Occupy movements face repression at various locations, with worst in Oakland California. Most arrests have been in Chicago. Police removed generators in New York before snow hit.
A wrap up of news reports from various places around the country shows that politicians and police are coordinating and escalating their attack on the "Occupy..." protests and protesters around the country, while the corporate media is lending a hand to the repression. A biased National Public Radio report, featuring Philadelphia's Manager (and former "school reform" backer) Ray Negrin led the pack.
Scene from Oakland California on Thursday, October 27, 2011. Courtesy of Occupy Oakland.But there are also simple news reports brining the facts, when compiled to a larger audience. The following were compiled from Reuters and elsewhere by Portside and put out on October 30, 2011.
The Resistance Continues at Liberty Square and Worldwide!
NEW YORK CITY... New York Urgent: Winter Donation Needs, Posted Oct. 29, 2011, 10:54 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
It's been dumping snow here in NYC all day, high winds and 3 inches of slush on the ground. With the NYPD and FDNY confiscating six generators on Friday and this unprecedented October snow, those occupying Liberty Plaza in downtown NYC are in need of emergency supplies crucial for cold weather survival (and occupation). We've made a lot of headway on getting winter gear here in the last 48 hrs but definitely need more. Please help by purchasing or donating supplies directly. Winter gear and other necessities can be dropped off in person, delivered, or shipped.
More http://occupywallst.org/article/urgent-winter-donation-needs/
Occupy Protesters Regroup After Mass Arrests, Don Ryan/Associated Press, By Kirk Johnson, Published: October 30, 2011
DENVER AND NASHVILLE - Protesters in Denver and Nashville regrouped on Sunday, a day after mass arrests at demonstrations inspired by Occupy Wall Street in both cities.
In Denver, the clashes between demonstrators and the police were some of the most intense since the protest groups began gathering in a downtown park more than a month ago. The police used pepper spray on the protesters, some of whom surged toward police lines. The police charged two people with assaulting an officer.
Protesters said they would hold a peace vigil late in the day on Sunday.
In Nashville, where state law enforcement officials arrested 29 people on Saturday, the issue was a curfew imposed last week that barred protesters from inhabiting a downtown park near the State Capitol. The legality of the curfew has been questioned, and a magistrate judge immediately released the protesters, who had been charged with trespassing, saying that the state had no authority to create such a restriction.
More http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/us/occupy-wall-street-protesters-arrested-in-denver-and-portland.html
FORT LAUDERDALE... Occupy That Yacht, In Fort Lauderdale, a good-natured movement takes the fight to the decks of the one percent. By Thomas Francis, Sunday, Oct 30, 2011
Occupy Fort Lauderdale
If America's ultra-rich are feeling unappreciated, a trip to this weekend's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show seemed to offer some solace. After all, it's the world's premier annual showcase for yachts, and the city bills itself unabashedly as the "Yachting Capital of the World."
But this year, not all the residents were in a welcoming mood. Members of Occupy Fort Lauderdale staged a demonstration Saturday afternoon, taking their placards on a nearly 3-mile march from downtown to the beach, where the boat show is being held. More http://www.salon.com/2011/10/30/occupy_that_yacht/
LIES ABOUT GETTING AN EDUCATION BEGIN TO BE EXPOSED AS STUDENT DEBT TRAP GROWS...
OWS Student Debt Day 11/12
We were told to work hard and stay in school, and that it would pay off. We are not lazy. We are not entitled. We are drowning in debt with few means of escape.
One of the more cynical programs of American capitalism is the combination of student loan debt and "Race To The Top." Both are promoted by the plutocrats. Above, Penny Prizker, one of the 13 Pritzker billionaires of Chicago (owner of the Hyatt hotels among other properties) is now serving on the Chicago Board of Education, appointed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel without any community input. Pritzker, like other members of her family, never had to worry about student loan debt when she studied English at Harvard or got her law degree at Stanford. Above, she was discussing the latest version of test-based "accountability" for Chicago public schools at the Chicago Board of Education's meeting of October 26, 2011. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.We would give anything to pay our debt, but we are un(der)employed due to the jobs crisis and lack of consumer protections and refinancing rights make things extremely difficult.
The student loan bubble may not burst with a bang, but it is slowly suffocating us. Please share your story. We stand in solidarity with the 99 percent. More http://occupystudentdebt.com/owsdebtday
Occupy Wall Street Arrests In Texas, Oregon
Oct 30 (Reuters) - Dozens of protesters at economic inequality demonstrations in Austin, Texas, and Portland, Oregon were arrested peacefully early on Sunday over allegedly failing to comply with rules in each city.
Both protests were among many held across the country since September by demonstrators who say they are angry over economic inequality and what they see as Wall Street greed.
At Occupy Austin, some 38 people were arrested on Saturday night and early Sunday after refusing to let police take down food tables and clean the City Hall plaza where they had camped for several weeks, police told Reuters on Sunday.
More http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/30/usa-nwallstreet-protests-idUSN1E79T05820111030
Sallie Mae Locks Out Student Protesters As Occupy DC Marches Against Skyrocketing Student Debt, By Lee Fang and Zaid Jilani on Oct 28, 2011 at 6:24 pm
This afternoon [October 28, 2011], a group of about seventy-five students mobilized at the OccupyDC camp at McPherson Square to raise the issue of crushing student debt. The average
student, facing grim job prospects in the current economy, is graduating with at least $24,000 of debt.
The students and recent graduates then marched several blocks through DC to the lobbying headquarters of student loan giant Sallie Mae. As students posted letters and stories about their own debt on the walls of the building, a phalanx of police officers and security guards blocked anyone from entering the building.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was hustled into the "one percent" during a three-year period following his service at the Clinton White House. For three years, Emanuel worked as what he called "relationship banking" and "earned" $18 million. After that, he returned to politics, purchased a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (following the election of Rod Blagojevich as Governor of Illinois, Rahm took the House seat on Chicago's north side). After Chicagoan Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, Rahm, as Chief of Staff at the White House, steered federal education, trade, finance and international policy in directions favored by the one percent. Above, Emanuel gestures during an August 31, 2011 budget meeting in Chicago. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.The demonstrators, who had planned to voice their grievances in the lobby of the building, began chanting "if we had money, they'd let us in!" As the crowd swelled outside the Sallie Mae office at 7th Street and Pennsylvanie Avenue, security officers continued to block protesters from entering. The peaceful crowd said they only wanted to air their grievances with a representative from Sallie Mae, but were rebuffed. Watch it: More http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/10/28/356492/sallie-mae-locks-out-protesters/
Challenges Don't Deter Occupy Detroit Protesters From
Getting Out Their Message
By Niraj Warikoo Detroit Free Press Staff Writer Oct. 29, 2011
Many are recent college grads, frustrated by a lack of jobs and saddled with student debt. Others work full- time, stuck with low wages. And some are middle-age Detroiters who are unemployed after working decades in the auto industry.
Despite their diverse backgrounds, the protesters with Occupy Detroit — now camped out in Grand Circus Park for two weeks — are united in their efforts to send a message: The system isn't working for them.
The protesters are part of a movement of people upset at the growing concentration of wealth. Income inequality in the U.S. is at its highest since at least 1967, when the census started recording household income. More http://www.freep.com/article/201110290300/NEWS05/110290432
Anti-Wall Street Protesters to Join NY Halloween Parade. State law bans masked gatherings, but exempts masquarade parties
Another scene from Occupy Oakland.NEW YORK - Anti-Wall St protesters plan to join New York City's Halloween parade on Monday and although several people have been arrested at recent rallies for wearing masks, demonstrators will have a free pass for the holiday....
Occupy Wall Street has set up Occupy Halloween and said on its website, www.occupyhalloween.org, that protesters had been invited to join the 39th annual Village
Halloween Parade.
Organizers of the parade, which attracts tens of thousands of onlookers and is broadcast live on local television, were not immediately available for comment.
Occupy Halloween urged protesters to organize costume- themed blocs, suggesting ideas such as Wall Street zombies, corporate vampires and V-masks -- the Guy Fawkes mask made popular by the graphic novel "V for Vendetta."
More http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/uk-usa-wallstreet-protests-halloween-idUSLNE79P01320111026
