2012-01-08 "Occupy Updates" posted at
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/29/young-people-socialism_n_1175218.html#3352_occupy-baltimoreoccupy-the-dream-planning-jail-takeover-]

1:20 PM – Today
24-Hour Hunger Strike Begins For D.C. Voting Rights     @ jonsmandel : My 24-hour hunger strike began last night at midnight for @occupyDC. Please sign the petition in support of the fifty-first state.

 12:14 PM – Today
Occupy Protester Says She'll Press Charges Against Gingrich Security     @ _rosiegray : Occupy protester says she will press charges against a security team member at a Newt event who handled her roughly http://t.co/M2CN44FQ

 12:06 PM – Today
Newt Gingrich Staffer Reportedly Asks Police To Move Protesters     @ _rosiegray : Just overheard a newt staffer asking a cop to move the protesters.

 12:03 PM – Today
Occupy Protesters Gather Outside Gingrich Event     @ _rosiegray : Occupy protesters outside newt's latino town hall. Small crew. 2 ppl are dressed as pigs, one is wearing monk's robes

 11:23 AM – Today
Occupy Workplace Democracy Forum Meeting
Going on now in NYC via the group's Facebook page:


Occupy Workplace Democracy Nuts and Bolts Workshop--Worker-Owner Panel--Worker Co-operative Movement Reception Brecht Forum Sunday, Jan 8 2-5PM *Free*

RSVP to info@solidaritynyc.org

Let's build an economy worth occupying.

Sponsored by SolidarityNYC, Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy, Fund for Democratic Communities, New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives, Occupy Wall Street Worker Co-operative Working Group, The Community Development Project at Urban Justice Center


 11:13 AM – Today
Occupy Atlanta Meeting Now

Media Committee convening. Details here.
 8:51 AM – Today
Occupy Baltimore Tries To Prevent Eviction Today

Occupy activists update details on today's event:


Sunday, January 8

2-4pm, 1433 W Lombard St, Baltimore, MD

We will be rallying to support Lila Kara in advance of her scheduled eviction on Jan 10th. At this event, come meet Lila and hear her story! Bring a house-warming gift, a potluck dish or your well wishes. Come learn about the Occupy Our Homes movement, discuss the foreclosure process, eviction and the struggle for decent housing. Help decorate the house as we come together as a community to show the bank that this home is occupied.

More Info:

Occupy Our Homes is a movement that supports Americans who stand up to their banks and fight for their homes. We believe that housing is a human right and that every person deserves decent, affordable housing. Visit www.occupyourhomes.org



For more info, go here.
 8:40 AM – Today
Occupy Retreat To Discuss OWS Future

Details here via organizers' website:



On the second day, we will attempt to bring ouselves directly into the present. We will begin with a session organized by Direct Action working group involving a dialogical process where those involved will think and reflect about where this movement may be 6 months from now. And what kind of actions could bring this movement there.

This will be followed up by a presentation by Andrew Ross about a campaign to encourage students and former students to go on a debt strike. Andrew will speak about the debt as a central element in contemporary struggles and responses to the campaign thus far.

This will be followed by an attempt to discuss the recent experience and struggles of students against austerity measures as well as efforts to generalize their struggles into a larger political context. In addition to encouraging students to attend, we have invited several guests like Martha Rosler and Ben Morea to offer some of their own experiences on the role of students in the struggles in the 60's and 70's.

The final part of the day, will be a talk by Brian Holmes, where he will try to outline the potential

-- Where is this movement headed, what kind of actions will orient towards these horizons?

This will be a meeting facilitated bymembers of the Direct Action working group and oriented toward thinking about the next 6 months and speaking to one another about the types of actions and ideas and questions and horizons people feel would be important to work around / toward.



For all the details, go here:
 8:37 AM – Today
Occupy Protestor Arrested At Debate Site

Concord Patch's Ryan O'Connor and Tony Schinella report:

According to his friends who were with him at the time, authorities at the theatre reportedly arrested Matthew Richards, a student at UNH/Manchester, allegedly attempting to enter the building. His friends claimed that he was injured during the arrest. They also claimed he offered no resistance while being taken into custody.

Read more
 4:50 PM – 01/07/2012
Occupiers Wouldn't Trust Romney With A Dog

Manchester, N.H. - The Occupy movement - complete with a marching band - is onsite at tonight's Republican Presidential debate at Saint Anselm College. Approximately 50 members of the movement marched and chanted their way from the main road outside of the college to the front of the media filing center.

Chanting "We are the 99-percent" the group waved multiple 99-percent signs, along with signs supporting President Obama. The group included a marching band playing New Orleans funeral march.

The rear of the protest was brought up by a large sign reading "I wouldn't trust Mitt with a dog. Why would I trust him with my country?"

- John Celock and Mark Blumenthal
 8:35 AM – 01/07/2012
Occupy Boston's Women's Caucus Hosts Meeting Today     @ OBWomen : Today's meeting is 3 pm at E5 (33 Harrison Ave. 5th floor). #OccupyBoston #OBWomen @Occupy_Boston. Come see what we're all about!



 8:34 AM – 01/07/2012
Occupy Nashville Launches Housing Campaign

Via the Tennessean:



The housing campaign will start with a news conference Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at 3109 Stokers Lane, the home of 78-year-old Helen Bailey, who has fallen behind on mortgage payments “through no fault of her own.” Occupy Nashville said it will pressure Chase Bank to accept a short sale arranged by Bailey’s attorney and cancel the foreclosure sale on Bailey’s house, which is scheduled for Jan. 18.


 8:32 AM – 01/07/2012
Occupy Portland Calls For Corporate Shutdown

Via OWS website:



"Occupy Portland calls for a day of non-violent direct action to reclaim our voices and challenge our society’s obsession with profit and greed by shutting down the corporations. We are rejecting a society that does not allow us control of our future. We will reclaim our ability to shape our world in a democratic, cooperative, just and sustainable direction.

We call on the Occupy Movement and everyone seeking freedom and justice to join us in this day of action.

There has been a theft by the 1% of our democratic ability to shape and form the society in which we live and our society is steered toward the destructive pursuit of consumption, profit and greed at the expense of all else.

We call on people to target corporations that are part of the American Legislative Exchange Council which is a prime example of the way corporations buy off legislators and craft legislation that serves the interests of corporations and not people. They used it to create the anti-labor legislation in Wisconsin and the racist bill SB 1070 in Arizona among so many others. They use ALEC to spread these corporate laws around the country.

In doing this we begin to recreate our democracy. In doing this we begin to create a society that is organized to meet human needs and sustain life.

On February 29th, we will reclaim our future from the 1%. We will shut down the corporations and recreate our democracy.


 8:30 AM – 01/07/2012
Occupy D.C. Needs Water     @ OccupyKSt : Every winter the city cuts off water to parks so pipes don't burst; our water was finally shut off last week. #occupyDCneeds water badly.



 3:57 PM – 01/06/2012
'Wild Old Women' Occupy San Francisco Bank

A dozen senior citizens wielding oxygen tanks successfully shut down the Bernal Heights branch of Bank of America, KCBS reports:

The women, aged 69 to 82, who live at the senior home up Mission street from the Bernal Heights Bank of America branch, decided to hold their own protest by doing what they called a “run on the bank.”


Tita Caldwell, 80, who led the charge of women with walkers and wheelchairs, said that they’re demanding the bank lower fees, pay higher taxes, and stop foreclosing on, and evicting, homeowners.


More here.
 3:26 PM – 01/06/2012
Watch New Footage Of New York Times Reporter Verbally Spar With Cop

Gothamist received new footage of New York Times reporter Colin Moynihan loudly criticizing cops who say they'll take away his press badge if he doesn't follow their orders on New Year's Eve. (The relevant part of the video starts at 6:15.)
After threatening to confiscate Moynihan's credentials (which are begrudgingly issued by the NYPD to media outlets only after a Kafkaesque process), the reporter replies, "Don't abuse your badge! You're threatening me for what? This is a public place! I don't take orders. I don't work for the police department." It's telling that the officer fires back, "Do what you're told. You got your badge from us, right? That's who you got it from." The implication, of course, is that the NYPD can restrict the press at will, withholding access and punishing reporters they don't like. Moynihan, you may recall, was arrested while covering a Critical Mass ride in 2005.




 3:05 PM – 01/06/2012
Video Shows Activists Arrested For Yelling About National Defense Authorization Act

Via Gothamist:

On Tuesday, several protesters with Occupy Wall Street were arrested during a demonstration in Grand Central Terminal. The first to be arrested was Lauren Digioia, who like the others was yelling in protest of the National Defense Authorization Act, which contains an amendment authorizing the military to detain American citizens indefinitely without due process. This new video shows her arrest in much greater detail, with the videographer following along as MTA police lead her downstairs. Once she disappears from sight in the basement, her boyfriend, Zach Kamel, raises his voice, along with other protesters, to express his outrage. Care to guess what happens to him?


Watch the video below:


 3:02 PM – 01/06/2012
Occupy Palm Beach Holding A Teach-In

Via Occupy Our Homes:



Thousands of homeowners throughout Palm Beach County, and many more throughout the country, are being foreclosed on, even evicted, often through the greed and fraud of the big banks, law firms and mortgage companies that crashed our nation's economy in 2008. But the 99% are fighting back. Local foreclosure fraud activist Lisa Epstein will explain how, and show us ways to get involved in direct actions to oppose the destructive 1%. For more on Occupy Palm Beach County, go to occupypalmbeachcounty.org. For more on foreclosure in Palm Beach County and elsewhere, go to foreclosurehamlet.org and 4closurefraud.org.
Date & Time: Sunday, Jan. 15, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Location: The OPBC Site, N. Olive and Banyan Blvd. (NE Corner, Old City Hall), West Palm Beach.

(Please bring folding chairs if you have them.)


 12:17 PM – 01/06/2012
Sign From Bloomberg Block Protest



Via Newyorkist.
 12:15 PM – 01/06/2012
Planned Protest Underway On Bloomberg's Block

Via Facebook, protest is against the arrest of Vlad the live streaming reporter this past week:

PROTEST GLOBALREVOLUTION RAID AND ARRESTS / TAKE PHOTOS, VIDEOS AND LIVESTREAM BLOOMBERG'S BLOCK OR AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET FOR 10 HOURS. HIM, HIS NEIGHBORS, HIS MANSION, EACH OTHER - EVERYTHING / SEND A MESSAGE ABOUT HIS TARGETING OF THE PRESS AND USE OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO MAKE HIM STOP ARRESTING THE PRESS. CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY NORMAN SIEGEL WILL BE PRESENT TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS.


The arrest, the New York Times reported, came from a complex set of circumstances involving city inspectors and a landlord:
One of the first and perhaps the most prominent of those live-streaming the protests is a 40-year-old Russian immigrant and former derivatives trader named Vlad Teichberg. Mr. Teichberg started an Internet channel called Global Revolution TV, which has broadcast Occupy-related events from cities like New York, Denver and Oakland, Calif.

For months the so-called live streamers have complained that they have been arrested while documenting turbulent scenes pitting the police against protesters.

Now, Mr. Teichberg is encountering a few problems of his own — problems involving a camera, the law and the occupation of a space –– in this instance, the first floor of a Brooklyn building where he lives and runs a studio used by live streamers.


To read the full story, go here.
 11:09 AM – 01/06/2012
Full Itinerary For Occupy Chicago Protests

Schedule of actions is here.
 10:12 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy Austin Needs You     @ OccupyAustin : Reports are arriving of increasing police presence at City Hall. Requesting increased numbers of #OccupyAustin too! Come down! #OWS



 9:49 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy Birmingham Joins Anti-Foreclosure Cause

The activists in Alabama are fighting to prevent one family's eviction. Occupy Our Homes reports:



Occupy Birmingham is taking a stand against Bank of America by moving into local communities to help those under the threat of wrongful foreclosure. Our first “Occupy Our Homes” action is on the behalf of the Ward family. Due to a real estate agent’s fraud, the Wards are on the brink of losing their home even though they’ve NEVER MISSED A SINGLE PAYMENT. While they have the ability to continue paying their mortgage, Bank of America refuses to allow them to keep their home (which they’ve already paid over 35,000 dollars on) after a real estate company pocketed 2 years of payments made on the property. Rather than allow the family to pay on the home, the bank prefers to lose money and offer it up for auction on January 12. Not only will this cost the Wards’ their home, but the entire neighborhood is devalued by rising number of foreclosures.



Here's video of the Ward family:


 9:48 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy LA Rallies For Evicted Family

Via the activists' website:


On Thursday morning, LA County Sheriff deputies were surprised by members of Occupy LA and Occupy the Hood when they showed up to evict Chaplain Bertha Herrera from her Van Nuys home.

The Herrera family has been fighting foreclosure and eviction with Mellon Bank of New York. They have been in this home for over 31 years. The Sheriffs delivered the eviction notice days before Christmas.

After the Sheriffs forcibly evicted Herrera and occupiers from the home at 9:00AM, members of the local Occupy groups rallied outside Coldwell Bank on Ventura Blvd. Coldwell Bank handles the foreclosed homes for Mellon Bank.

“Real Estate agencies like Coldwell Banker that list foreclosed homes risk becoming accomplices in foreclosure crimes,” states Carlos Marroquin, aforeclosed homeowner advocate and member of Occupy LA. “These agencies need to investigate homes for any potential fraud before listing the homes on the market.”


 9:34 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy Baltimore/Occupy The Dream Planning Jail Takeover
The action is set to take place in mid-January. Organizers write on their website:


Did you know that the State of Maryland plans to build a $100 million youth detention facility in central Baltimore? Did you know that the City of Baltimore intends to close or privatize our recreation centers in 2012 because of "budget shortages"? Make the connection! Baltimore needs schools and rec centers, not jails...


In honor of Martin Luther King, in support of the Occupy the Dream movement, this January 16 we will reclaim the site of the proposed youth detention facility in East Baltimore, for a 5-day occupation aimed at raising awareness of how and where our public money is spent. Baltimore needs schools, not jails. Let’s work..."


To read more about this upcoming action, and to learn how to participate, go here.
 9:30 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy LA Cases Getting Dismissed

Via the LA Weekly:

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich wants to teach Occupy L.A. a lesson about the First Amendment. But as the first wave of failure-to-disperse cases goes to court, the Occupiers are teaching him about the Sixth Amendment.


That's the one that guarantees a speedy trial, as well as the right to confront witnesses. The Occupiers are refusing to waive those rights, which has led to a slew of dismissals.

So far, 11 cases have been thrown out -- mostly due to insufficient evidence.

 9:28 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy Chicago Starts Demonstration In An Hour     @ OccupyChicago : Join us today at 12:30 at Michigan and Wacker for a rally against the American Economic Association.



 9:27 AM – 01/06/2012
OWS Confronts Santorum At New Hampshire Event     @ _rosiegray : #ows people are in the house! Man just interrupted sant's response on tort reform -- "banks got bailed out, we got sold out"



 7:11 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy New Hampshire Primary Activists Focusing On Santorum Today

Details Via Buzz Feed are here.
 6:31 AM – 01/06/2012
Occupy Organizing Buses To D.C. For Upcoming Protest

Now there's Occupy Bus. Activists are organizing bus trips to D.C. for the upcoming Occupy the Congress protest on Jan. 17:

Occupy Bus is dedicated to the logistics of the Occupation movement


We're using the social power of the web to help people self-organize bus trips to the camps of the occupation movement. The concept is simple:
Reserve a seat on the bus from your town to the camp Once we've received enough reservations along a route, we confirm the bus Prepare and load the Occupy Bus on the day of the deployment Get to the camp, unload, and become part of the Occupation movement Choose to Occupy or come home at the end of the day

We will offer these trips repeatedly and will send a bus anytime we reach the minimum. Subsequent Occupiers can reinforce the camp. Earlier Occupiers can take any bus back home for free.

Just like the Occupy Movement itself, this has never been tried before and we do not know if it will work. But we're here to support the cause and will make it happen if people are interested in going. We will continue to run buses as long as people keep signing up. If you don't have the time to go, you can also sponsor a seat. Donate your reservation to whomever you wish, or put it in the pool for anyone who wants to take advantage.

Find your nearest pick up point and reserve today!