Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–October 31, 2011. We’ve recently seen this report posted and shared through social media, but we thought it might be helpful to have another place on the web it can be published and accessed daily. We’ll be posting the archives of this report soon. This Occupation Report is compiled by Rebuild the Dream.
This report includes updates from Occupy sites and related efforts across the country and the globe. It includes big wins, local organizing efforts, protests/events and calls to action where additional support from allies/general public may be needed. Where applicable, I have included reports on police activity and legal battles which have been separated into two categories: Category 1 [police crackdowns including city code violations] and Category 2 [civil disobedience arrests]
For more updates from occupations around the country, listen to the Occupation America podcast at http://soundcloud.com/occupation-america
BIG WIN: Diane Sawyer announced on ABC Nightly News Friday night that big banks are backing off debit card fees after 300,000 people signed Molly Katchpole’s Change.org petition against Bank of America’s $5 debit card fee. Not only is Bank of America revising its $5 debit card fee, but big banks like Chase and Wells Fargo are publicly canceling their plans to charge their customers for debit cards.
NATIONWIDE: Several Occupy sites across the country are organizing Halloween-themed rallies, marches and events. Check out these Occupy Zombies marching in Boston http://yfrog.com/esknksj. This week: Occupy sites across the country are gearing up for nationwide actions including a general strike on November 2nd and Move Your Money Day of Action on November 5th.
Occupy Wall Street: Author and activist Angela Davis spoke at Occupy Wall St. in Washington Square Park on Sunday. Thanking the OWS movement for transforming politics in the universe, she spoke to the brutal police crack-down on the Occupy encampment in her home town of Oakland and supported the call for a national strike on November 2 in response to that violence. ****In other news… Raw Story reported yesterday that OWS protesters who were left without power after their gas-fueled generators were confiscated by New York City authorities on Friday may have found the idea solution in the form of a stationary bicycle hooked up to charge batteries. Stephan Keegan of the non-profit environmental group Time’s Up showed off one of the bikes toThe Daily News, explaining that OWS’s General Assembly has already authorized payment for additional bikes and that “soon we’ll have ten of these set up and we’ll be powering the whole park with batteries.” **** Over the weekend Occupy Wall Street, in solidarity with Occupy the Hood, took action against “the homelessness forced upon innocent Americans through criminal foreclosure practices. On Sunday OWS held a rally and screenings of “Sing Your Own Song” followed by a discussion with actor and activist, Harry Belafonte. Speakers at the Rally already included Terrence Melvin of CBTU, Sonia Ivany of LCLAA, Pres. Sid Ryan of Ontario Federation of Labor, Anthony Harmon of APRI, Chris Provost – Chair of Univ Student Senate, CUNY, members of Transit Workers Union Local 100 and SEIU Local 1199. Earlier this week the NAACP put out a statement saying they are in support of the Occupy Wall Street / 99% movement.
******CALL TO ACTION******OWS called an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss, among other things, the use of funds to help the group survive the winter. Right now OWS is in desperate need of winter gear. Go to http://occupywallst.org/article/urgent-winter-donation-needs/ to see a full list of needs.
Occupy Arrests: The @OccupyArrests Project is looking for funds to continue the work of documenting Occupy arrests. The project seeks to document and publish an ongoing online record of those arrested in the Occupy Movement around the globe. They report that so far over 2,500 arrests have been made. The project would involve the creation of an online portal for those active in the movement and those that want to learn more in a understandable and useful way. Elements of the portal would include searchable totals categorized by different factors, on the spot updates, legal resources, and profiles of protestors actually arrested. For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.twiter.com/occupyarrests.
Occupy Austin: [CBS local news report] A pair of pre-dawn confrontations between Austin police and Occupy Austin protesters led to 38 arrests Sunday. Most were charged with criminal trespass, Police Chief Art Acevedo said. No injuries were reported. The first confrontation came about 12:30 a.m. Sunday when officers moved to enforce a new rule banning food tables in the City Hall plaza between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Some protesters surrounded the tables with arms linked. Protesters had been advised of the food table ban on Friday, Assistant City Manager Michael McDonald said. “We want to facilitate their activities,” he said of the Occupy Austin protesters, “but we can’t allow this to be a permanent campsite.”
Occupy Boston: The Occupy Boston Students dressed like zombies organized a city-wide walkout, rally, and march on Monday. Each campus organized to walk out of class in time to all convene at the gazebo in Boston Commons at 1 pm. The rally in the Commons was followed by a march to the Occupy Boston site at Dewey Square. The walkout was called in solidarity with the wider Occupy Boston movement and specifically to highlight student’s main concerns: Fair and affordable higher education, student loans, and the corporatization of universities. These issues are at the forefront of the student’s agenda, since students are not unaffected by the wider issues highlighted at Occupy Boston, such as inequality, unemployment, and financial corruption.
Occupy Cleveland: Issue 2 / SB-5 Teach-in. Monday, Stephanie Herrig from Working America held a noon teach-in about overturning SB-5 by voting No on Issue 2. Occupy Cleveland says overturning SB-5 is necessary in order to help unions. In the evening Occupy Cleveland will join Occupy the Hood for a Job Readiness and Training event.
Occupy Dallas: The Hare Krishna took food and candy to Occupy Dallas for Halloween today. Earlier in the day, Occupy Dallas twitter feed reported: “We #occupied the #CityHall Halloween party in a costumed silent presence, bearing messages.”
Occupy Denver: [Democracy Now report] In Denver, riot police fired pepper balls and mace into a crowd of protesters after they attempted to move onto the State Capitol grounds. Some 20 people were arrested, including 13 who tried to erect a tent in an adjacent park. The arrests followed a peaceful march that drew thousands of people into the streets of Denver. Last night the group gathered in solidarity to hold a Sunset Peace Vigil. This candlelight served as a “collective stand against violence by individuals and police, and to refocus collective perspective on their primary goals of socioeconomic justice and peace.”
Occupy Maine: [USM Free Press report] The Occupy Maine camp in Lincoln Park saw their resolve tested this weekend as temperatures plunged and a rare October Nor’easter dumped about five inches of wet snow on Portland Saturday night. The camp suffered some damage overnight from wind and falling branches. Occupy Maine member Denny Junkins, 21, said a communal tent had partially collapsed and some tarps had been blown off tents. But Junkins said campers are remaining positive and trying to rebuild. “It didn’t look too bad,” he said. “It looked like a big storm had come through, which is what happened.” Mike Oregan has been in camp for over two weeks, and he said on Saturday he is here to stay, come snow and cold weather.
Occupy Myrtle Beach: [McClatchy report] Even though smaller group assembled Saturday in Myrtle Beach for their second Occupy Myrtle Beach, they had hopes for expansion to get their messages out in the community. Following a similar format to the inaugural meeting, which was held last week, people signed up and spoke to the group for five minutes about their thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement, changing government and demonstrating locally. “It takes us all wanting to come together and make change happen,” said Terry Mason Hendricks. “We have to get organized.”
Occupy Nashville: Over the weekend, 67 members of Occupy Nashville, faced freezing overnight temperatures at Legislative Plaza in Nashville, TN. The third night of the re-occupation began with the arrival of 152 people volunteering to be arrested if Governor Bill Haslam and the Tennessee Highway Patrol continued to violate their first amendment rights of free speech. The community expressed its support throughout the night by sending donations of pizza, soup, and drinks. Hundreds of others joined them via livestream, facebook, and twitter. At 6am Sunday morning, as church bells rang in downtown Nashville, the occupiers triumphantly greeted the day with singing and chants of “Our plaza! Our plaza!” The THP did not raid the plaza and no arrests were made during the night. In other news, a night court magistrate has refused to sign off on an arrest warrant targeting demonstrators because, he argued, state officials have no authority to set the curfew.
Occupy Oakland: Protesters in Oakland are reportedly planning to occupy the office of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan today. And in other news, Oakland North reports: Heated confrontations between Oakland police and over 500 Occupy Oakland demonstrators during a march against police brutality on Saturday night threatened to turn into a repeat of Tuesday night’s violence, but the tension dissipated as the march moved away from OPD headquarters and into West Oakland. The night ended peacefully and without arrests. The march left Frank Ogawa plaza at around 8:30 pm and headed down Broadway. Many demonstrators held five-foot-tall wooden black “shields” showing the words “Stop Police Brutality” and images of skeletons. Some wore black hooded sweatshirts and black bandanas over their faces, while others were dressed in their Halloween best.
VIDEO: Yesterday Occupy Oakland released what they call video proof that Oakland PD infiltrated their group and posed as protesters over the weekend. You can check out the video here: http://markcrispinmiller.com/2011/10/proof-that-oakland-pd-infiltrated-ows/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+NewsFromUnderground+(News+From+Underground)
Occupy Omnibus: BrainPicking.org lists 10 Essential Cross-Disciplinary Books About Protest. Check out the list here: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/10/31/10-essential-books-about-protest/
Occupy Philadelphia: Occupy Philadelphia hopes the movement will bring more attention and help to the homeless population who have joined the group. The group is asking for donations of hats, scarves, coats and socks to help them maintain their presence through the winter. There is a concern, however, among members that donations to Occupy may take away from donations to organizations that give to the needy. “We do have a very large homeless population on grounds here with us,” one protestor said. “We consider them our brothers in arms, we embrace them with open arms, we do everything we can to help them, and they do everything they can to help us. We’re in this together.”
Occupy Portland: Early Sunday morning, after warnings from the Mayor’s Office and the Portland Police Bureau, 25-30 protesters associated with Occupy Portland were arrested for breaking a park curfew at Jamison Square during the course of a peaceful protest. Protesters were charged with criminal trespassing, interfering with a police officer and disorderly conduct.
Occupy Raleigh: Occupy Raleigh sent out several twitters today urging people to join the National Day of Action to *Move Your Money* from big banks like Bank of America, Chase and Citibank. The action will take place on November 5th.
Occupy San Francisco: [Mission Local report] Hundreds of fat cats, corporate bigwigs, the top 1 percent and at least one *puppet* Barack Obama marched around downtown San Francisco on Saturday… While some dressed in traditional Halloween garb, most, like Connie Jeung-Mills, had some fun making political statements out of their getups. Hers was a pink alien outfit with a badge that read “(Alien) Nation 99%.” See pics here: http://missionlocal.org/2011/10/occupy-sf-gets-a-halloween-makeover/. You may also want to check out this SF Gate article on how Occupy SF has breathed life into a park that lay dormant for nearly a decade: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/30/BAI31LO36M.DTL&tsp=1
Occupy USC: [Daily Trojan report] The Occupy USC General Assembly said it plans to focus on advocacy and creating open forum, after the group held its second meeting Friday at Tommy Trojan. Occupy USC, which began Oct. 25 as an offshoot of the national Occupy Wall Street movement, aims to increase its presence on campus. “The main thing we wanted to work on as a movement was advocacy and getting people aware of what’s going on,” said Julia Wang, an occupy USC participant
WORLDWIDE:
Occupy Africa: [African Country report] Until recently, the global Occupy Movement has been mostly restricted to South Africa (according to OWS’s own data collection) and to small protests by mostly white, middle class South Africans. But now they’re joined by Senegalese musician Baaba Maal. See video of Maal talking about 99% with Okayafrica’s Allison Swank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FnCV2tlsDqU
Occupy Berlin: New York-based Susan Bernofsky attends Occupy Berlin and compares the atmospheres and strategies of the movement in both cities… http://www.slowtravelberlin.com/2011/10/31/occupy-berlin/
Occupy Frankfurt: Thousands of people marched in the financial district of the German city of Frankfurt this weekend.
Occupy LSX: In London, a coalition of Christian protesters has made plans to form a prayer ring around demonstrators encamped outside of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Efforts to evict the protesters have led to a storm of controversy, with both St. Paul’s canon chancellor and a chaplain stepping down over the decision to pursue legal action against the camp. **** In related news… Occupy London celebrated their first week in occupation by taking a second site at Finsbury Square (about 5 minutes walk from the first site). The second site is still growing, and they need equipment and people. They’ve put out a special call looking for drivers to haul items they’ve collected from the old site to the new site.
Occupy Montreal: During the recent Indignez-Vous! conference in Montreal, Council of Canadians chapter activists, Board directors, and staff visited Occupons/ Occupy Montreal to demonstrate their solidarity with the group. To see a 2-minute video by activist-filmmaker Paul Manly on this, please watch here or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiQ6CTtJDSM.
Occupy Toronto: According to Credit Union Times, organizers with Occupy Toronto are seeking out a credit union to park the more than $40,000 in donations they’ve received. The group, which consists of roughly 250 protesters, said it has been getting a steady stream of funds from supporters over the past two weeks. Of the $40,000 received so far, less than $1,000 has been spent, according to a Toronto Star article.
Speaking of donations… Occupy Toronto received yurts this weekend as they were attempting to winterize their camp. The large, wood-framed tents are a type of shelter popular on the steppes of central Asia, where it can get pretty chilly in winter. According to CP24, the yurts were paid for by anonymous unions, they’re being provided by a Canadian company called Groovy Yurts. See pics here: http://torontoist.com/2011/10/scene-occupy-toronto-gets-yurts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=scene-occupy-toronto-gets-yurts
Occupy Vancouver: A group of Occupy Vancouver protesters – “Occupy the Vatican” – marched to the steps of Holy Rosary Cathedral to disrupt the Sunday mass service yesterday. The group had planned on marching into the church to protest during the Sunday services but police officers prevented them from entering the cathedral. About a dozen protesters stood on the steps of the Holy Rosary Cathedral demanding to be let in, but were turned away by church volunteers.“I’m not asking you to renounce your religion,” the crowd chanted in unison. “I’m asking you to stand with Jesus, and stand for what he stood for: justice, brotherhood, sisterhood and righting the wrongs of the past.” Parishioners say people have the right to protest, but churchgoers also have the right to worship in peace.
The Daily Occupation Report is compiled by Rebuild the Dream using information gathered from online news sites, Twitter, blogs and other sources of occupation-related updates.
If you have any questions, feedback or would like to contribute a report from your Occupy site, please send them along with your contact information to [email protected] or [email protected].
Source: www.occupytogether.org
