Occupy Wall Street

Occupy HIV - The Body →

In the streets they gather
screaming for a future
Lacking jobs, insurance and hope
The other side claims everything is fine

You stole their houses
Their jobs

Let them bail out your bank
Laid them off to thank them
Now you send in the cops
To shut them up

They have nowhere to go
No jobs exist to occupy their time anymore
And it’s because of you

You outsourced their jobs
For cheaper wages
What were they to do

You don’t care
It doesn’t effect you
You profit from our hardship
You smile your ass to the bank
We cut and downsize as best we can

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
We can’t live on less
We can’t cut any more corners

I am a political junkie. I am also a media addict. I majored in journalism and being a total liberal how could I NOT fall in love with the Occupy Wall Street movement? I am the 99 percent. We are just floating along in the water with debt up to our necks.

History is written daily. Little things impact us that we see on the news that we did not expect. Things like Columbine and Katrina, 9/11, Virginia Tech. Well, Occupy found ME. These are MY people. This is MY cause. More than 50 percent of my income goes to rent. The last few weeks we have had rent and gas money and $100.00 for groceries for two weeks – that’s it.

I Myles and Daddy Keanen at Occupy Seattle.was supposed to go to the doctor a few months ago and don’t even have the money for my co-pay to get into the doctor. What’s the point of medical insurance when you can’t afford to use it?

We are all affected by the economy. According to HIVPlusMag.com: “HIV-positive residents in 39 U.S. cities may soon be facing difficulty accessing some federally supported AIDS services because of program cuts to offset steep Ryan White funding reductions. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $595 million nationwide in Ryan White AIDS funds in March; the amount is about $5 million less than distributed in 2003. Funding cuts ranged from 3 to nearly 14 percent …”

How can we logically cut funding? If you are HIV and on meds there has to be some financial help to keep you on meds to keep US out of hospitals.  We went to Occupy Seattle, took Myles to his first protest; my dad would be proud. Walked among 500 people fed up with the system. Our generation has needed a movement like this for a long time. They had a sit-in in front of a Chase bank. I hadn’t felt so much unity since AIDS Walk. We need to stand up for each other more in America.

Watching the videos of Occupy Oakland where my brother lives made me sick: police beating nonviolent protesters. Where are we, Iran? Since when did America become against free speech?

Thursday December 1st, eight people were arrested at Occupy Wall Street in New York for protesting cuts to HIV/AIDS housing and services. The cuts in New York alone were $10 million. More than 110,000 people in New York have HIV/AIDS per NY1.com.

To make this issue hit home even more: I was talking to a woman who found me on TheBody.com. She lives in Mozambique and is married, pregnant and HIV . She gets FREE medical care. Free meds at an HIV clinic all sponsored by the U.S. and the UN. She was saying when she was diagnosed her husband wanted to move them to the U.S. for better health care for her and the baby. In talking we have both realized here is NOT better. Not by any means. She gets two months off maternity leave at full pay, free meds. When I was pregnant, my out-of-pocket cost for meds alone was $500 a month.

The Next Step →

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More swiftly than we ever believed possible, the occupation at Zuccotti Park has opened up a political conversation and shifted the terrain. A recent poll revealed that 67 percent of New Yorkers agree with the views of Occupy Wall Street protesters and that almost three-quarters of them favor a tax on millionaires. People who have not been to demonstrations in years—or perhaps ever—have taken to the streets across the country. Instead of being ashamed about unemployment and personal debt, people are indignant. Instead of blaming a few “bad apples,” fingers are pointing to the economic system at large. The ultimate sign of early success is that politicians who initially scoffed at the outliers at Zuccotti Park have had to proclaim their allegiance to the 99 percent. Look at Republican hopeful Mitt Romney who first sounded the alarm about “dangerous … class warfare” and now says he doesn’t “worry about the top 1 percent” and that, when he looks at Wall Street, he “understands how those people [the protesters] feel.”

When high-profile Democrats like Bill Clinton embrace the Wall Street demonstrations on David Letterman (then advise the movement to throw its weight behind Obama), and Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor goes from calling occupiers “mobs” to “justifiably frustrated,” the left needs to adjust and push the envelope accordingly. When influential conservatives are fretting on their blogs that OWS is stealing their thunder (“These people are open to listen to anyone who is willing to take on Wall Street,” wrote blogger and CNN contributor Erick Erickson, “We shouldn’t let unwashed hippies be the only people they hear speaking to their concerns”) we need to recognize, if nothing else, that the Occupy movement has already tilted the playing field and move our goal posts accordingly— further left so we keep dragging the political conversation with us.

The Occupations Report: 11/8 →

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Previous 11/7 Report

NATIONWIDE

Occupy the Polls! Several Occupy sites and their allies are encouraging folks to get out and rock the vote today. Sites like Cincinnati, Boston, Tulsa and others have been sending links with information on the candidates via twitter all day and encouraging

Occupy Asheville
Occupy Ashville member, Martin Ramsey, reports that following Occupy Asheville’s November 2nd day of action, “the Asheville Police Department has… been arresting Occupy Asheville people rather indiscriminately and charging them all with the same crimes. Reactionary comments by police have been making their way through the press and we’re hopeful that due to this, a climate of doubt surrounding Ron Moore, our District Attorney, and our continued pressure and action will result in the dismissal of all charges against Occupy participants.” The group hasn’t let the arrests stop them from mobilizing. This Saturday Occupy Asheville marched in solidarity on BoA and RBC with the Southern Student Renewable Energy Conference anti-bank action, with total numbers at nearly three hundred.

Occupy Atlanta

Tonight at 9pm Occupy Atlanta will hold a press conference where they will provide updates on the Occupation of the foreclosed Rorey family home. Last week, Tawanna Rorey’s husband, a police officer based in Gwinnett County, e-mailed Occupy Atlanta to explain that his home was going to be foreclosed on and his family was in danger of being evicted on Monday. So within a few hours Occupy Atlanta developed an action plan to move to Snellville, Georgia on Monday to stop the foreclosure. At least two dozen protesters encamped on the family’s lawn, to the applause of neighbors and bystanders. Occupy Atlanta set up two tents in the front yard, draped a “This Home is Occupied” sign over the porch railing and handed out bottled water and granola bars to other members. Tonight the group is expected to announce the formation of Occupy Gwinnet whose first action will be to take over the occupation of the Rorey house as well as research other wrongful foreclosures in Gwinnet. Gwinnet has the 4th highest foreclosure rate in the country.

Occupy Boston
**Occupy Boston Free School U. Needs Volunteers**

The Free School provides free daily classes and workshops in activism. Occupy Boston’s Free School University needs Greeters, Forum Coordinators and Online Help (wiki, mailing list, website, twitter.)

CALL TO ACTION: If you can help please contact Eden@FreeSchoolUniversity.org or attend this Friday’s Volunteer Meeting at 4:00pm.

Occupy Chicago
Video: Governor Scott Walker gets mic checked by the 99%: http://front.moveon.org/scott-walkers-chicago-speech-taken-over-by-the-99/#.TrlZNw00vBw.twitter

Occupy Cincinnati
Like many other sites, Occupy Cincinnati has been encouraging people to get out and vote today and has been using Twitter to encourage voters to seek out more information on all the local candidates: http://www.wlwt.com/politics/29649250/detail.html.

Occupy DC
Today Ben and Jerry (yup – the ice cream guys) visited Occupy DC and handed out free scoops of ice cream. Tonight Occupy DC is hosting a march and Homelessness 101 Teach-In tonight in McPhersonSquare. You can catch the Occupy DC livestream at http://occupydc.org/. The last reports from twitter announced that the group was “blockading at least six intersections around building w Koch Bros, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, etc.”

Occupy Maine
[Member report] During the wee hours of the morning a pair of officers informed Occupy Maine members that their tents are considered homes and cannot legally be entered by the police. The group is well on its way to becoming an established community with a bank account, huge yurt and library (equipped with a new Indy Media and Activism section).

Occupy Minneapolis
**Help Occupy MN Save a Foreclosed Home**

Occupy Minneapolis/Occupy Minnesota will help a local woman take a stand and fight back against the bank trying to take her home. OM will occupy the home of Monique White tonight. White lost her job as a Youth Counselor due to state budget cuts, and then she lost her home. Now White has decided to stay in her home, raise awareness about foreclosures, and put an end to banks taking peoples’ homes. Occupy Minneapolis/Occupy Minnesota will protect and occupy her home beginning tonight. Get more information at http://vimeo.com/31770485 and http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212533328819790.

CALL TO ACTION: Sign the petition to tell US Bank CEO Richard Davis to keep Monique White in her home chn.ge/​uw224u

Occupy Oakland
[Huffington Post report] A police attack against Oakland man Scott Campbell has drawn national attention and outrage after Campbell released a video of the incident on YouTube. Early Thursday morning after Occupy Oakland’s general strike, Campbell filmed police officers as they surrounded the remaining protesters. According to Campbell, an officer asked him to step back as he approached the police line with a video camera. Campbell obliged, and then began filming about ten feet from the officers. On the video, Campbell can be heard asking “is this OK?” twice. Several seconds later, an officer shoots him with what appears to be a rubber bullet. Watch the video here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/08/scott-campbell-films-police-shooting_n_1082393.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Occupy Portland
Today Occupy Portland protesters joined hands in an enormous circle around Pioneer Courthouse Square in solidarity with 15,000 environmentalists in Washington D.C. In a move to pressure President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline for dirty tar sands oil, Oregonians from all walks of life joined Occupy Portland to protest against this polluting and dangerous project. Check out the video from today’s Occupy Portland Tar Sands Protest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8794iOt0CQ0

Occupy Raleigh
Twitter report this morning: The Occupation in Raleigh is down to three people.

Occupy Sacramento
Check out the Occupy Sacramento livestream at http://www.livestream.com/occupysacto.

Occupy Seattle
The city council of Seattle is debating a resolution that would support Occupy Seattle. The resolution would “recognize and support the peaceful and lawful exercise of the First Amendment as a cherished and fundamental right in the effort to seek solutions for economically distressed Americans at the federal and local levels.”

Occupy Wall St.
Occupy Wall Street is going on the road — a two-week, 240-mile walk to Washington. A small group of OWS activists plans to leave Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park at noon Wednesday. They hope to arrive in DC by Nov. 23rd, the deadline for a congressional committee to decide whether to keep President Barack Obama’s extension of Bush-era tax cuts. Today – David Crosby and Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are performing at Zuccotti Park.

Occupy Worcester
[Press Release] Just before 11 am today, Tuesday, members of the Worcester Anti-Foreclosure Team (WAFT), homeowners Pablo and Shirley Travieso and family, and members of Occupy Worcester lined up in front of the Traviesos’ two-story house at 24 Illinois St., drowned out the voice of auctioneer John Baker by chanting loudly, and blocked his entry to the property. The 44 protesters held signs and their chants included “Bank of America/Bad for America”, “Banks got Bailed Out/We got Sold Out”, and “What does democracy look like?/This is what democracy looks like!” The auctioneer, John Baker, acting for Bank of New York Trust, trustee for a bundle of mortgages in which this one was included, gamely proceeded with the auction at 11am despite the noise, and as there were no other bidders, the bank took back the house for $79,900.

WORLDWIDE

Global Effort
To link Occupy sites around the globe, Occupy LSX’s International Commission group is proposing a global, publically available mailing list with one assembly-endorsed contributing contact from each assembly. The kind of information that would be shared in the list would be information like:

- Proposals for other assemblies to discuss
- Updates from occupations
- Requests for help

- Any other information an assembly would like to share with the world

If your site is interested in being included on the list, please email internationalcommission@occupylsx.org with your assembly’s designated contact.

Occupy Brazil
Occupy Sao Paulo is liberating abandoned buildings to give shelter to homeless families. Early Monday families of homeless workers occupied abandoned buildings in the center of São Paulo. The group told reporters yesterday, “We cannot and should not continue to suffer from a lack of housing. We are starting with houses and land that have already been abandoned and will turn them into a large housing project for low-income families.”

Occupy Canada
[CTA report] Occupy protesters are resisting municipal orders to leave and dismantle their three-week old camps in cities across Canada as eviction notices are being served and court injunctions sought. Eviction notices have been served in Victoria, Quebec City and Vancouver, while officials in Halifax have struck a deal with demonstrators to move their tents for Remembrance Day ceremonies to be held at their camp site. In Victoria, protesters rejected a notice of removal on Monday, marching past a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald on their way to deliver a letter to city hall. The letter declares that the city of Victoria has failed to uphold the Charter of Rights and Freedoms right to peaceful assembly.

Occupy London
In solidarity with students, education workers and everyone resisting the various attacks on education, Tent City University (Occupy London’s education arm) is holding ‘Teach-Outs’ before their big NCAFC demonstration on Wednesday at 10:30am. Get more info at http://tentcityuniversity.occupylsx.org/?p=107.

Occupy Sydney
Chaos erupted at the Occupy Sydney protest this weekend, with several protesters being dragged away by police. About 100 protesters had moved from an earlier rally at Martin Place on Saturday afternoon to Hyde Park to continue their protest against corporate greed. Their protest was peaceful until police moved in to take down a tent set up by protesters. Several people were dragged away by police as protesters chanted “Let them stay, let them stay” and called the police “nazis”. A strong police presence remains in the park, with at least 50 officers standing by.

Unlike last month’s dawn raid that ended Occupy Sydney’s week-long protest at Martin Place, protesters were prepared for police action, with many of them recording the chaotic scenes on cameras and mobile phones.

REQUEST FOR TRAINING RESOURCES FROM READERS: The Daily Occupations Report needs your help! We will soon start adding a section providing tips and resources for organizing and training activists. If you have any materials, guides or links to training resources, please send them to monique@rebuildthedream.com or lizbutlerdc@gmail.com.

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