Occupy roundup?

Cities face Occupy movement's 'mass day'

New York (CNN) -- Protesters in New York launched what they called an effort to "shut down Wall Street" Thursday morning at the beginning of a nationwide day of what could be the Occupy movement's largest protests yet.

From New York to Los Angeles, organizers were calling for a "mass day of action" to mark two months since the movement began.

A heavy police presence was in place as protesters kicked off the effort with the early morning demonstration against Wall Street.

CNN personnel could see about a dozen people arrested, including a retired Philadelphia police captain, Ray Lewis, who had joined with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. CNN saw him arrested and as he stood with other protesters in the middle of a street near Wall Street on Thursday morning.

On its Twitter Feed, Occupy Wall Street reported the arrest and added the hashtag "#shame."

Earlier, on CNN's "American Morning," Howard Wolfson, a New York City deputy mayor, vowed, "We'll make sure, if people want to peacefully protest, they have the right to." But, he added, "if people break the law, we'll have to deal with that."

"If they attempt to enter a building they're not allowed in, that's breaking the law. If they want to express their concerns about Wall Street, that's totally fine," Wolfson said.

"It could be a very fluid situation," he said, noting that "police on the ground are very well trained to deal with these situations."

Occupy Wall Street, on its website, accused police of brutality in at least one location Thursday morning.

Police had no immediate response.

On Twitter, Occupy Wall Street wrote, "Some bankers are holding signs that say, 'get a job.' Unemployment is at 10% and they're smug in suits."

Laying out the thinking behind Thursday's plan, the group wrote, "Enough of this economy that exploits and divides us. It's time we put an end to Wall Street's reign of terror and begin building an economy that works for all."

Other events planned for Thursday in New York include "occupy the subways," a plan to gather at 16 hubs, and "take the square," meaning Foley Square, across from City Hall.

Organizers also plan a march across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Across the country, cities were bracing for angry demonstrations.

A website listing events being organized nationwide, occupytogether.org, called for "mass non-violent direct action" Thursday.

Among the events listed is "occupy colleges," when students will gather at their school to protest rising costs and "diminishing quality."

In Portland, Oregon, plans include "occupy banks." "Let's shut them down!" the organizing website n17pdx.org says.

And in Los Angeles, organizers called for a protest downtown, shutting down an intersection.

Events are also planned in Boston, Minneapolis, and other cities.

Occupy roundup: Movement marks 2 months

While organizers stress that the plans are non-violent, the "mass day" comes after a demonstrator in New York was arrested for allegedly making violent threats.

Nkrumah Tinsley, 29, also was accused of "aggravated harassment" on Wednesday evening in Zuccotti Park, where the movement was based, New York City police said.

Tinsley is seen in a YouTube video making threats toward a department store. "In a few days, you're going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do to Macy's," he said.

In another part of the video, Tinsley threatens to burn New York City to the ground on Thursday.

Wednesday's arrest is Tinsley's second in as many months. He was arrested on October 26 for assaulting a police officer.

About 200 Occupy Wall Street demonstrators were arrested Wednesday, police said.

While the city has come under fire from protesters and other critics for arrests and removing protesters from Zuccotti Park, Wolfson insisted that "we had to act" to stop illegal activity, such as drug use, and to eliminate fire hazards.

"This is a place where we honor the First Amendment," Wolfson said Thursday. Source:

Lawmakers disclose their assets, guess who's 1% ers?

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sits atop the list of Congress' wealthiest members with an estimated net worth of $448.1 million.

58 members of Congress among wealthy 1%

Members of Congress disclose their assets and liabilities in broad ranges. The estimated net worth is the middle of that range, as reported on their 2010 disclosure forms.

WASHINGTON – Who is the 1%?

"more"

Well, about 58 members of Congress are part of that elite group.

Roughly 11% of Congress have net worth of more than $9 million, according to a USA TODAY analysis of 2010 financial disclosures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. That's enough to put them in the top 1% of wealth.

"We are the 99%" is the rallying cry for Occupy Wall Street and similar demonstrations protesting the concentration of wealth by the top 1%.

The richest in Congress

Congress’s top 1% and their estimated net worth:

• Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

$448.1 million

Owned a car alarm maker.

• Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas

$380.4 million

Married to the daughter of radio giant Clear Channel Communications’ founder.

• Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

$231.7 million

Married to the widow of a Heinz ketchup heir.

• Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

$192.7 million

Co-founded cellphone company Nextel.

• Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis.

$158.5 million

Oversaw family chain of stores.

Sources: Center for Responsive Politics and USA TODAY reporting

Congress also has 250 millionaires, the data show. The median net worth: $891,506, almost nine times the typical household.

"The vast majority of members of Congress are doing very well," says they center's Sheila Krumholz. "They've got the resources to tide them over through an extended sour economy."

In the House, 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats are in the 1%, while in the Senate Democrats edge out Republican one percenters 13-11.

Lawmakers disclose their assets and liabilities only in broad ranges. So the numbers are estimates — the average of a member's lowest and highest possible net worth. Their actual wealth is often higher because disclosures don't include home values.

Despite some superwealthy members, Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution says Congress generally reflects the middle class.

"In many cases, the top 10% are self-made … and it reflects something that's in the American psyche," he says. "We're not against people being rich. We just wish we were. But we are particularly attracted to people who made their own riches."

Lawmakers' wealth could resonate in 2012 elections — but only because of the poor economy and dysfunction of Congress, says Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute.

"Whenever you hit tough economic times, you have a surge in populism, and that takes the form of anger at members of Congress living high off the hog while the rest of us suffer," Ornstein says.

"That's why we're here," says Carl McClinton, 25, camping in a downtown Washington park as part of the Occupy D.C. protest. "The people making the laws are too comfortable. " SOURCE:

Occupy Wall Street protesters to return with tents to the park.

Police Clear Out Occupy Wall Street Protests

Avi Zenilman

Matt Taylor

UPDATE (12:44 P.M. EST): The National Lawyers Guild has obtained a court order allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters to return with tents to the park. The guild said the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on Occupy Wall Street protesters. Zuccotti Park remains closed, however, until local courts can rule further. More as this develops.

MANHATTAN -- Hundreds of New York City police officers decked out in riot gear surrounded and then dismantled the core of the Occupy Wall Street protest early Tuesday morning, tearing down tents and arresting at least 75 people after they refused to leave. The surprise raid, which began at about 1 a.m. and was reportedly requested by the private owner of Zuccotti Park, spurred a massive outpouring of people -- a mix of supporters, curious observers, and media from around the world -- into the streets of downtown New York.

Hundreds of demonstrators dispersed in search of a new gathering spot (a march on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's City Hall was quickly aborted) while others stood by, shouting, as a backhoe, sanitation trucks, at least four dumptrucks, and trash compactors rumbled down Broadway and cleared the park. There were murmurs of regrouping at another downtown location as dawn approached, while one activist warned a television reporter that the movement was doubling down for Thursday's planned "day of rage," when protests have been planned across the country.

"Protesters can return after the park is cleared," said the mayor's office in a tweet delivered shortly after 1 a.m. However, sleeping bags and tents will no longer be allowed, effectively ending the ragged, utopian statement of a society that has been camping out in the square since Sept. 17.

"Some have argued to allow the protestors to stay in the park indefinitely -- others have suggested we just wait for winter and hope the cold weather drove the protestors away -- but inaction was not an option," Bloomberg later said in a statement. "I could not wait for someone in the park to get killed or to injure another first responder before acting. Others have cautioned against action because enforcing our laws might be used by some protestors as a pretext for violence -- but we must never be afraid to insist on compliance with our laws."

At around 2 a.m., police started knocking back the swarm of observers, many of whom were wielding cellphone cameras. The officers marched in horizontal lines, gripping their batons with two hands in order to break up the crowds. "Move the f--k up! Move the f--k up!" yelled one especially agitated police officer as he aggressively shoved his nightstick against the back of a National Memo reporter who was walking away from the scene.

Retreating demonstrators occasionally panicked as the cops tried to clear out a four-block radius from the park. "EVERYBODY GET TO THE CHASE BANK," screamed a demonstrator as a few members of the increasingly fragmented crowd were marched back across a street. The official Occupy Wall Street livestream was flooded with viewers and at least temporarily put out of commission by the raid.

The unexpected raid was accompanied by an attempted media blackout, as the police prohibited reporters (including those with press passes) from entering Zuccotti, closed the subways leading to downtown Manhattan, and even prevented news helicopters from flying in the airspace over the park.

Neither were politicians spared. Ydanis Rodriguez, a city council member representing New York City's 10th district visiting the park, was reportedly injured and arrested by the police.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler and State Senator Daniel Squadron, Democrats who both represent Lower Manhattan, responded to the latest developments in a joint statement issued to the press early Tuesday afternoon.

“The City’s actions to shut down OWS last night raise a number of serious civil liberties questions that must be answered," they said. "Moving forward, how will the City respect the protesters’ rights to speech and assembly? Why was press access limited, and why were some reporters’ credentials confiscated? How will reported incidents of excessive force used by the police be addressed?

“Irrespective of this incident, OWS is now bigger than Zuccotti Park, and no one has the power to silence this national movement.”

But the raid has thrown the signature protest defined by a sustained physical presence in a well-known public space into disarray, even as activists swore they would only be emboldened by the most strategic and aggressive effort yet by city authorities to crush the movement. Plans were already forming early Tuesday to reignite the protest at Foley Square, a nearby park and common site for targeted actions by "Occupy."

In recent weeks, despite the fact that specific policy demands never emerged, a growing strain of thoughtemerged on the left that the debate had already been won by shifting the national conversation from fiscal austerity to income inequality. Adbusters, the Canadian group that took a lead role in getting things started two months ago, issued a strategy memo just hours before the raid suggesting the camps might be in a position to declare victory and pack up before winter.

Camps throughout America have been coming up against increased hostility from police as the holidays approach and elected officials lose patience with a cause that operates outside the traditional political channels.

A video of the chaos at its peak early in the morning follows:

With research and reporting contributed by Peter Sterne

Police officers trash the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park

Zuccotti Park Eviction: Police Arrest 70 Occupy Wall Street Protesters

By Colleen Long and Verena Dobnik - Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Police arrested 70 protesters at New York's Zuccotti Park early Tuesday, including some who chained themselves together, while clearing the park so that sanitation crews could clean it. (Photos below).

Concerns about health and safety issues at Occupy Wall Street camps around the country have intensified, and protesters have been ordered to take down their shelters, adhere to curfews and relocate so that parks can be cleaned.

At about 1 a.m. Tuesday, New York City police handed out notices from Brookfield Office Properties, owner of Zuccotti Park, and the city saying that the park had to be cleared because it had become unsanitary and hazardous. Protesters were told they could return in several hours, but without sleeping bags, tarps or tents.

Paul Brown, a spokesman for the New York Police Department, said the park had been cleared by 4:30 a.m. and that about 70 people who'd been inside it had been arrested, including a group who chained themselves together. One person was taken to a local hospital for evaluation because of breathing problems.

Police in riot gear filled the streets, car lights flashing and sirens blaring. Protesters, some of whom shouted angrily at police, began marching to two locations in Lower Manhattan where they planned to hold rallies.

Some protesters refused to leave the park, but many left peacefully.

Ben Hamilton, 29, said he was arrested "and I was just trying to get away" from the fray.

Rabbi Chaim Gruber, an Occupy Wall Street member, said police officers were clearing the streets near Zuccotti Park.

"The police are forming a human shield, and are pushing everyone away," he said.

Jake Rozak, another protester, said police "had their pepper spray out and were ready to use it."

Notices given to the protesters said the park "poses an increasing health and fire safety hazard to those camped in the park, the city's first responders and the surrounding community."

It said that tents, sleeping bags and other items had to be removed because "the storage of these materials at this location is not allowed." Anything left behind would be taken away, the notices said, giving an address at a sanitation department building where items could be picked up.

Alex Hall, 21, of Brooklyn, said police walked into the park "stepping on tents and ripping them out,"

The New York Times reported that the clearing out of Zuccotti Park came as protesters announced on their website that they planned to "shut down Wall Street" with a demonstration on Thursday to commemorate the completion of two months of the beginning of the encampment, which has spurred similar demonstrations across the country.

On Monday, a small group of demonstrators, including local residents and merchants, protested at City Hall. In recent weeks, they have urged the mayor to clear out the park because of its negative impact on the neighborhood and small businesses.

A video of the chaos at its peak early in the morning follows:

Occupy encampments have come under fire around the country as local officials and residents have complained about possible health hazards and ongoing inhabitation of parks and other public spaces.

Anti-Wall Street activists intend to converge at the University of California, Berkeley on Tuesday for a day of protests and another attempt to set up an Occupy Cal camp, less than a week after police arrested dozens of protesters who tried to pitch tents on campus.

The Berkeley protesters will be joined by Occupy Oakland activists who said they would march to the UC campus in the afternoon. Police cleared the tent city in front of Oakland City Hall before dawn Monday and arrested more than 50 people amid complaints about safety, sanitation and drug use. SOURCE:

Occupy Wall Street to Mayor Bloomberg: Get Your Facts Straight; Stop the Fear Mongering

Posted Nov. 4, 2011, 12:42 a.m. EST

Yesterday New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg alleged that Occupy Wall Street participants at Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park) are chasing criminals out of the park instead of reporting them to police. In reality, Occupy Wall Street has its own well-trained internal security force, but this team does not substitute for the police when it comes to criminal activity that threatens our community or local residents. Occupy Wall Street participants have called upon police on occasions when people with predatory intentions have come into the park and engaged in illegal and destructive behavior, and have in fact turned over criminals to the NYPD.

“Bloomberg lied yesterday when he claimed that a sexual assault suspect was merely kicked out of the park, when in fact OWS security personnel forcibly removed the individual and handed him directly to the NYPD,” said Andrew Smith, a member of OWS’s overnight Community Watch. “The Mayor should get his facts straight before he calls responsible citizens protecting our community ‘despicable.’”

The occupation at Liberty Square is a civic space, where concerned citizens are raising pressing issues facing our nation. The mayor should be lauding this renaissance of civic participation, but instead he has been consistently demonizing participants.

“Occupy Wall Street exists in a public space in a major metropolis, and of course there are problems that come with that, but we have systems and our own common sense to deal with those problems,” said Bill Dobbs, a volunteer with Occupy Wall Street. “Mayor Bloomberg is pandering to fear. What we’re seeing is a lot of effort to undermine and suppress the movement and divert from the damage the mayor and his billionaire friends are doing to the country.” SOURCE:

Interviews available by request with members of Occupy Wall Street’s Security Team, Community Watch, Mediation Team, and other volunteers working to ensure the safety and security of everyone who comes to Liberty Square.

Dallas protester was arrested after sexually assaulting a 14-year old girl.

Occupy Wall Street Obama Cult Scum Baggers In Dallas Busted With 14 Year Old Community Sex Slave/Runaway...

DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – Dallas Police continue to
investigate whether a teenage runaway was sexually assaulted by an adult
male at the Occupy Dallas encampment behind City Hall.
A source within the Dallas Police Department who spoke on condition
of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said the girl ran away
from home in Garland last month and that she is now refusing to
cooperate with investigators. She initially told officers that she had
sex with a man in his early twenties and had engaged in sexual activity
with several other people.
Some members of the group told CBS 11 the girl identified herself as a 19-year-old and never knew she was 14.

Planned Parenthood Teams Up With Occupy Wall St. Movement

Yesterday Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, joined a coalition of left-wing groups in Florida to protest pro-life Republican Governor Rick Scott and to show support for the larger Occupy Wall Street movement taking place nationwide.

Awake the State, which organized the rally, was accompanied by Planned Parenthood and Occupy Orlando at Senator Beth Johnson Park to stand “in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the larger Occupy movement against corporate greed and control over government.”

In an email to supporters Planned Parenthood noted they strongly opposed 18 pro-life bills that have been filed since Gov. Scott took office in January. Planned Parenthood accused pro-life Florida lawmakers of “playing politics with women’s health by introducing legislation that allows government bureaucrats to interfere with decisions that should be made by a woman in conjunction with her doctor, her family and her faith.”

Some of the measures signed into law by Gov. Scottinclude allowing a woman the opportunity to view an ultrasound prior to an abortion, strengthening Florida’s parental notification law and prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion in the healthcare exchanges established by Obamacare.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has become the subject of public skepticism after numerous well-documented cases of anti-Semitism, sexual assault, drug abuse, public masturbation, public defecation, vandalism and violence. Among the movement’s supporters and sponsors are the Communist Party USA, the American Nazi Party, Socialist Party USA, Industrial Workers of the World, International Bolshevik Tendency, Marxist Student Union, 9/11 Truth groups and more.

The fact that Planned Parenthood would encourage its supporters to attend a rally “in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the larger Occupy movement” despite the widely known abuses taking place at Occupy sites and ties to such disreputable organizations, just further calls into question Planned Parenthood’s credibility. It’s unconscionable that an organization, which receives millions of American tax dollars each year, would encourage supporters to rally alongside groups like the American Nazi Party.

Additionally alarming is that by participating in a rally in solidarity with the nationwide Occupy movement, Planned Parenthood, which purports to be pro-woman, has turned a blind eye to widespread cases of sexual assault at Occupy sites. On Sunday, a 24-year old Occupy Dallas protester was arrested after sexually assaulting a 14-year old girl.

A striking contrast to the protests endorsed by Planned Parenthood is the prayerful 40 Days for Life campaign. For 40 days, pro-life advocates of various faith backgrounds gather in their communities, often outside of abortion facilities, to pray for an end to abortion. In 361 documented cases, mothers have opted against abortion during the currently ongoing 40 Days for Life campaign. Unlike the Occupy protests, 40 Days for Life has not seen one case of anti-Semitism, sexual assault or violence on the part of pro-life advocates.

Abortion advocates are quick to point out violence that has taken place at abortion centers in the past, noting particularly the death of late-term abortionist George Tiller who was shot by a self-described pro-lifer in 2009. Tiller’s assassination (as well as violence of any kind) has clearly and thoroughly been condemned by every major pro-life organization in the country.Pro-life advocates disavow violence of every kind because ultimately the pro-life struggle itself is against violence. Abortion is the violent taking of an innocent human life.

It is unfathomable the amount of ridicule pro-life advocates would face from the media if demonstrations like the March for Life or 40 Days for Life racked up the types of abuses seen at the Occupy protests. If Planned Parenthood continues to willingly associate with these groups, it may provide further impetus to revoke their federal funding. SOURCE:

The 99%: Official list of Occupy Wall Street’s supporters, sponsors and sympathizers

	Communist Party USA Sources: Communist Party USA, OWS speech, The Daily Caller
	American Nazi Party Sources: Media Matters, American Nazi Party, White Honor, Sunshine State News
	Ayatollah Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran Sources: The Guardian, Tehran Times, CBS News
	Barack Obama Sources: ABC News, CBS News, ForexTV, NBC New York
	The government of North Korea Sources: Korean Central News Agency (North Korean state-controlled news outlet), The Marxist-Leninist, Wall Street Journal, Times of India
	Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam Sources: video statement (starting at 8:28), Black in America, Weasel Zippers, Philadelphia Weekly
	Revolutionary Communist Party Sources: Revolutionary Communist Party, Revolution newspaper, in-person appearance
	David Duke Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, davidduke.com
	Joe Biden Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, Mother Jones
	Hugo Chavez Sources: Mother Jones, Reuters, Examiner.com
	Revolutionary Guards of Iran Sources: Associated Press, FARS News Agency, UPI
	Black Panthers (original) Sources: in-person appearance, Occupy Oakland, Oakland Tribune
	Socialist Party USA Sources: Socialist Party USA, IndyMedia, The Daily Caller
	US Border Guard Sources: White Reference, www.usborderguard.com, Gateway Pundit, Just Another Day blog
	Industrial Workers of the World Sources: IWW web site, iww.org, in-person appearances
	CAIR Sources: in-person appearance, Washington Post, CAIR, CAIR New York
	Nancy Pelosi Sources: Talking Points Memo, video statement, ABC News, The Weekly Standard
	Communist Party of China Sources: People’s Daily (Communist Party organ), Reuters, chinataiwan.org, The Telegraph
	Hezbollah Sources: almoqawama.org, almoqawama.org (2), almoqawama.org (3), wikipedia
	9/11Truth.org Sources: 911truth.org (1), 911truth.org (2), 911truth.org (3)
	International Bolshevik Tendency Sources: bolshevik.org, Wire Magazine
	Anonymous Sources: Adbusters, The Guardian, video statement
	White Revolution Source: whiterevolution.com
	International Socialist Organization Sources: Socialist Worker, socialistworker.org, in-person appearance
	PressTV (Iranian government outlet) Sources: PressTV, wikipedia
	Marxist Student Union Sources: Marxist Student Union, Big Government, marxiststudentunion.blogspot.com
	Freedom Road Socialist Organization Sources: FightBack News, fightbacknews.org
	ANSWER Sources: ANSWER press release, ANSWER web site, Xinhua
	Party for Socialism and Liberation Sources: Liberation News (1), pslweb.org, The Daily Free Press, Liberation News (2)