Fascism, pure and simple

The Nazis are quite rightly remembered for burning books in the 1930’s.

What is the difference between that and throwing them into dumpsters?

This is fascism plain and simple and Bloomberg is a criminal.

Destruction of Occupy Wall Street 'People's Library' draws ire

the Guardian,

Mayor Bloomberg accused of waging 'crusade to destroy a conversation' as nearly 3,000 books lost in Zuccotti Park raid

When police seized an estimated 5,000 books from Occupy Wall Street's "People's Library" during the eviction of the camp at Zuccotti Park on 15 November, it drew condemnation from a host of writers and organisations, including the American Library Association and author Salman Rushdie.

The staff of Michael Bloomberg, the New York mayor who ordered the eviction, attempted to defuse the row by promising that property from Zuccotti Park "including the OWS library" was safely stored at a sanitation department garage and could be collected.

But when the librarians arrived to survey what remained of the books, some signed copies given by authors, including one donated the previous day by Philip Levine, the US poet laureate, they found "it was clear the books had been treated as trash", they said.

At an emotional press conference on Wednesday, the librarians laid the torn and damaged books they were able to recover from the garage on a table taking up much of a cramped room in an office block in Madison Avenue.

It was a sorry sight. Only 1,273 books - a third of the stock - were returned to them, they said, and around a third of those were damaged beyond repair. Only about 800 are still usable. About 2,900 books are still unaccounted for.

The librarians, authors and supporters spoke of the loss of what had become a potent symbol of the Occupy movement and called on Bloomberg to restore the library and a public space in which people can use it.

Norman Seigel, the former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union and civil rights attorney who chaired the meeting, said he was not aware of any other instance where a city or state had destroyed a library.

"History informs us that when books are burned there is almost immediately or subsequently universal condemnation of that act. Here, the Bloomberg adminstration lost, damaged and possibly destroyed books. That is wrong."

Seigel described the library as an impressive catalogue of books, including titles such as Shakespeare's Macbeth and Othello, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, the autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and even Bloomberg's own work, "Bloomberg on Bloomberg".

Seigel called on the mayor to replace "every single book" and to provide a space for a library. He said: "Bloomberg's administration needs to acknowledge that wrong has been committed and that should never happen again in this great city. We also want space for the People's Library."

One by one, the activists involved in building the library spoke of what it meant for the movement.

Mandy Hink, a professional librarian said: "I poured my heart and soul into this library. The heart of this movement is ideas and literature and sharing. The destruction of the library is an attempt to silence and destroy our movement. What type of people are we if we can't create a public space where we can share books and ideas with each other?"

Daniel Norton, a student in library science from the University of Maine at Augusta, said the library was "the creation of a community through a conversation and sharing ideas."

He accused Bloomberg of a "crusade to destroy a conversation" where people came to engage with each other.

William Scott, a professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh, a univeristy where Bloomberg studied and has a hall named after him, said: "This man threw away so many precious books. They embodied all the values that we struggle to defend in our country."

Scott, who is spending his sabbatical with Occupy, has told of how during the raid, he watched as Stephen Boyer, a poet and OWS librarian, read poems aloud from the Occupy Wall street poetry anthology to the riot police.

Writing in the Nation, Scott said: "As they pushed us away from the park with shields, fists, billy clubs and tear gas, I stood next to Stephen and watched while he yelled poetry at the top of his lungs into the oncoming army of riot police. Then, something incredible happened.

Several of the police leaned in closer to hear the poetry. They lifted their helmet shields slightly to catch the words Stephen was shouting out to them, even while their fellow cops continued to stampede us."

He recounted how the next day, an officer who had been guarding the entrance to Zuccotti Park said he was touched by the poetry and moved at how they cared enough about books to risk arrest to defend them.

Books were not the only items destroyed in the raid. One activist said she had never seen a computer come out of the sanitaion department that was not destroyed.

Gideon Oliver, a lawyer form the New York chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, described the destruction of the library as "illegal and unconscionable" and said they were looking into ways it might be addressed.

Occupy Wall Street: NYPD Orders Officers Not To Interfere With Press

Huffington Post

NEW YORK — The New York Police Department's commissioner on Wednesday sent an internal message to officers ordering them not to unreasonably interfere with media access during news coverage and warning those who do will be subject to disciplinary action, after several journalists were arrested covering Occupy Wall Street demonstrations last week.

The message by Commissioner Raymond Kelly was being read at police precincts citywide.

A reporter and a photographer with The Associated Press were among those arrested while on private property covering a rally by protesters Nov. 15 in Manhattan. Police made the arrests after the demonstrators clipped a chain-link fence and entered a vacant lot owned by a nearby church.

The police department message notes that officers should not restrict media access on private property "to the extent it is feasible to do so."

For article GO HERE

Tents may be gone at Occupy Toronto but the beat goes on 

Digital Journal

The tents have been taken down at St. James Park with city crews working non-stop to remove the litter that remained. As Occupiers continued their movement amid a Sea of Blue it was clear that Toronto is unlike many of the other Occupy cities.

While the police did move in this morning under the orders of the City of Toronto, there was little hostility between Occupiers and law enforcement. At times police could be seen singing along with those protesting the 1 Percenters, as they too belong among the 99 Percent.

The tents are down at St. James Park in Toronto but the occupiers from Occupy Toronto remain, following the rules from the city for the most part. One lone tent, the Library, remains with a lone occupier refusing to leave. He waved a black flag towards the crowd that included a police circle surrounding the tent.

Those who have been at the park from the beginning are exhausted but have no plans to stop moving forward with the movement. One of the older members, Ryan, fought to stay awake but was encouraged by the numbers that had come out to support the cause. He said that there are plans to bring the message of the Occupy Movement to more areas within the city. So far the message has been taken to area schools but in the future that could spread to various community centres in both the downtown and suburb areas of Toronto.

For article GO HERE

Occupy Montreal Dwellers Issued Notice

Huffington Post

Montreal police distributed written notices to protesters at the city's Occupy camp Wednesday night, asking them to tear down their tents.

The notice orders Occupy Montreal's indignés to take down installations and structures on public property, and to respect the Victoria Square's midnight to 6 a.m. curfew bylaw.

The notices are not an ultimatum and don't include a deadline, the city said, but that necessary measures would eventually be taken to ensure compliance.

Earlier this week, Mayor Gérald Tremblay asked the protesters to find another way to express their ideas, other than occupying public space. According to the mayor, the indignés have been heard and "can leave with their heads high."

For article GO HERE

Occupy movement

It appears that a coordinated Canadian crackdown is underway today, just as we saw last week throughout the US. -- MCR

Occupy Toronto, is it a fight to remain or social change?

Digital Journal,

22 November, 2011

As the midnight hour approached the protesters at St. James Park remained after the eviction order came into effort. There were conflicting reports as to if the police was going to take action through the night.

According to a liaison at the camp the police are not expected to take any action tonight. The staff sergeant at 51 Division confirmed to the group that no police action would be taking place tonight.

In the media tent Brian, 25, was broadcasting, saying that the group has walkie talkies to keep up with what is going on.

Brian said he's a college graduate who works during the day. He also says he works at a cafe at night on occasion. He said he is protesting for corporate accountability. The movement's web live site is calling tonight Code Red.

According to the Live Stream at #Occupy Toronto the protesters said that they are the birth of a movement and that they are planning to stay at the park for as long as it takes. There is a barricade around the camp's library to protect the contents.

Television crews were set up to record what is happening at the Toronto location.

There is legal support by different law firms according to the live stream. The lawyers are ready to take care of those who are arrested as they continue to stay past the eviction.

The movement plans to have neighbourhood outreaches and meetings in the future. There are also talks about occupying City Hall.

As reports that the police were closing roads two streets over Brian put a bandana covering his lower face and announced that they would be live streaming outside. The report was a false alarm that the police was in the area for other reasons, which those in the tent acted in disbelief, believing that the police were playing with them.

There were 1,000 people at the camp at 12:45 a.m.

As a casual observer the live feed shows a group of young adults who are concerned about what is happening about the world but without a real plan as to how to achieve their goals, which are vast. One of their concerns is that Canadians will be the slaves of the American, One World Agenda. With verbal attacks against certain politicians though the movement seems to grow more fragmented from the core ideal of the 99 percent wanting the 1 percent, AKA the corporations, to be accountable.

It appears that the movement in Toronto is being run by young people who are angry at everyone, blaming those who have achieved something for all the problems that are in the world. One girl read a poem that included a line about how the first banks started the road to greed. Perhaps it is a lack of sleep but watching the live stream shows that there is little form or reason for those that huddle in the cold tents of a city park. The question becomes has the fight to remain in the park no matter what become the movement? When the tents are broken down and the litter cleared will the movement to make a real positive change still be as strong?

Occupy L.A. receives offer to decamp

"If there's an offer of land on which to farm and build towards sustainable community, take it! L.A. was home to a beautiful community garden in South Central back in 2005-2006. The experience is there. We cannot fight over encampment locations and ignore the fight on the real issues or an opportunity to demonstrate successful community. Los Angeles has behaved well over the last two months. I'm proud of LAPD's restraint, especially as compared to other cities". -- MCR

LA Times, 

21 November, 2011

Los Angeles officials have offered Occupy L.A. protesters a package of incentives that includes downtown office space and farmland in an attempt to persuade them to abandon their camp outside of City Hall, according to several demonstrators who have been in negotiations with the city.

The details of the proposal were revealed Monday during the demonstration's nightly general assembly meeting by Jim Lafferty, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild who has been advocating on behalf of the protest since it began seven weeks ago.

Lafferty said city officials have offered protesters a $1-a-year lease on a 10,000-square-foot office space near City Hall. He said officials also promised land elsewhere for protesters who wish to farm, as well as additional housing for the contingent of homeless people who joined the camp.

For aticle GO HERE

Pregnant Seattle protester miscarries after being kicked, pepper sprayed

the Raw Story, 22 November, 2011

A woman who was pepper sprayed during during a raid on Occupy Seattle last week is blaming police after she miscarried Sunday.

Jennifer Fox, 19, told The Stranger that she had been with the Occupy protests since they started in Westlake Park. She said she was homeless and three months pregnant, but felt the need to join activists during their march last Tuesday.

“I was standing in the middle of the crowd when the police started moving in,” Fox recalled. “I was screaming, ‘I am pregnant, I am pregnant. Let me through. I am trying to get out.’”

She claimed that police hit her in the stomach twice before pepper spraying her. One officer struck her with his foot and another pushed his bicycle into her. It wasn’t clear if either of those incidents were intentional.

“Right before I turned, both cops lifted their pepper spray and sprayed me. My eyes puffed up and my eyes swelled shut,” Fox said.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer photographer Joshua Trujillo snapped a picture of Fox in apparent agony as another activist carried her to an ambulance.

Seattle fire department spokesman Kyle Moore told The Washington Post that a 19-year-old pregnant woman was among those that were examined by paramedics.

While doctors at Harborview Medical Center didn’t see any problems at the time, things took a turn for the worst Sunday.

“Everything was going okay until yesterday, when I started getting sick, cramps started, and I felt like I was going to pass out,” she explained.

When Fox arrived at the hospital, doctors told her that the baby had no heartbeat.

“They diagnosed that I was having a miscarriage. They said the damage was from the kick and that the pepper spray got to it [the fetus], too,” she said.

“I was worried about it [when I joined the protests], but I didn’t know it would be this bad. I didn’t know that a cop would murder a baby that’s not born yet… I am trying to get lawyers.”

The Scoville heat chart indicates that U.S. grade pepper spray is ten times more painful than the blistering hot habanero pepper, according to Scientific American. While law enforcement officials regulary claim that the spray is safe, researchers at the University of North Carolina and Duke University found that it could “produce adverse cardiac, respiratory, and neurologic effects, including arrhythmias and sudden death.”

'Anonymous' hackers target pepper-spraying UC Davis police officer

LA Times,

22 November, 2011

The Internet hacking group Anonymous has launched its latest attack on the UC Davis police officer accused of pepper-spraying student by posting a video online that lists his personal contact information.

In a 10-minute video attributed to the group, a computer-altered voice publicizes the home address, home telephone and cellphone numbers and email address belonging to Lt. John Pike.

A call to the listed cellphone number was answered by a voicemail announcement naming Pike as its owner, but said no space was available to leave a message.

The mysterious group speaks directly to Pike in the first minute of the video, telling him to “expect our wrath” and threatening, “We are going to make you squeal” as the viral video of Pike pepper-spraying passive protesters plays in the background.

A shorter two-minute video was also posted by the hacking group that tells officials, “It is quite difficult to engage in a peaceful protest when you come bearing arms like we’re flies to the swatter. We are here to inform you that it will no longer be tolerated.”

Anonymous members advocate for civil disobedience by hacking into computer systems and releasing private and classified information.

The far-flung group launched its attack on Pike just days after the students were sprayed Friday. Since the incident, two unidentified UC Davis police officers and the police chief have been placed on administrative leave.

OWS and OccupyDC unite

About two dozen occupiers from the Occupy Wall Street movement have gone the distance to get their message across. The protesters walked from Lower Manhattan to the nation's capital to unite with the Occupy DC camp. The trek took two weeks to achieve and they plan on spreading the occupy message in the capital city.