Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 4, 2011. This Occupation Report is compiled by Rebuild the Dream.
REQUEST FOR UPDATES FROM READERS: The Daily Occupations Report needs your help! We are currently putting together a list of cities that have been supportive of local Occupy groups and those that have been less than supportive (i.e.: police crackdowns and evictions). Please send your stories and updates to [email protected] or [email protected].
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, police activity reports and calls to action where additional support from allies/general public may be needed.
For more updates from occupations around the country, listen to the Occupation America podcast at http://soundcloud.com/occupation-america
NATIONWIDE:
TOMORROW is “Move Your Money” National Day of Action!!! Occupy sites and allies across the nation will join together to take stand against bank corruption, ridiculous fees and home foreclosures. Several credit unions are offering special deals and extended business hours for people who will be moving funds. For more information go to www.moveyourmoneyproject.org
Occupy Atlanta
This afternoon, Occupy Atlanta held a press conference announcing that will be standing in solidarity with citizens being foreclosed upon who are seeking a restraining order on the banks attempting to foreclose their houses. In other news, Occupy Atlanta’s Arts and Literature Committee will host a benefit concert tonight at 7 Stages Theatre at 1105 Euclid Ave. Doors open at 9pm. Proceeds will go to the Occupy Atlanta legal fund. The group is also looking for Artists and Videographers who can do work both remotely and/or on the ground. Contact the Media Team for details. [email protected]
Occupy Boston
World-famous radical feminist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz spoke at Occupy Boston at 1:30 pm. Yesterday Occupy Boston passed a resolution banning two members – Paul Carnes and Sydney Sherrell – from representing Occupy Boston. The resolution was passed by consensus by the General Assembly of and was distributed along with a list of grievances against Paul Carnes and copies of receipts from various transactions he paid for with Occupy Boston funds. Carnes and Sherrell had previously been banned from the Financial Accountability Working Group (FAWG) for inappropriate handling of funds and unsavory behavior. The grievances claim Carnes went to Occupy Cleveland, claiming to have been sent from Occupy Boston, and to be a representative of the National Lawyers’ Guild, and attempted to claim vertical leadership there. The group also says both Carnes and Sherrell set up a series of fundraising sites purporting to be for Occupy Boston among other occupations but are not part of FAWG.
Occupy Burlington
On Wednesday the Occupy Burlington/Occupy Vermont group marched from its occupation of City Hall Park to the campus of the University of Vermont (UVM) in solidarity with Occupy Oakland and to honor Scott Olsen. The march was also a “funeral march for the soul of UVM” because of cuts to faculty, staff and services while the outgoing president was given a large severance package. The large group of 500+ then returned to the Park for a spirited speak-out. Thursday there are several teach-ins at nearby colleges and facilitation training planned. The occupation of Burlington City Hall Park is one week old today and going strong. More information can be found at http://owsvt.wikispaces.com
Occupy Cleveland
Getting a jump on tomorrow’s scheduled National “Move Your Money” Day of Action, Occupy Cleveland organized a Bank Direct Action and March this afternoon. The group met at the Tom Johnson (NW) Quadrant of Public Square regarding the national banking situation, and marched to various banks to close accounts and “move money to more ethical banks and credit unions. “
Occupy Dallas
[Occupy Dallas member report] Last night, DPD addressed the Occupy Dallas General Assembly with yet another message of cooperation rather than confrontation which was, according to one member, “well received by the Occupy Dallas assembly that considers their local police force part of the 99%.” The group says: While we share the pain and anger of our brothers and sisters in Oakland and other cities, and grieve for the brutality they have suffered, and we fully support them in their struggle, we hope that our experience in Dallas can serve as a different approach to balancing freedom of speech with law and order.
Occupy Little Rock
Check out this pictorial report on the Occupy Little Rock movement : http://www.gozarks.com/2011/occupy/index.htm
Occupy Oakland
[Guardian report] A second Iraq war veteran has suffered serious injuries after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland.Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland camp, but despite suffering agonizing pain, did not reach the hospital until 18 hours later. Sabehgi, 32, is the second Iraq war veteran to be hospitalized following involvement in Oakland protests. Another protester, Scott Olsen, suffered a fractured skull on 25 October. On Wednesday night, police used teargas and non-lethal projectiles to drive back protesters following an attempt by the Occupy supporters to shut down the city of Oakland. Sabehgi told the Guardian from hospital he was walking alone along 14th Street in central Oakland – away from the main area of clashes – when he was injured. Read more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/04/occupy-oakland-second-veteran-injured
Occupy Portland
Thursday at noon Occupy Portland held a march and protest against the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, who was giving a speech at the Hilton. A dozen people managed to infiltrate inside the Hilton and sang a song calling for the arrest of Dimon and other “banksters” before they were ejected from the hotel.
Around 500 people are still camped out in two parks downtown – the camp got a letter from the Mayor’s office Thursday with a list of changes that have to be made by next Wednesday for the camp to remain: no generator over 5000 watts, tarps must be 20 feet above the ground, no structures, tents must be on the ground with 3-foot clear path from each tent to the sidewalk. Due to the crowded nature of the encampment, this could force the removal of at least one-third of the tents. KBOO Radio streaming live radio every day from noon to 5 PST – http://www.kboo.fm/occupyportland
Occupy Richmond
[OR member report] Occupy Richmond Virginia protesters have been dealing with extremely unfair measures from the Richmond City Police. City police destroyed the Kanawha Plaza encampment and arrested nine people. Four protesters were held without bond- a measure unprecedented in its harshness. The members are disheartened because the homeless residents of the park had their belongings destroyed by the city’s bulldozers. Occupy Richmond has been in Kanawha Plaza since October 15.
Occupy San Francisco
This Saturday is Bank Transfer Day and OccupySF has put together a short video about it. Tomorrow, they will have credit union reps at Justin Herman Plaza at the Info Table from 12pm-4pm educating people on the steps to move their money into a credit union. Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/JTCVF_tOTpo
Occupy Wall Street
The Inter-Occupy Facilitation Group seeks feedback about a proposal for Inter-Occupy Consensus. If you are interested in developing a process for multiple Occupy groups to consent on proposals, please participate. If you are willing to liaison between your local GA and Inter-Occupy Facilitation Group please join the discussion. Please see http://eepurl.com/gSLWT to participate in the discussion.
ALLIED ACTIONS
Nationwide
[Huffington Post report] More consumers flocked to credit unions last month than in all of 2010 combined, likely in part due to the controversy surrounding debit card fees.
At least 650,000 customers opened new accounts at credit unions since September 29, the day Bank of America announced it would charge customers a $5 per month fee to use their debit card for purchasesstarting in 2012, the Credit Union National Association estimates. If that number holds true, it would be more than the 600,000 consumers that joined credit unions in all of 2010.
More than 80 percent of the credit unions that experienced a boost last month attributed the growth to fees like Bank of America’s or a mix of reactions to fees and “Bank Transfer Day” — a social media-centered movement encouraging consumers to transfer their money from banks to credit unions or other non-traditional lenders, according to CUNA.
Nationwide
Across the country, MEChA and USAS chapters have teamed up with other youth-led activist organizations to host four Organizer Boot Camps. These totally student-organized and student-run weekends will focus on training effective student organizers to lead the fight against unaccountable university administrators, politicians, and the corporations and billionaires who fund political attacks on the other 99% of us. Find a session in your area: http://fightback2011.wordpress.com/
Nationwide
American Dream movement members are teaming up with Occupy protestors to protest the Washington politicians aligned with banks and the rest of the 99% and those protests are having an impact:
Eric Cantor was forced to cancel a talk at Wharton Business School because of a protest planned by Occupy protestors and American Dream movement members.
Sen. Pat Toomey withstood a week-long protest outside his Allentown office, where Occupy protesters wished to speak with him about his opposition to the American Jobs Act.
Sen. Marco Rubio faced a large crowd outside his Miami office. The local Occupy protesters wondered “why the Senator voted against President Obama’s Jobs Act.”
Sen. Scott Brown also faced backlash from his opposition to the American Jobs Act, as firefighters and other first responders protested his appearance in Danvers, Mass.
In Detroit, a group of protesters occupied a county GOP office, demanding answers about the party’s opposition to the American Jobs Act.
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. You are welcome to share this report and can download the Word document version at http://rebuildthedream.com/occupy-update.
If you have any questions, feedback or updates from your local Occupy site, please send them along with your contact information to [email protected] or [email protected].
Source: www.rebuildthedream.org
