Soldiers For The Cause The Opposite of a Soldier of Fortune
Today is the international day of action. Protesters have been flocking to the financial district to disrupt its daily operations. Around the world protesters join in solidarity. CNN and Fox news are misreporting the numbers. Many retaliatory actions against OWS seemingly created over night. The national guard is on standby and there are reports that LRAD’s have already been deployed.
https://rt.com/news/ows-police-sound-canons-603/
Protesters sitting in the street in order to block traffic were dragged away by NYPD in riot gear.
At 3pm “occupy the subway” begins. The disruption of the metro is, according to the protesters, part of the right to freedom of speech as economic disruption. This is new ground in the first amendment because the issue of tents came up with free speech as well. The tents are symbolic to the housing collapses disenfranchisement of democratic rights. The right to consumer revolt is one of the last powers that are available to the individual exercise their political capital. Occupiers have been herded like cattle by police and prevented from marching directly on Wall Street.
1:27PM Police are trying to tow and search the wikileaks van.
1:38PM Police are raiding the park. The police are kettling the protesters. A lesson from the English riots. Police are swinging batons. NYPD need to regain its individuals. Uniforms are not citizens.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/cvplive/cvpstream1
2:00PM A man named Brendon in an Anon mask was stomped by the police for kicking barricades. After he was kicked on the ground, he was integrated by police in front of a hand held camera. The cops are only allowed to use handheld camera by the expatriated act.
When did stupid kids get quantified as terrorists.
Police are letting people back in and out of the park.
2:44PM “Papers please”, NYPD not allowing citizens to get to subway unless they have corporate ID. Live feed of #owshttp://www.ustream.tv/theother99
Bloomberg Phone: 311 or 212-639-9675 or 212-772-1081 E-mail: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html NYPD: 311 or 646-610-5000, 212-334-0611 Gov. Cuomo: 518-474-8390 TSA HS: 212-867-7060
3:15PM As of now there are two groups of protesters gathering. One at city hall and a larger group at union Square. Occupy the subway has started but there is no effective change in transportation flow. Police have reopened Liberty Park. It is suspected this is a ploy to get the protesters back in the park to get kettled again. There are over 10k people in the streets and the unions and student/techer organization have not joined yet. “Shut this city down,” is the cry.
A much better timeline from Slate.com:
2:58 p.m. Two reporters from conservative publication The Daily Caller are claiming they were beaten with batons by NYPD officers.
Reporter Michelle Fields described the scene like so: “The police officers were beating the protesters with batons, and were also beating the media…they hit [videographer Direna Cousins] and me with batons. They hit other members of the press in order to get them to move out of the street.”
She added: “The protesters came up to me right away and asked if I needed any medical assistance. They were actually very kind and helpful. It was the police officers who were very aggressive.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the site’s commenters, who have been used to more critical coverage of the protests, were skeptical. One, calling herself “Becky,” chided: “Excuse me if I have less than adequate sympathy for the reporters if they were told to move and did not. As far as I’m concerned, a lot of them seem to be as much a problem as the protestors.”
2:44 p.m.: About 200 CUNY students were spotted marching down fifth avenue and 28th street by the Guardian’s Karen McVeigh. There’s an Occupy Wall Street student protest planned at Union Square at 3 p.m., and they’re presumably headed there.
Meanwhile, @agreatbigcity is tweeting the NYU march to nearby Union Square, with this photo of the student march up University. No word on how large that crowd is, but from the photos, it doesn’t look to top 200 people.
The Gothamist reports that the protesters will take to the subway systems at 3 p.m. to broadcast “our own stories to the trains, using the ‘People’s Mic’.” They’ve helpfully printed a list of the lines protesters are heading towards.
2:29 p.m.: The “Wikileaks Truck,” a near constant presence at the Occupy Wall Street protests, is apparently “in jail now,” according to its most recent tweet. According to its Twitter feed and the Other 99 livestream, the truck was full of blankets for protesters when it was stopped for having its windshield wipers on without its headlights.
2:01 p.m.: At least 18 people have reportedly been arrested in Los Angeles, MSNBC reports. Meanwhile, other demonstrations are reportedly either ongoing or planned in Portland, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas and a number of other cities across the nation.
1:50 p.m.: Things appear to be getting a little dicey at Zuccotti Park.
Paddy wagons are arriving at the scene, and there are reportedly about 100 riot-clad police officers on hand. It’s not yet clear exactly what sparked the increased police presence, but the New York Daily News reports that a handful of police officers have been injured at the site, with one being struck in the head with a bottle and another possibly stabbed in the hand. [Update: Police now say that the officer’s hand was cut by a thrown bottle.]
Protesters, meanwhile, are claiming that it was the police that started the violence. CNN is currently running footage showing a protester bleeding pretty heavily from his head.
1:35 p.m.: Reporters covering today’s action are complaining about “the heavy hand police were using against them” this morning, the Huffington Post reports.
Meanwhile, the Free Press’s Josh Stearns is tracking journalists’ arrests on a storify feed. According to Stearns, at least two members of the press — Truthout’s J.A. Myerson and Indy Reader journalist Ryan Harvey — are among those who have been detained by NYPD. (By Stearns’s count, ten other journalists were arrested on Tuesday, and about 26 have been arrested since the beginning of the protests two months ago today.)
Keith Gessen, the n+1 founder and editor, was also arrested the New York Observer reports. Although it’s not clear whether he was participating in or reporting on the protests.
1 p.m.: Retired Philadelphia captain Ray Lewis was among those arrested in New York this morning, Chicago’s Fox29 confirms.
Here’s what he had to say to the New York Observer yesterday about the use of police force during the eviction of the protesters from Zuccotti Park early Tuesday morning:
“You should, by law, only use force to protect someone’s life or to protect them from being bodily injured OK? If you’re not protecting somebody’s life or protecting them from bodily injury, there’s no need to use force. And the number one thing that they always have in their favor that they seldom use is negotiation–continue to talk, and talk and talk to people. You have nothing to lose by that…This bullrush–what happened last night is totally uncalled for when they did not use negotiation long enough.”
According to Fox29, Philadelpha Police confirmed the arrest, but said that any further information would have to come from the NYPD.
12:50 p.m.: Judging by the footage being broadcast on the cable news channels on via Internet livestreams, the New York protests have mostly slowed down with hundreds of protesters mostly milling around chanting the occasional slogan.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, meanwhile, tells CNN that that the total number of arrests now stands at about 100, mostly for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Overall, he said that despite the morning’s chaos, things went about as well as police could have hoped. “People were allowed to get to work on Wall Street; protesters were allowed to protest,” he said in a TV interview, adding that “in our view things went pretty smoothly.”
12:25 p.m.: Out in Los Angeles, meanwhile, OWS protesters are ramping up their efforts. It doesn’t appear as though the protesters and police have clashed yet, but that could change soon with a planned march that could shut down a handful of streets in LA’s financial district.
From the LA Times: “Protesters are planning to meet at Bank of America Plaza at 333 S Hope St. and march to the corner of Figueroa Street and 4th Street., where they expect to ‘shut down the intersection,’ according to a news release from demonstration organizers.”
12:19 p.m.: According to CNN at least, NYPD have mostly regained control of the financial district despite the increased presence of protesters.
11:55 a.m.: Looks like those protesters still causing havoc in New York City’s financial district are about to get some reinforcement. “The approximately 2,000 protesters inside of Zuccotti are now emptying out of the park and headed towards Wall Street,” the New York Daily News reports.
One of the chants of the day appears to be” “Whose streets? Our streets!”
11:37 a.m.: The Other 99 is livestreaming the protests. You can watch the feed here.
11:20 a.m: Police haven’t released a new update on the total number of OWS protesters taken into custody in New York City’s financial district, but reports from the ground suggest that the numbers are quickly climbing.
“National Lawyers Guild guy tells me at least 80 arrests this morning,” Salon’s Justin Elliottweets.
10:46 a.m.: Occupy Wall Street attempted to fully live up to its name Thursday, with hundreds of protesters attempting to block traders from reaching the New York Stock Exchange before the morning’s opening bell.
The Associated Press reports that the effort, ultimately, failed with NYSE trading beginning on time at 9:30 a.m.
More than 50 protesters have been arrested and, given Thursday has been dubbed a “national day of action” by the Occupy movement, we’re guessing there will be plenty more in NYC and elsewhere before the day is done.
Here’s the New York Times account from Wall Street:
Many members of the group pushed through lines formed by police, waving signs and banging drums as they moved. The police started taking protesters into custody who had sat down on the street about a block away from the exchange. “Sidewalk!” an officer shouted, shoving a protester out of the road.
Another protester held a sign nearby: “Tear down this Wall Street.” The demonstrators and the large deployment of police officers snarled traffic on streets around the exchange. Protesters chanted, “We are the 99” and “We aren’t afraid of your nightsticks.”
4:16PM A masked man knock over police barriers when 6k people marched from Union Square. A mass police response ensues.
4:20PM Banners are flown from building in the area saying that the they are occupied. Inviting people to join the occupied buildings. There are people climbing on cars.
4:45 p.m.: From Pittsburgh: About 200 Occupy protesters, including representatives from “several” unions, have marched onto Greenfield Bridge, CBS Pittsburgh reports. The bridge was apparently chosen because it’s “falling apart,” and represents an opportunity to put the under and unemployed back to work. Those watching the globalrevolution live-stream claim it appears to show arrests in progress, but those reports seem a little premature.
4:39 p.m.: The NYC crowd has more than a few chantable slogans, but the one that seems to be on heavy repeat this afternoon is this one: “All day, all week, occupy Wall Street.”
4:27 p.m.: We’ve been rather NYC-centric, mostly because that’s where there appears to be the largest numbers of protesters and police. But similar OWS events are going on across the country, as we’ve mentioned.
Things in Los Angeles, for one, seem relatively calm compared to NYC. The LA Times has this report:
In what police called an “orchestrated series of arrests,” nearly 100 police in riot gear moved in to arrest 23 protesters who locked arms around tents in the middle of Figueroa Street to protest financial inequality. Police moved slowly, carting protesters away one-by-one in plastic handcuffs. Several protesters had to be carried.
4:19 p.m.: The crowd that was gathering at Union Square has left there and appears to be marching en masse to Foley Square near City Hall, where another rally is planned at 5 p.m. The crowd has definitely grown substantially, as hundreds of other activists join the ranks.
Things remain relatively non-violent, although tensions between the police and the protesters certainly appear to be growing by the minute as protesters continue their march and police attempt to control their movement.
4:09 p.m.: Here’s more on the reports of injured officers at Zuccotti Park earlier this afternoon:
At about 2 p.m., two officers were injured while responding to protesters who had dismantled metal barriers around the park, the Wall Street Journal‘s Metropolis blog reports. One was struck in the left eye with an unidentified object, and was taken to Bellevue hospital “as a precaution.” The other has what their source says is a “nasty, nasty” cut from a “star-shaped glass object.” that would require maybe 20 stitches.
There’s a separate incident involving someone throwing what was probably vinegar at five officers earlier in the day. Mayor Bloomberg, talking to the press at around 4 PM, said that the five officers have since been released.
Bloomberg told reporters that “so far [the protesters] have caused minimal disruptions to our city,” but that “unfortunately,” some have been deliberately violent. He also noted that the crowds have been smaller than he was lead to expect, and predicts that the story in tomorrow’s papers will be that there weren’t very many people participating.
The latest NYC arrest tally is at 177 arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Although a handful are reportedly for assault.
4:02 p.m.: We’ll have an update from Mayor Bloomberg’s presser shortly, but for now:Here’s a photo of Daily Caller reporter Michelle Fields that she says backs up her claim that she and others were struck with police batons earlier today.
3:37 p.m.: Mayor Bloomberg is expected to address the media shortly to discuss the injured police officer(s).
3:33 p.m.: Occupy Wall Street protesters are converging on Union Square to join the students who have walked out from local universities. It’s a noisy group but, at least for now, it’s tough to get an accurate count on how many are present. The New York Daily News is reporting there are about 1,000 people there — which seems about right to us from where we’re sitting (admittedly, in front of our computer) — while some of the protesters are claiming the total is much larger than that.
Meanwhile, here are a few videos that have emerged from what went down at Zuccotti Park earlier today. This one, which really gets going around the 2 minute mark, shows an incident referred to earlier on various Twitter feeds of a protester having his head bloodied while being arrested. According to the Daily News, the protester’s name is Brendan Watts, and he was arrested after knocking off an officer’s hat.
The Wikileaks Truck posted this video from what is apparently the inside of a holding cell containing other protesters.
And in case today needed a little more excitement: The temperature is rapidly dropping, and the forecast says there’s a chance of snow in New York this afternoon.
Some accounts to follow from people who are there, right now: @quinnnorton@macfathom @nicoles @NYClu @lucykafanov @newyorkist @katz @JoshHarkinson @PennyRed @allisonkilkenny, @adamgabbatt, @_rosiegray @jeffrae, @mtracey, @nydailynews, @michelleinbklyn, @elliotjustin, @timkarr. Oh, and @mmflint.
http://boingboing.net/2011/11/17/occupy-wall-street-occupies-wa.html
5:19 Protesters are being charged at with NYPD minibikes. This looks like the so-called velvet revolution in Iran. The protester keep screaming “Show me what Democracy looks like!” The NYPD answer them in kind.
7:35 p.m.: Thousands of protesters are still streaming across the Brooklyn Bridge, but so far, fortunately, things have remained mostly peaceful.
While OWS’s “Day of Action” isn’t showing many signs of slowing down, this live-blog is. We’ll, of course, be back with any major updates throughout the evening, and then again with a roundup once it’s all over. But in the meantime, those of you craving constant updates of the more around-the-clock variety should check out the live-blogs of the New York Daily News and the New York Times.
Also: Tim Pool’s live-feed will probably keep running until his body shuts down from lack of food and water (anyone who watched Tuesday’s feed know what we’re talking about).
7:13 p.m.: Here’s a live video feed taken from the air that is more than a little mind-blowing and shows exactly how big the NYC crowds have gotten.
6:51 p.m.: The OWS protests are still going, but a quick update on Brandon Watts, the man who was bloodied in a confrontation with police earlier in the day at Zuccotti Park. The New York Times reports that Watts has been charged with attempted assault and grand larceny.
Earlier in the day, there were unfounded rumors circulating on Twitter and in the comment section of live-streams of the protesters that Watts had been died from head trauma. But those rumors, which always seemed questionable at best, are clearly not true. Still, we’re guessing that his supporters won’t be pleased with the fact that Watts now has two criminal charges to go along with we imagine is a pretty substantial gash on his head.
Watts reportedly was arrested after he knocked an officer’s hat off his head. The Times reports that the assault charge is for throwing a AAA battery and the larceny is for taking the officer’s hat.
6:25 p.m.: The OWS crowd – which now includes union members and city council leaders – are making their way to the Brooklyn Bridge, the next stop on the protesters daylong itinerary. Many are voluntarily being arrested.
NYPD Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne tells WCBS Radio that a total of 300 demonstrators have been arrested in the city during today’s demonstrations.
Most of the rest of protest has gone peacefully despite the fact that 300 people have been arrested. Occupiers that have been incarcerated since the eviction on Tuesday have resurfaced. Telling stories of being fed once a day and being moved around to prolong detention. It has now been confirmed that protesters who had videos of police beating occupiers had the memories on their cameras erased. The crossing of the Brooklyn Bridge was a powerful symbol and went smoothly , even though, Police provoked the crowd like usual. I made some screen shots from the public emergency cam. http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersforthecause/6356116197/
This video shows the universal Occupy bat signal:
A projection of OWS slogans and the 99% percent symbol was being projected in the air like a bat signal. There was a Verizon symbol also being projected I am presuming that it belonged to the Verizon Union that has joined the pac recently.
Once the unions and the students got there things became very organized and peaceful. There is many report of the media getting attacked by the NYPD some of whom weren’t protesters and now probably are. There is also very powerful picture floating around of a police office pulling a girl by the hair. https://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/katz/status/137347883350503424/photo/1
There is also repeated chatter of what are reported to be plain clothes officers infiltrating the crowd and inciting violence. http://twitpic.com/7flsln. The officers in that picture and others are assumed to be NYPD. But just because they crossed the police line doesn’t mean that they were fuzz. I am getting a DHS/FBI feel here. I’ve had it for a while. Ray Lewis, a retired Philadelphia Police Captain joined Occupy Wall Street yesterday and was arrested. He has not been released yet. Ray Lewis called the behavior of the NYPD “disgusting.”
