Published 2011-09-22 08:53:46 UTC by CommanderX Press Release - http://pastebin.com/VVD4PMFf Flyer/Poster - http://bit.ly/q64Nns
Wednesday - September 21, 2011
On September 17, 2011 approximately 15,000 peaceful demonstrators in dozens of cities around the USA gathered, marched - and occupied public space to protest the unjust policies of the US government and the corruption in our financial institutions. The central protest site was in the financial district of New York City, where peaceful protesters faced phalanxes of heavily armed paramilitary police officers from local and federal jurisdictions. The arrests began almost immediately, many for violating the 1845 so called "mask" laws.
Later that day, and according to plan - many of these protests ended with a peaceful occupation of public space. Again, the central occupation occurred in NYC. More arrests continued to take place. All of this was expected, it is part of progressive activism. Anonymous was content to challenge these stupid "mask" laws in court. Not only is the Guy Fawlkes mask covered under freedom expression as a symbol of our movement, but we believe that everyone has a right to protest anonymously using bandanas, masks - etc.
But then on Tuesday - September 20, 2011 everything changed in a flash of police instigated violence. As rain began to fall on the NYC encampment, heavily armed police moved in; Removing tarps used to cover media equipment, arresting independent journalists, confiscating media equipment - and using excessive force against and arresting innocent peaceful protesters, several of whom were abused and injured.
This year, we heard President Barack Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton say over and over in country after country from the Balkans through the mid-east to Africa that the right to peacefully protest and occupy public space is a right that MUST be respected in every instance. And they are correct, and this also applies to the USA. In fact, even more so. In the USA of all countries in the world, the police should have been deployed to PROTECT the protesters - not a giant brass bull that is the ultimate symbol of greed and corruption in America. And yet we were treated to the grotesque picture of dozens of armored police surrounding this brass bull, while thousands more police were deployed solely to harass, arrest - and abuse peaceful protesters.
Anonymous & the other cyber liberation groups around the world together with all the freedom loving people in the USA will NOT stand for this. We will peacefully yet forcefully resist the abuses of the NYC Police Department. And so Anonymous announces a nationwide "Day Of Vengence" to take place in dozens of cities across the USA on Saturday - September 24, 2011 at High Noon.
Poster - http://t.co/BSuXCdRR Video - http://youtu.be/2svRa-VSaOU
In coordination with these protests across the USA on September 24th, Anonymous and other cyber liberation groups will launch a series of cyber attacks against various targets including Wall Street, Corrupt Banking Institutions - and the NYC Police Department. We encourage the media to follow the Twitter feed @PLF2012 for ongoing reports throughout the day.
A Message From Occupied Wall Street (Day Five)
Published 2011-09-22 07:51:42 UTC by OccupyWallSt
This is the fifth communiqué from the 99 percent. We are occupying Wall Street.
On September 21st, 2011, Troy Davis, an innocent man, was murdered by the state of Georgia. Troy Davis was one of the 99 percent.
Ending capital punishment is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, the richest 400 Americans owned more wealth than half of the country's population.
Ending wealth inequality is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, four of our members were arrested on baseless charges.
Ending police intimidation is our one demand . On September 21st, 2011, we determined that Yahoo lied about occupywallst.org being in spam filters.
Ending corporate censorship is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly eighty percent of Americans thought the country was on the wrong track.
Ending the modern gilded age is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly 15% of Americans approved of the job Congress was doing.
Ending political corruption is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly one sixth of Americans did not have work.
Ending joblessness is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly one sixth of America lived in poverty.
Ending poverty is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, roughly fifty million Americans were without health insurance.
Ending health-profiteering is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, America had military bases in around one hundred and thirty out of one hundred and sixty-five countries.
Ending American imperialism is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, America was at war with the world.
Ending war is our one demand.
On September 21st, 2011, we stood in solidarity with Madrid, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Madison, Toronto, London, Athens, Sydney, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Milan, Amsterdam, Algiers, Tel Aviv, Portland and Chicago. Soon we will stand with Phoenix, Montreal, Cleveland and Atlanta. We're still here. We are growing. We intend to stay until we see movements toward real change in our country and the world.
You have fought all the wars. You have worked for all the bosses. You have wandered over all the countries. Have you harvested the fruits of your labors, the price of your victories? Does the past comfort you? Does the present smile on you? Does the future promise you anything? Have you found a piece of land where you can live like a human being and die like a human being? On these questions, on this argument, and on this theme, the struggle for existence, the people will speak. Join us.
We speak as one. All of our decisions, from our choice to march on Wall Street to our decision to continue occupying Liberty Square, were decided through a consensus based process by the group, for the group.
Note: Our use of the one demand is a rhetorical device. This is not an official list of demands. Click Here to learn more about how you can participate in the democratic process of choosing the "one demand".
Four arrests on Wednesday
Published 2011-09-21 05:42:30 UTC by OccupyWallSt
Four people have been arrested so far (as of 1:28 PM EST) on day 5 of the Occupy Wall Street protest. The first arrest took place this morning during Opening Bell March. At 10:10 AM, Isaac Wilder was taken into police custody and is being held at W. 154 St. New York, NY. One firsthand witness has informed us he was at the front of the peaceful march taking place on a public sidewalk when police demanded protesters turned left. When Isaac asserted his right to continue marching forward in public space, he was immediately arrested.
Two other arrests took place at 12:30 PM EST at Liberty Plaza. Two first-hand witnesses have confirmed the following story:
People were peacefully assembling on the sidewalk and the police told the public that they could not stand on public sidewalks. One person, was standing peacefully on the sidewalk and holding up a sign and the police swarmed him and arrested him. he peacefully went with them, without resisting in any way. People then peacefully walked with him and chanted in solidarity. And the police ran into the middle of the crowd and tackled one of the people there, and arrested him.
The following is a first hand account from Adrianna, a demonstrator who was assaulted by the police:
Here is a video of a second eyewitness account.
At 1:13 PM EST, another protester was also arrested.
A Message From Occupied Wall Street (Day Four)
Published 2011-09-21 03:08:26 UTC by easilydistr
This is the fourth communiqué from the 99 percent. We are occupying Wall Street.
On September 20th, 2011, we were awoken by police bullhorns around seven in the morning, they objected to us protecting ourselves from the rain. They told us that the tarps suspended above us had to be taken down. We held a General Assembly to determine how to respond. We decided that we would hold the tarps over ourselves and our possessions. The police ripped the plastic away from us. We then scrambled to protect our possessions, primarily the media equipment streaming our occupation to the world. The police were also mostly interested in our cameras, it seems like they don't want you watching us.
Before we say more about what happened to us it seems important to point this out: we do not think the police are our enemy. They have jobs, how could we fault them for that, when one sixth of America lives in poverty? when one sixth of America can't find work? The police are part of the 99 per cent.
The police informed us that the tarps over our equipment counted as a tent, and were therefore illegal. We objected to this interpretation of the law. One of us sat on top of the tarp to keep the police from extralegally removing our possessions. This is what happened next - it is graphic:
In the first video you can clearly see a senior police officer hurling a protester face first toward the ground. Luckily the protester's blow was cushioned, but that didn't keep him from cutting his mouth, jaw, and arms.
In the second video police drag a protester across the ground, cutting his hands. You can clearly hear a police officer say that the young man will receive medical attention – in spite of this, it was our medics who bandaged him when he was released. Later, you can see the police deny a young man an inhaler during an asthma attack which the crowd explains may kill him.
After these events the police continued pressuring protesters with extralegal tactics by stating that a protester on a bullhorn was breaking a law. The protester refused to cease exercising his first amendment rights and was also arrested. Then the police began to indiscriminately attempt to arrest protesters, many unsheathing their batons, in spite of the protest remaining peaceful. In the end the police arrested seven of our members, holding five without charge for more than twelve hours. Liberato's Pizza graciously offered to donate 20 pizzas for every hour a protester was held without charge.
In spite of these gross occurrences, we had work to do. After the abrupt end of our General Assembly we split ourselves into our normal working groups, and went about our tasks. Our outreach group organized a community march for Thursday at five in the afternoon. Our food group organized a group dinner. Our arts and culture group lifted our depressed and insulted mood. Our media outreach group was very busy.
Around three in the afternoon we reconvened our General Assembly. There was a brief discussion on how the Assembly worked due to the new members that were among us. We work as an ordered democratic body that passes proposals through a modified-consensus. Anyone can speak, but there is a list, we call it a stack. Our stack isn't first come first serve – socially marginalized voices are given priority. We use hand signals to express assent (wave your hand high), dissent (wave your hand low), points of process (make a triangle with your forefingers and thumbs), and blocks (make an X with your forearms). A point of process indicates a query or an objection, or, rarely, a valued interruption. A block is used to indicate that the Assembly is disobeying its principles. A block voices its principled objection and the Assembly votes again, a vote of 90%+1 can overturn a block.
The General Assembly heard many proposals, here are some that were approved: the trade union group will attend a meeting with the Teamsters; the arts and culture group are organizing a benefit concert to be held in two or three weeks; our outreach group is heading to marginalized communities; next Saturday is devoted to you, to us, the 99 percent. We also came to consensus on how to respond to the morning's police aggression.
At 4:30 we stood in solidarity with Troy Davis, an innocent man that the state of Georgia wants to murder today. We were joined by the International Action Center.
Afterward we heard a rousing speech from one of our released members, and then broke bread together. At seven we reconvened our General Assembly, which lasted until nine. Among other things, we designated talking spaces and quiet spaces, and we solidified our schedule. We're still here. We intend to stay until we see movements toward real change in our country and the world.
We speak as one. All of our decisions, from our choice to march on Wall Street to our decision to continue occupying Liberty Square in spite of police brutality, were decided through a consensus based process by the group, for the group.
An Invitation for the Weekend
Published 2011-09-21 02:27:47 UTC by OccupyWallSt
You have fought all the wars. You have worked for all the capitalists. You have wandered over all the countries. Have you harvested the fruits of your labors, the price of your victories? Does the past comfort you? Does the present smile on you? Does the future promise you anything? Have you found a piece of land where you can live like a human being and die like a human being? On these questions, on this argument, and on this theme, the struggle for existence, the people will speak.
Come take the square with us at Liberty Plaza.
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Our MissionOn the 17th of September, we want to see 20,000 people to flood into lower Manhattan, set up beds, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Like our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Greece, Spain, and Iceland, we plan to use the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic of mass occupation to restore democracy in America. We also encourage the use of nonviolence to achieve our ends and maximize the safety of all participants. Who is Occupy Wall Street?Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. The original call for this occupation was published by Adbusters in July; since then, many individuals across the country have stepped up to organize this event, such as the people of the NYC General Assembly and US Day of Rage. There'll also be similar occupations in the near future such as October2011 in Freedom Plaza, Washington D.C. |
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email: info@occupywallst.org | telephone: +1 (877) 881-3020
Comments
This is wonderful, I wish I could be there. Sending Love!!!