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17 Nov 2011 10:32

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U.S.: Occupy Wall Street descends on Wall Street on two-month anniversary

  • 50+ people arrested near Wall Street this morning source
  • » An attempt to prevent trading: A number of protesters, many from Zuccotti Park, tried to prevent traders from reaching the floor of Wall Street, but trading started at the usual 9:30 a.m. despite this. Protesters held up signs that said such things as “Tear down this Wall Street” and shouted phrases like “We aren’t afraid of your nightsticks,” in reference to the NYPD. “We’re not going to go away,” one protester, Davie Field, told the New York Times. “You can slash our tents and kick us out of the park, but we’ll keep coming back every day.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2011 10:23

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U.S.: Michael Bloomberg: Occupy Wall Street not expression

  • New York City is the city where you can come and express yourself. What was happening in Zuccotti Park was not that.
  • Mayor Michael Bloomberg • Offering a tough take on Occupy Wall Street this morning, after a long night in which police randomly showed up at the encampment’s door and gave protesters 20 minutes to vacate. The mayor seemed to imply with his statement that safety concerns trumped First Amendment concerns, which is perhaps a dangerous take on the law. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Oct 2011 10:25

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U.S.: Pepper-spraying NYPD cop Anthony Bologna disciplined

  • 10 days of vacation time lost for his pepper-spraying conduct source
  • But does it go far enough?While Bologna’s actions in the infamous YouTube video drew massive scorn, some of the victims weren’t impressed with the punishment. “He needs a lot of vacation. He needs to go to a place very quiet, far away, for a very long time,” Ron Kuby, the lawyer for one of the victims, said. “He’s supposed to be there in an advisory capacity, to ensure that the young patrol officers aren’t doing what in fact the deputy inspectors are doing.”
  • Presented in the right context?Meanwhile, Bologna’s union, the NYPD Captains Endowment Association, is standing behind the cop, despite the claim he violated the department’s rules on pepper spray use: “Deputy Inspector Bologna is disappointed at the results of the Department investigation. His actions prevented further injury and escalation of tumultuous conduct. To date, this conduct has not been portrayed in its true context.” Bologna can still challenge the ruling.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Oct 2011 12:27

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U.S.: Occupy Wall Street: Clashes with protesters after cleanup delayed

  • Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use, and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown.
  • NYC Deputy Mayor Caswell F. Holloway • Discussing the near-disaster Occupy Wall Street had last night, after Zucotti Park owners Brookfield tried to force people away from the park for cleaning — which many park-dwellers assumed was an attempt to kick them out. The city, which claims it’s acting in the interests of the company that owns the park, has put the ball in Brookfield’s court. Despite the company and city backing down, there have been violent clashes between the police and protesters today. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Oct 2011 09:35

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U.S.: “Fox News Lies”: Geraldo booted off the Occupy Wall Street island

  • Not a banner day for Geraldo Rivera: In a crowd with fresh memories of Jesse LaGreca’s epic takedown of Griff Jenkins, Geraldo’s not-so-warm welcome is a tad heartwarming. Now, granted, his coverage of the protests — complete with Tavis Smiley and Cornel West talking from a studio — was pretty balanced, and not in that “Fair and Balanced” way, either. But his network affiliation led to some chants over his news broadcast — not fun — and eventually led to this rough exit, captured by Russia Today. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Oct 2011 10:43

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U.S.: Occupy movement: Quickly growing and gaining huge diversity

  • This could be the tipping point. I marched against the Vietnam war before I was drafted into the army and this movement is now getting towards that critical mass.
  • Former Silicon Valley executive Dick Steinkamp • Explaining why he’s chosen to take part in the Occupy Seattle protests. Folks like Steincamp, a 63-year-old firmly in the “Baby Boomer” camp, have added themselves to the Occupy movement in recent days, giving the movement significant age diversity and making it something that’s becoming much larger than its original starting point. Roughly 70 major cities now have their own Occupy movement, as well as 600 smaller communities. Last week’s Brooklyn Bridge arrests really gave the movement a spark — now it’s spreading at full speed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Oct 2011 01:17

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U.S.: Occupy Wall Street: The crowds get bigger, the police more violent?

  • Switching gears a little bit, tonight’s Occupy Wall Street rallies hit a new peak, in part thanks to fresh support from unions such as AFL-CIO, the United Federation of Teachers, the Communications Workers of America and District Council 37. (According to one estimate, the crowd hit 20,000, but an exact number couldn’t be narrowed down — either way, it was large.) But the new peak in attendance came with a price — police brutality, some of which hit journalists covering the march. “I don’t know what sparked it, but people started tossed about, and I did see people getting beaten with clubs, and I personally was pepper sprayed,” said Flux Rostrum, a journalist and videographer for Mobile Broadcast News. Above is a clip of one of the more violent scenes tonight — the way that they’re throwing around those batons is nothing short of frightening. In all, at least 28 people were arrested. (thanks usualchatter for the kick in the pants; this take on the evening’s events is also worth a read) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Oct 2011 21:25

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U.S.: NYC Bus drivers want no part of Occupy Wall Street arrests

  • There’s NYPD brass with guns on buses saying ‘Move the bus, this bus is now under the control of the NYPD. What room to protest is there? It’s not a transit supervisor you’re dealing with.
  • New York Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen • Discussing the way that the Brooklyn Bridge Occupy Wall Street arrests went down, particularly how the NYPD commandeered buses to arrest protesters en masse. The union is seeking injunctions (preliminary and permanent) against the NYPD to prevent them from doing this again. “The actions of the NYPD on Oct. 1, 2011, amounted to a seizure of the bus drivers,” the union’s lawyer, Arthur Schwartz, claimed in court. Will be curious to see how this goes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2011 20:38

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U.S.: NYPD: 400 arrested on Brooklyn Bridge during protests

  • Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Other locked arms and proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway. The latter were arrested.
  • A NYPD police spokesman • Discussing the arrests of 400 protesters (EDIT: This number jumped significantly from an earlier version of this story — from 50 to 400) on the Brooklyn Bridge earlier today, during the Occupy Wall Street protests, which are starting to pick up some steam (along with union support). Witnesses say that police used orange netting to surround and control the movements of protesters, and those arrested were taken away on three separate buses. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2011 16:43

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U.S.: Labor unions slowly latching onto Occupy Wall Street

  • I think it’s a tactic and a valid tactic to call attention to a problem. Wall Street is out of control. We have three imbalances in this country—the imbalance between imports and exports, the imbalance between employer power and working power, and the imbalance between the real economy and the financial economy. We need to bring back balance to the financial economy, and calling attention to it and peacefully protesting is a very legitimate way of doing it.
  • AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka • Talking on C-SPAN Friday about mass protests in general and Occupy Wall Street in particular. Trumka’s endorsement of the protests shadows the growing support the movement is getting from such labor unions as the Transport Workers Union. If the movement grows among labor unions, that will help swell the growth of the movement significantly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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