity to be heard. At that hearing, the court will either transform the TRO into a preliminary injunction that prohibits the opposing party from doing whatever it was doing until a full trial can be held, or it will allow the TRO to expire.
I hope this clarifies what’s going on.
And, no. I don’t know why NY calls its trial courts supreme courts.
Lower Manhattan is a safer place this morning than it was last night. Time to move on to the next cause de jour.
Sorry to be discouraging, but FOIA requests can take years and are frequently heavily redacted.
I’m really sad about the library. I donated a signed copy of the last book my father wrote before he died. I knew it might end up in someones house, but I never thought it would be dumped in the trash by the cops. However, even as a lover of books, I remind myself that a book is just a thing and the PEOPLE are what is important.
Ring the bell!!!
I’m so sorry about your book. That is really sad.
delete dup – sorry
I’m glad that you are trembling less today. Poor baby.
Destroying books says it all. Pure fascist behavior.
The success of a GA depends on the skills of the facilitators and on having a broad group of facilitators so that the facilitators only guard the process and do not drive content. In some cases, Portland on Sunday for example, the wisdom of crowds works best when folks vote with their feet. There is a saying “Action removes the doubt that theory cannot solve.” The consensus process is open to sabotage and manipulation, which is why the facilitators and hand signals were developed–so that one person could not stampede the people into disastrous action or prevent the people from undertaking needed action. Facilitation skills are built under stressful situations. As long at there is a good faith effort to see the process protected, the people will stay united. The public mic is important for getting people to actually listen. In Portland, the front line excuse of “We can’t hear you” was a tactic to force the group into a fait accompli confrontation with the PPD. That was not good faith participation in the process, and fortunately that tactic failed.
Stampeding into co-option, isolating in factions, and provocation into losing battles will be the primary undercover tactics for trying to destroy the movement. Patience and persistence will prevail.
An antonym of nomenclature, since it is actually the lowest court.
I once asked a lawyer (a long time ago), and I think he said it was bc the NYS supreme court had jurisdiction over everything, criminal & civil, but don’t take my word for it.
Bet it’s a general contingency plan and not targeted at Occupy Wall Street. And I bet there’s a lot of local autonomy written into it.
Mrs. BackEast is free to wander in NYC parks in the dead of night. Hooray!
This is a shameful moment for Bloomberg.
OWS has way more silent supporters than he imagines.
It’s the initial response to the FOIA request that is the information. What grounds they have for denying it.
This news hits like a bomb, Kevin. Personally I feel you should be getting top billing for the entire day on FDL’s front page; it is that important. I had just finished reading the diary in which Oakland’s mayor defined a ‘difference’ between the Occupation in New York and the one in Oakland as being a difference between a public and a private park.
Apparently there is no difference in Mayor Bloomberg’s eyes. He will go down with this. As will many retailers since for us among the public one of the nonviolent things we all can do this Christmas season to express our repubnance for this action is boycott. That is what I am going to do. If the alternatives are between freedom of speech and shop till you drop, I choose the former!
Start knitting, start crocheting, start drawing, painting, writing. Be creative for Christmas (or whatever the festive occasion you celebrate). This is the year to make that intention count. If you buy, buy local and patronize the small retailers, not the chains. Put away that credit card.
This will not stand.
Yes, you may want to repeat that from time to time.
…but it was written in response to #occupy and the camps, so though it may not specifically say “use brute force to clear the socialist #occupy hippies and destroy their belongings”, but that would be the obvious meaning of such a document.
Every bit of selfless dedication remains, Nick. Thank you for telling us this.
Excellent idea!
If they ‘dis-allow’ the park the movement can now
shift to actions like boycotts, etc.
Great post. Well worth reading. Thanks for sharing. Here’s a quote in it from an OWS spokesperson:
A military style raid on peaceful protesters camped out in the shadow of Wall Street, ordered by a cold ruthless billionaire who bought his way into the mayor’s office.
Thanks Juliania. It was just a small gift. Others have done much more. But it felt significant to me at the time and again this morning.
I doubt that DHS was not consulted and solicited for advice during or prior to that call. That’s assuming DHS didn’t organize the call.
Judging from the actions, it was written in response to movements like the WTO protests earlier in the last decade. The camping thing caught them flatfooted until Denver did the garbage truck routine. Thereafter it was monkey-mayor-see, monkey-mayor-do. The place to watch to see if it’s a national plan is DC.
That is frackin’ brilliant.
UN Observers watching and documenting NYPD actions. Simply brilliant
These agitators were destroying the local businesses in the area. I’ve seen estimates of $500k in lost sales as a result of the occupation. Crushing local business owners, is that really the goal here? I guess the biggest question now is where will the junkies of NYC go to score heroin.
I’m grateful that they’ve also collected quite a bit of money to help them through this.
I used to be Captial Construction Counsel for NYC Parks & Recreation.
A “passive recreation” park is one that does not have a particular purpose, like a jogging trial or a ballfield or a playground built in. It’s just a space to stop for a bit.
It’s as opposed to a special purpose built park. Some parks have both passive and active recreation sections in the same park—Like Central park
Remember that we’ve seen DHS at #OWS, at #OPBart, etc, etc. etc. They’ve had a hand in the response to #occupy since day 1.
Reading backwards on the comments, but yours here is definitely worth emphasizing. Detractors of OWS are seizing on the weakest links, the fringes of the movement, concentrating on those to cast aspersions and disaffect the public. In my view this is NOT working, mostly because the public now knows to be suspicious of such supposed supporters. If you are in support – support! Give the best ideas their due and be respectful of the demonstrated creativity of those actively involved! We all need to hear of what IS working, not of what will make the movement, in someone’s pontifical opinion, fail. For, it is very plain to see, the movement is not failing; it is working. These attempts to disperse, to make us all try what has been a failure in the past, to dominate the discussion – these attempts are just that, attempts. Powerplays. They have no merit.
All those dump trucks carting away all that wellwishing – it could not be more a symbol of the destructive intent of the PTB. I say again, this will not stand.
Shame on you, mayors; shame on you.
Is that where you’ve been scoring?
If someone made an estimate that was placed somewhere you could see it, it must be correct.
Yay for this bright light in the darkness.
However, NYPD will know about it ahead of time from their infiltrators.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/item_Wq8d8Q0M0W98jwaQAVPvYL
Anything to avoid having to be in bed with Mr. BackEast, I suppose. How you doing, ysd?
I don’t mean for the movement to concentrate on this. (See my post on one of Nick’s earlier comments). This is something we who cannot be at the Occupies or on call to support them, can effectively do as part of the 99%. It is only one small effort in the larger one to take back our country from the oligarchs.
Yeah, uh, you do know that in fact all the businesses complaining about lost sales put the blame on the police barricades, right?
Seems to me, that that puts the blame on political overreaction rather than the actual folks protesting
That is a very interesting idea. And a little bit sickening too, knowing that we’re at that point where we need outside observers to the cruelty and repression. I’ve been dreading this since the movement started and here we are now.
Hate to dash cold water on anyone’s hopes, but I expect a FOIA request for any document pertaining to an organized response to citizen protests will be denied on the ground that, if such a document or documents exist, it will not be released due to national security.
Or words to that effect.
I am not saying the request should not be made. It should be made if for no other reason than to create another opportunity to publicly embarrass and humiliate the criminal banksters and their bought and paid for stooges.
Try reading the article. It doesn’t appear the local businesses interviewed are blaming the police. Protestors defecating in store entrances, clogging the coffee shops so other patrons can’t enter.
wyskida Ben Wyskida
Watching arrest buses pull in from rooftop at 6th & canal. Riot gear out, park totally surrounded by police.
3 minutes ago Favorite Undo Retweet Reply
Retweeted by @chrislhayes
By DHS, which agency are you indicating? States have agencies that they call Homeland Security, and no doubt large cities do as well.
Here are the agency choices:
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Secret Service
Office of Inspector General
Also, check out this:
DHS Tactical Interoperability Communication scorecards
Oh, the NY Post. I stand corrected. A well respected news source in your world, I suppose. What I saw on the many occasions I have been there in person, was crowded local businesses. I’m sure some right on the park have lost some business, but this is at a time when restaurants in many other parts of the city are suffering or closing as they can’t seem to outlast the recession. Additionally, I have clients in One Liberty Plaza and they told me that they hardly notice the protests.
NY Times City Room:
Still quoting the slanderous, sensationalist Post, I see.
The NY Post is the Fox News of the Newspaper world.
I did read your NY Post article – I also read the same story from the NY Times. I tend to trust the Times a tad bit more than the Post. YMMV
That is the information that we would want. When people who are asking for accountability for crimes of fraud are considered threats to national security for exercising their first amendment rights, we have a clear statement of the attitude of government toward its own people. That in itself is important information.
I was at occupyaustin last night with KrisA, CBL and nonplussed. Me and Kris were there to get the OccupySupply hats and sox given to them. I was high as a kite from that experience and was going to write a diary about the experience. nonplussed took photos and cbl ran video. people loved how warm the hats are and that they say “occupy” on them. however, i’m going to wait on the diary as i’m feeling too sad over the loss at zuccotti.
actually, even more than the physical loss, i’m feeling like we’ve finally come to that moment when america’s fascism is no longer under the covers. it puts me in a very somber place. for the times ahead we will all need all the good health, physical stamina and inner light we can muster. it really feels like it’s crucially important to take the best care we can of ourselves so that we’re in the best shape we can be to further the changes to come.
Observation of one: no local businesses seemed to be suffering when I was there last Wednesday. Only barricades were cordoning off the entrances to the streets with office towers, for pedestrian traffic only. There were also prolly more street vendors in the area than there would otherwise have been.
U.S. fascism was highly visible in the Gilded Age too.
Take that fucking park back!
YES!
I’m detecting the smell of dog shit on my shoe or sumpthing.
They’re quoting the store owners and employees, not editorializing
Occupier bearing court order negotiating with NYPD
I’ve had the same reaction. After the Brooklyn Bridge, I realized that I needed to get in shape for the “battles” ahead!
Twitter feed is not providing the entire stream now.
In a group of hundreds of vendors it’s fairly easy to find a couple who will say what you want them to. Read the minutes from the community meetings if you want the real story.
But you don’t want the real story, do you? You don’t want to read about the people who live there and the business owners who work there complaining about the disruption caused by the excessive police presence. How non-protestors are constantly being accosted by police outside their homes or workplaces. How vendors have had their products and generators seized by NYPD multiple times.
That would just put a damper on your hate, wouldn’t it?
You know as soon as that streaming guy gave out his number live, with the explanation that receiving a call would cut off the live stream, the NYPD desk guys started calling.
Change the damn phone.
I work across the street. You are what 2500 miles away? I see it every day. I don’t need to be lectured from someone as completely clueless as you. I don’t need the new york post or times articles. I see it every day. We don’t go to Starbucks anymore, we don’t go out and grab lunch along Nassau street. The streets are polluted with drug addicts and I’m happy to see them go.
When you view the world through the slant you seem to view every subject through, it’s easy to focus on the handful of people who shit in the street or slam heroin. I’m not clueless, I’m a realist. You’re trying to attribute the actions and intentions of a few to the entire movement. Your thought process automatically undermines the democracy and core values of Occupies everywhere, so you can easily frame what you see, read, and hear to fit your preconceived ideals.
What happened to you earlier in life to make you hate people so much?
That’s a lot of gold braid on those hat brims, thems some pretty high ranking cops
Yes, indeed.
Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. We act nonviolently and they react unreasonably and occasionally violently.
Each overreaction on their part raises the temperature in the kettle by at least a degree . . . and they will have only their pathetic little selves to blame.
And the rest as they say shall be history.
There are a lot of folks who don’t go out to eat anymore because of what the folks in your office buildings have done. Cry me a river, privileged one.
Now is the time to drive the NEW AMERICAN NAZIS OUT of the peoples park
High noon at theOK corral
I would file the FOIA just for that response. It would speak quite loudly to be given such a statement.
Every loss is a win, my friend.
They can’t hide in the dark forever.
Not to mention that they’re all white.
It was a beautiful act of love from your heart to give something so important to you. I grieve with you for the loss and celebrate the sweetness of your heart.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan Admits Cities Coordinated Crackdown on Occupy Movement
you’re barking up the wrong tree. Try looking in a mirror, you might not like what you see.
Folks, do not feed.
Any news on how the appearances before the judge are going? I thought that was scheduled to begin at 11:30.
This is like a live feed from Lexington those so many years ago.
Yeah, he should get out & patronize his local businesses.
Mic check.
Mic-Check.
Troll Alert!
Do not feed the troll, please.
I repeat.
Do. Not. Feed. The. Troll.
Thank you.
Hail to the People.
Good to know this didn’t drop out of his imagination. So, the park already was a passive recreation park. No swing sets or swimming pools, etc. Now why would Bloomberg complain that people couldn’t passively recreate when there were already people there passively recreating? Apparently, he didn’t like the passive resistance model of passive recreating.
Thank you for your kind words. Since speaking truth was central to my father’s work, I’d be remiss if I left you with the impression that I gave away my only signed copy. I have more.
Troll? I thought he was a fricking brilliant financial analyst who looks out on Zucotti Park from his well-appointed office everyday and curses “the scum”.
I wonder what were the 18 cities, and whether the mayors were exclusively Democratic mayors.
Let’s start a list.
Oakland
San Francisco
Portland
Seattle
Denver
Mobile
Atlanta
Richmond
Chicago
Minneapolis
St. Louis
Dallas
Austin
El Paso
Houston
Salt Lake City
Phoenix
???
In about 1974, I did literally have an office that looked out on what is now known as Zuccotti Park. You can see the window on the fifth floor (the first plain floor above the highest frieze), either the one that’s almost entire cut off the picture on the left, or the one with to the right of it.
Yes, we all need to be able to give the effort our best to the best of our abilities.
From the live stream embedded in this post at the top …
“Yeah, the pigeons are in the park. The pigeons have been in on the movement before we were. POPS means ‘privately owned public space’.”
Well POPS certainly is a contradiction in terms. Go pigeons!
The 18 city conference sure is an interesting piece of news.
I’m curious to know what the book is if you care to share that.
That must make seeing all this particularly poignant for you.
Eviction notice delivered to Occupy Toronto:
“Occupy Toronto protest to end ‘soon’: Ford” | CBC News | Posted: Nov 14, 2011 5:56 PM ET
It was funny (as in odd). Here’s my diary. As I describe in there, I hadn’t worked in the Wall St area since 1986. Was still in the industry, but in a mid-town location after that. I hadn’t been back to the area since 9/12 and wasn’t in a mood to be nostalgic on that particular day.
I wish I could. I work in IT on Wall St, so I’m not using my last name.
Very wise.
Glad you’re protecting yourself.
Tulsa?
Or Albuquerque?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=083031sByf8
Question: Do we have a constitutional crisis brewing between the judicial branch of state government represented by the judge who issued the TRO and the executive branch of city government represented by Mayor Bloomberg?
From what I can tell, the mayor has refused to abide by the terms of the TRO citing some mealy-mouthed excuse regarding why he could not comply. That’s a certain way to piss off the judge who issued the order.
However, apparently the judge who issued the TRO also set a return hearing for late this morning regarding whether to dissolve the TRO or make it more permanent. We now await the result of that hearing.
What happens if the judge issues a preliminary or permanent injunction and the mayor continues to refuse to abide by its terms?
I think the judge would hold the mayor in contempt and impose a hefty daily fine until he complies and might even order him jailed. Meanwhile, the city would appeal the injunction and the contempt sanctions, if any.
So, no immediate constitutional conflict although a threat of one remains.
Ultimately, I expect that battle will be fought somewhere along the line in this slowly developing marathon revolution where the executive and judicial branches will stare at each other waiting to see which one blinks first.
To be continued.
Yes, you are in deep trouble I can see it now. Can’t get your coffee or frap? What a fucking shame.
They came like thieves in the night…Bloomberg’s Blue Shirts. They robbed us of our rights, and our possessions…while preventing reporters from reporting on the scene. No free press…no free speech. Welcome to NYC. Bloomberg, the self-proclaimed number one defender of free speech (pause for gagging), said in no uncertain terms: “yes, you have the right…..the right to remain silent. So just shut up, and obey”. But this is only the beginning dear Mayor .0001%., not the end. This WILL be your legacy- of repression. But you will NOT succeed. These mayors, governors, city councils, police chiefs, and street cops of America need to realize that it is NOT UP TO THEM whether or not Americans peaceably gather, protest, discuss, or demonstrate. It’s up to a document called the US CONSTITUTION. You can beat us and arrest us and tear-gas us, you can try to “permit” us to death….but you can’t kill an idea. You can’t keep down a people’s hopes and dreams for a better life….for us, and for our kids. America USED to work. The people had work. The system worked (sort of). Hey, EVEN the Congress used to work (sometimes). God knows, it was far, far, far from perfect -but at least we all had some share in the struggles AND the rewards. But somewhere along the way, we lost our way. Because now we have an economy and a political system that seems to work only for the rich. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and that voice demands fairness and justice – for ALL. This land IS our land! AND WE WANT IT BACK! We want our LIVES back! We want our FUTURE back! But it’s much more than just words…. it’s much more than politics….. it’s your freakin’ LIFE, and how you want to live it, and how you WILL live it. Find a quiet place somewhere, and consider this: Each of us has only one brief life….one chance….one roll of the dice….and many choices. The time has come to choose….to risk…and to act. If not now…then when? If not you, then….who? You DO have the power my friend….and the choice IS yours. Don’t let your dreams die….
This has been apparent for awhile. The top is peeing their pants because what is being said on Main Street is getting traction. They can’t stop it. Not even Bloomberg’s actions are going to stop this rising tide of questioning whether or not we really and truly believe in democracy and fundamentals like the first amendment.
As someone who put on a uniform I knew that there was a time I might be asked to fight for the fundamental principles of the US like freedom of assembly or right to petition. Now each and every American, uniformed or elsewise needs to ask themselves the same. Do thet believe that Americans have the right to peacably assemble to address and air their greivances or is it more important that someone else have the right to play bocce ball without looking at the icky signs that are a symptom of government failing to address the problems of its citizenry.
Is the beginning of the true struggle here now?
An hour ago I stopped stalling and ordered my copy of Gandhi’s “Non-Violent Resistance.”
I’m sure Bloomberg will cite unitary executive or some kind of claptrap. Frankly, the judge ought to jail him for contempt of court.
Your speculation is a good as mine.
The good Judge was removed .
The city court ” lottery” yuck,yuck,yuck will pick an impartial judge.
Not going to be a quick victory.
They’re quoting SOME store owners and employees(in order to present a specific viewpoint which is what editorializing is.)
Fixed it for ya.
If NYC held in contempt, Bloomberg will hide behind the corporate form of the city charter. And the NYC taxpayers will be footing the bill for penalties. Ain’t it interesting how that works?
How convenient.
Can someone explain to me how I can get a judge removed if I were to inconveniently not like her/his ruling?
Oh wait. I forgot that’s a 1%er rule. Bloomberg can kiss his political aspirations goodbye.
If they keep hot-wiring the system, pretty soon a whole lotta folks will notice.
Posted at my place this morning (no link, not blog-whoring):
OccupyMia takes up Urban Gardening photo set
YESSSS! Meanwhile, there is plenty of work to be done with respect to the meetings in Geneva right now including preventing the US and UK corporate lobbyists from facilitating the re-institution of the use of cluster bombs. One of the ways consciousness can be raised and the intensity of the “klieg lights” already on the process can be turned up even further is by visiting and signing here. Then one passes the word along.
Regardless of what happens, we the people will not be denied.
Let Liberty Reign.
This revolution behaves like water.
What began as a few drops from the tree of liberty that joined to form a trickle that flowed into a pool at Liberty Park
Has formed more than a thousand pools across this land
Seeping, spreading, sweeping away everything in its way
Separating into drops when obstructions rise
Surrounding them
Melting them
Disappearing them below the waves
Soon there will be water everywhere
And not a drop in sight.
Let Liberty Rain.
Oakland – Jean Quan (D)
San Francisco – Edwin M Lee (D)
Portland – Sam Adams (D)
Seattle – Mike McGinn (D)
Denver – Michael Hancock (D)
Mobile – Sam Jones (D)
Atlanta – Kasim Reed (D)
Richmond – Dwight Jones (D)
Chicago – Rahm Emanuel (D)
Minneapolis – R.T. Rybak (D)(Farmer-Labor)
St. Louis – Francis G. Slay (D)
Dallas – Mike Rawlings (D)
Austin – Lee Leffingwell (D)
El Paso – John Cook (D)
Houston – Annise Parker (D)
Salt Lake City – Ralph Becker (D)
Phoenix – Phil Gordon (D) *FROM CHICAGO!!!!*
?Tulsa? – Dewey Bartlett (R)
?Albuquerque? – Richard J. Berry (R)
Two new Twitter “threads” to follow as per the NYC live stream embedded in this post:
IWillOccupy
TheOther99
Some one was playing some Chuck Mangione just a few minutes ago. Marchers on the live stream now. The two somehow kinda go together to me.
Braden Goyette, ProPublica: Just How Much Can the State Restrict a Peaceful Protest?
HEY MODS
I put together a list of Mayors and their political affiliations with links to their websites. It’s still awaiting approval.
Can you take care of this?
Join the virtual vigil and occupation of the largest US for-profit private prison on Nov. 18, 2011 (Lumpkin, GA)
What digby says:
I’ve been to Lumpkin, GA. In the 1970s, it was a very closed-up town suspicious of any outsiders. That attitude likely has intensified. I’m glad the vigil and occupation are “virtual”.
They’ve invited witnesses of their live stream.
We have been informed that the court will issue an order at 3 pm EST and everyone is waiting in the park to hear what it is. That is 50 minutes from now.
Meanwhile, the crowd is building and the drummers are drumming.
The temperature is dropping and sporadic raindrops are falling as tensions and expectations rise.
From Occupy Tokyo:
Occupy Richmond finds a place to occupy
The mayor’s next door neighbor has a front lawn.
Occupy Nashville protests the C.C.A. with mock human auction
Occupy Richmond’s new home
Hey honey, did you see me punch that kid in the gut? Man that was fucking fun, you know?
Occupied Oakland Tribune: What the hell just happened?
The guys who wear “DHS” on their uniform. I’ll find the infamous picture of them at #Opbart…
Someone else noticed.
From “LIVE BLOG: Occupy Wall Street Eviction” | The Brooklyn Ink | Tue, Nov 15, 2011 :
I’d be curious who exactly they are — local, state, or feds. Anyone can monogram a jacket. Most Feds are branded with the specific agency– (CBP)(FEMA)(ICE)(TSA)(USCIS)
Occupy Virginia Beach
Found another pic of the officer with fists clenched that Kevin posted at the 2:01 update above:
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/111115113139-occupy-zuccotti-park-police-03-horizontal-gallery.jpg
*gasp* So…what’s that again about the Democratic party being the place that activist enthusiasm goes to die? Yay 2012.
This isn’t the one I was thinking of, but interesting… Still looking for iconic uniformed DHS pic.
Here’s the one I was thinking of.
Any word from the court?
Vlad and Tim chat. White shirt police person arrives with other NYPD in electric blue jackets that say “Public Affairs.” Public Affairs are asking onlookers to clear the sidewalk. Not sure what’s up yet; no word as to the verdict.
davidgraeber David Graeber
Bloomberg TV just asked me to talk on air about Bloomberg’s assault on Liberty Park (at which he banned TV) – I told them fuck themselves
3 minutes ago
Thanks. Federal Protective Services.
Building security for federal courthouses, Federal Reserve buildings, among other things that might be in areas of occupations.
Mic check on the livesteam: The verdict is going to be read in about one minute now.
eCAHN, Kevin posted a link to USLaw’s liveblog up above. I’ve dragged it down here, cause that’s gonna be a primary source.
OWS Court Liveblog
Kevin provided a link to a liveblog report of the hearing:
http://occupy.uslaw.com/post/12841160373/owstro-hearing-liveblogging
hah!
Korgasm_ K
1 min ago: RT @nyclu: Hearing: Still waiting on decision #occupywallstreet #ows (live at ustre.am/DOkR
)
2 minutes ago
http://www.ustream.tv/theother99#
Huh. What about the DHS Police pic?
SabzBrach Joanne Michele
RT @NewYorkObserver: Writers Plan to Reoccupy and Restock the People’s Library Tonight #OWS ow.ly/7uus8
4 minutes ago
http://www.observer.com/2011/11/writers-plan-to-reoccupy-and-restock-the-peoples-library-tonight/
Chat with Gordon Lightfoot who will be up shortly on the Occupy Toronto live stream. Their eviction notice is for 12 AM EST tonight. Need more folks at the Occupation now.
This could get bad. CNN/HuffPo are saying in favor, but no ruling yet. People getting agitated.
Annnd, as soon as I hit submit, I hear corrections on the livestream. Things calmed back down around the camera pretty quickly.
Sign on the side of the vehicle says Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Services. It’s one of the existing agencies that was rolled into the USDHS along with the Coast Guard, FEMA, and Secret Service. Then TSA was created from scratch.
Twitter is alight with UNCONFIRMED reports of the ruling.
Seeking some type of confirmation.
Yeah, but what about the other picture of the back of a guy with “Department of Homeland Security Police”?
Anyway, my point is that DHS is an umbrella policing organization that perceives Anonymous, particularly, as a threat to security. Although I *speculate* that DHS is deeply involved in the policy of forcibly clearing #occupy, I think it’s a safe speculation.
katz Andrew Katz
I count 75 NYPD officers currently in Zuccotti, essentially surrounded by 1,000 people who want in. #OWS
6 minutes ago
still no reliable word on the ruling; only rumors & reposts of this morning’s temporary injunction
Yes, at this point the national coordination is painfully obvious. Painfully for them, I mean.
Only 1000 peeps waiting to get in? I thought NYC would be close to shut down today.
Colin_Jones Colin Jones
Protesters on the Livestream are insisting that they be let into the park with chants of “Open Wide, Occupy” bit.ly/sPIn6V
#OWS
3 minutes ago
»
K
Korgasm_ K
Ruling is NOT in. @AlterNet “just spoke to lawyer who argued case. He’s confident but NO DECISION YET” (live at ustre.am/DOkR
)
3 minutes ago
About the second picture, Officer.com: DHS Police? had a forum thread.
Do courts ever function on time?
For their part, they might say that the national coordination (by some “leadership”) of Occupy Wall Street is painfully obvious.
Organic relationships and distributed decision-making are not unique to Occupy Wall Street.
Let’s not jump to conclusions before we have more definite information. All we have is the linked PDF about tactical communications interoperability that I posted upthread. If you haven’t clicked through yet, you will find it very interesting.
Apart from Twitter I have been checking HERE:
http://live.nydailynews.com/Event/Showdown_at_Zuccotti_Park_The_NYPDs_raid_on_Occupy_Wall_Street_NYC
Note that new signs with new park rules have been posted, including a CURFEW between 10pm until 6am… how they managed this when the zoning exemption creating the plaza demanded 24 hour access is unclear.
The Guardian: Occupy movement: city-by-city police crackdowns so far
2000 ppl at #UCDavis Rally on Quad and growing. #Solidarity!
Occupy Birmingham AL Press Conference
JoshHarkinson Josh Harkinson
I will be on Countdown with Keith Olberman tonight talking about eviction of #OccupyWallStreet
3 minutes ago
Of course you are correct, and I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. From a PR standpoint (as in psy-ops for the 99%), a perception of Federal coordination can only invigorate the population and, for all practical purposes, there really is no operable difference between an organic vs. hierarchical coordination.
For historical purposes, your fastidiousness is valuable, however.
Thnx. Feel like I just went to the dark side reading some of that thread.
OccupyWallStNYC #OCCUPYWALLSTREET
RT @adrian_parsons: #OWS protester: “the cops have occupied Zucotti Park, we’re just trying to figure out what their demands are.
2 minutes ago
Well if nothing else this gives the list of places where the city government needs to be replaced.
I got the same feeling.
Now that’s funny.
4:06 PMRoque PlanasFollowing accusations from OWS protesters that the NYPD had destroyed its “people’s library” of over 5,000 books, the Mayor’s Office posted a picture of the seized volumes to Twitter with the message: “Property from #Zuccotti, incl #OWS library, safely stored @ 57th St Sanit Garage; can be picked up Weds.”
http://live.nydailynews.com/Event/Showdown_at_Zuccotti_Park_The_NYPDs_raid_on_Occupy_Wall_Street_NYC
I share your pain. But it occasionally has good inside information.
This is your starter list. It’s not even up to date with what KrisInATX posted above with his list of mayors. No doubt more to come.
FWIW
I can’t find it now, but some minutes ago saw a tweet from a reporter that SOMEBODY had spoken with the judge’s clerk that ruling may come by 5pm now…
OccupyBaltimore OccupyBaltimore
THIS IS JUST THE START OF THE BEGINNING! #OWS #OCCUPYREALITY
3 minutes ago
…well maybe more like “end of the beginning” maybe…?
34 minutes ago: Press Suppression at Occupy Wall Street Raid; UN press-credentialed reporter arrested (Nov. 15, 2011)
El Paso Times: Mug shots of arrested Occupy El Paso occupiers
Common OWS sign:
Do we know why there has been a delay?
Oh I agree, this has hopefully only been sort of a training exercise for future protests movements… at least I’d hope. But the tactic of “occupation” may be winding down in the face of raids and winter… but hopefully once the freeloaders and tourists have cleared off, a core group might remain.
Must get to work now.
Did I miss something important today? I thought that a court said this morning that #occupy could return with their stuff.
Books from OWS library apparantly safe.
Mayor Mike doesn’t feel that TROs apply to the city. And since it was only until 3 ET, it’s now expired anyway.
Zuccotti Park live stream interview with “Hipster Cop” in the last 5 minutes.
“Hipster Cop Montage Video: Changing Our Perspective On An Internet Meme” | Gothamist | October 17, 2011
Re @OccupyFR##OccupyDefense (Paris):
Video, 1 hour ago: occupy la defense (Nov. 15, 2011)
TRO Denied. No Tents.
Decision here
Hmm, and in a stunning move, it appears that the court has eliminated the oversight function of the NYC Department of City Planning over privately owned public spaces, by decreeing that Brookfield’s rules are enforceable. This despite them not meeting NYCDCP implementation guidelines.
But, IANAL, so my layperson interpretation may be off.
Alison Gowans, Todd Richissin, and B.A. Morelli,Ames Patch: Occupy Iowa Groups Rallying, Not Backing Down After Occupy Wall Street Raid
Shorter Judge Stallman: I see NOTHING! What a tool. Very appropriate name though, props for that, Stall Man.
It’s what happens when you go judge shopping.
Banks cost Oakland more than protesters
FU mike and o may your children disown you kock suckers.
Here is a link to Judge Stallman’s 4-page order denying the application for the TRO.
http://www.nycourts.gov/press/OWS111511.pdf
Re Vancouver, BC, CA:
UStream Tim Pool is in Zuccotti Park. The library is being rebuilt. Within 5 minutes of being let back in, they’ve got a library.
Rick Ellis, Minneapolis, Examiner.com: Update: ‘Occupy’ crackdowns coordinated with federal law enforcement officials
That makes it seem that FBI, not DHS, is driving it. The ghost of J. Edgar Hoover still stalks the land.
There’s electricity on in Zuccotti for the first time since the occupation began. Police letting people in slowly. Barricades are still up. A message had gone out on the text alert system for everyone to come down so they’re expecting thousands of people. The mood sounds jubilant.
Occupy Boston – State House
Ha-Joon Chang, The Guardian opinion: Anti-capitalist? Too simple. Occupy can be the catalyst for a radical rethink
Jeanine Poggi, The Street: Target Employee’s Black Friday Protest Gains Momentum
Occupy Denver: “We are not campers”
Bob Chaney, The Missoulian: Occupy Missoula peacefully breaks camp after monthlong protest
MICHAEL POWELL, NY Times City Room: Clearing a Park, and Reviving a Movement
Re Occupy Wall Street:
No musical instruments in Zuccotti. Guitar, accordian and drums all barred from entry. Also footballs.
And there is now a 10 pm curfew. HEY! That IS supposed to trigger a review!
Tim recounts on the Zuccotti live stream how masked people tried to coerce him into turning off the camera! Scary!!
Re Washington, DC:
Re Berkeley, California:
Stacy Davis, WRAL: Protesters reject option of occupying Raleigh parking lot
The sloppy journalism in question.
Food now prohibited at Zuccotti. All you can do is walk and talk. Maybe with a sign.
Occupy MN livestream
Peoples mic in the Skyway
Occupy Wall Street NYC general assembly
Reported 1500 there
LS: This is the biggest GA since switching to spokesmodel procedure.
OK, tell me how *that* is legal. Oh, that’s right, it’s NOT.
It’s “legal” cause da judge said I’m going to let the NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg do what they want.
It’s not Constitutional until the 9 guys and gals in the black robes say it is.
We lost a “government of laws, not of men” in 2000 if not long before.
newsandobserver.com: Occupy Chapel Hill respond to Sunday’s arrests
Official OCH Press Release Regarding Sunday’s Events
Compare the news report with the statement. Interesting, isn’t it.
Looks like someone (with some level of authority) pointed out that Brookfield signed a contract with NYC that the park MUST remain open 24 hours a day.
Heh.
So I heard on KPFA radio tonight that Jean Quan admitted to talking with DHS about clearing the camp in Oakland. Looking for a link with that info before I believe it 100%.
This diary from Gregg Levine has a link to the radio broadcast
From the Examiner article linked upstream, it seems that FBI is the center of coordination with DHS playing the role of another PD. Look for my ghost of J Ed20gar Hoover comment. The FBI culture has been protective of the 1% (including the criminal 1%) since its inception in response to reformers concerns about the “white slave trade” (in sex workers) at the turn of the 20th century. (See Karen Abbott, Sin and the Second City for the historical details about Chicago’s role in all this.) And any recent critical biography of J Edgar Hoover for how a Southern boy (Hoover grew up in DC) parlayed being in the right place at the right time into effectively dictating policy. Even with FDR and LBJ.
Thanks, TarheelDem. Now I am getting the picture of all those bigwigs sitting there in Honolulu whilst the young troubador sang his occupy song. They didn’t dislodge him because everyone maybe knew what was in store. Why rock the boat when they’ll sink it tomorrow?
Only thing, it’s not gonna stay sunk. Great news about that library.
And thing is, if it’s all on the up and up, why do it in the wee small hours? And why eliminate press coverage? If your arguments were sound, Mr. Mayor, why did you act like a terrorist?
Ah, we know. You didn’t want to arouse the people. So, you did what was certain to arouse the people. Makes sense.
I think your mental picture overestimates the threat that those world leaders perceive the movement to be. It’s an irritant right now, when they are having to kowtow to the bankers in uncomfortable ways even for puppets–it removes their veneer of democratic leadership. Right now in the US is primarily a local law enforcement issue and the police departments and lower levels in the FBI are likely driving the coordination and suppression. Eric Holder maybe gets a one sentence report weekly, if even that. Decisions are being made at the city, county, and state level because those guys are having to kowtow to their local PtB. The folks in Honolulu likely thought it a charming and uplifting song with less importance than a national anthem.
They didn’t dislodge him because he was not as threatening as, say a mic-check is to Michele Bachmann. They can handle and ignore the expression of contrary opinion. It’s part of the test of being a head of state.
Bloomberg, on the other hand, just made sure that he will not be a third party Third Way candidate in 2012 or ever. His political career is just about finished. President Obama is likely pleased that the most threatening political rival just shot himself in the foot. Now all he has to worry about are Mitt and the non-Mitts.
The NYPD acted in the middle of the night because they didn’t want pictures and YouTubes to show their brutality. (And from the pictures and YouTubes that have surfaced so far, the white shirts and the suits were exercising their anger at the protesters. Why? Because (1) that’s what Wall Street wanted and (2) Michael Bloomberg does not like his power challenged. Those are exactly his vulnerabilities relative to the citizens of New York City.
ABC7News: Occupy Cal Student Get Creative
Did feds coordinate occupy crackdown
Looks like speculation based on Quan’s call.
The picture that is emerging is that mayors coordinated through the National Conference of Mayors and the PDs coordinated through the FBI. That is pretty old-school. Those were the channels used against the Vietnam War protests.
And yes, the FBI are the feds.
Salt Lake City mayor’s statement about evicting Occupy Salt Lake City
I hope people appeal.
David Swanson
For those who have donated, and the donation was a form of free speech, when such supplies are taken away by police or destroyed by police, is that not denying free speech?
IANAL
Tim Pool of Chicago who was live streaming at Zuccotti Park for an outrageous number of hours gets to take a little break but is back up and at ‘em:
Occupy Baltimore mic-checks Karl Rove
Sort of…
Re Vancouver, BC, CA:
First they ignore you. Then they made fun of you. Then they fight you….
That was David Swanson quoting Rick Ellis, just to be clear. Too late to edit.
Occupy Tulsa UStream
The nightly TPD Nightcheck and Variety Show. They just did the Hokey Pokey. Now a great song about Freedom.
Notice no one got tazered unlike that horrid incident with Kerry in Florida.
KATELYN FERRAL AND LANA DOUGLAS, News and Observer: Chapel Hill officials defend arrest tactics
Interesting this:
Now, answer me this. Why would someone keep a building that cost them $1.675 million empty for seven years? And who would want a permanently empty building in a university town? Anybody got some business models that include that sort of asset?
It was at Johns Hopkins, so the aspiring-to-be 1% GOP-leaning crowd was not enthusiastic that Occupy Baltimore was in the house. Rove’s lecturing them on the first amendment from his privileged position at the same lectern that LBJ and Phillip Berrigan spoke from was really smarmy.
The Portland Police are standing outside tonight’s Occupy Portland GA meeting place:
Uniformed police have entered. Someone with a press pass there with a camera.
282 viewers on my leg of the live stream.
After speech by Jesse Jackson, Occupy Cincinnati is livestreaming their reoccupation of Piatt Park.
Occupy Cincy livestream
FDL got linked to from an MSNBC article:
“Mayors deny colluding on ‘Occupy’ crackdowns ”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45312298/ns/us_news-life/
has link to
http://my.firedoglake.com/gregglevine/2011/11/15/oakland-mayor-jean-quan-admits-cities-coordinated-crackdown-on-occupy-movement/
I think smarmy is an understatement.
Re Occupy Seattle:
Keith Olbermann Special Comment 11-15-11
Re Vancouver, BC, CA:
CTV reporter Mi Jung Lee gets heckled during a live broadcast at #OccupyVancouver (time point 3:00). She turns and does a moderate shove to the chest of one of the demonstrators nearest her. A man in a red jacket attempts to use his body to block the demonstrator from camera view/force the demonstrator away but that doesn’t work. Demonstrator still heckles and stays in the camera view.
Michael Corcoran, Truthout: Smear Campaigns Fuel Shutdowns of Occupations Across Country
The People’s Mic
A podcast series out of Occupy Raleigh.
Re Vancouver, BC, CA:
Occupy Vancouver’s live stream is here.
Wonkette: Surprise, Homeland Security Coordinates #OWS Crackdowns
Post-Intelligencer: Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, reacts after being hit with pepper spray (photo)
Night all.
One of the comments in that article:
Jonathan Swenson
Cops are there to protect the status quo. Dissent from the status quo is consistently met with the armed forces that serve the ones who benefit most greatly from the existing “regime”. They may be the 99% when they cash their paycheck and go home, but the moment their orders supersede their conscience, they become the violent material wing of the 1%.
Michael Moore on Keith Olbermann discussing the Minneapolis Examiner Ellis article on government coordination of the raids.
In normal times, that is exactly correct. It certainly was correct in the 1930s before police officers had collective bargaining (a gift from the 1960s, guys and gals).
When there is enough pain for those police families or their relatives, when police (or military for that matter) are ordered to attack crowds that certainly contain their friends and relatives, that changes and there is a new status quo that emerges. Which is what a revolution is. In that sense, the American Revolution was only revolutionary in its rhetoric. The British military was essentially an occupying army sent to repress a colonial rebellion.
The inclusion of the police in the 99% is to make a rhetorical argument to them about personal responsibility, as was done at the last Occupy Oakland eviction and has been a continuing theme of Occupy Tulsa’s “Thank you, TPD” campaign.
It is also why the police (and FBI) have a vested interest in not letting the movement grow. When it gets too large, they themselves will have to decide which side they are on.
Juan Cole: Police Crackdowns on OWS Coordinated among Mayors, FBI, DHS
Lawrence McMahon and Chris Ecum, selectingstones: The Characteristics of Occupy Tulsa
Occupy Tulsa: Another night, another citation
AP: Mayors, police chiefs talk strategy on protests
Interesting to know what this was about:
Watch for this meme to be pushed:
Occupy Houston: Arrests for having tarps
Police Executive Research Forum
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Jodie Tweed, Brainerd Dispatch: Occupy Brainerd protests at Wells Fargo branch