"Occupy activists don’t fold tents in LA, Philadelphia; Many disregard eviction deadlines" November 28, 2011|By Andrew Dalton, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - With the clock winding down on a midnight deadline to abandon their weeks-old Occupy Los Angeles protest, hundreds of demonstrators stayed put yesterday and made plans instead to hold an “eviction block party.’’
Although city officials told protesters they had to leave and take their nearly 500 tents with them by 12:01 a.m. today, just a handful were seen packing up yesterday.
Instead, some passed out fliers containing the city seal and the words: “By order of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, this notice terminates your tenancy and requires you to attend the Occupy L.A. Eviction Block Party,’’ which the fliers said was also scheduled for midnight....
Meanwhile, local clergy and labor leaders implored both sides to ensure that the 2-month-old demonstration remain peaceful....
“We are grateful to the Occupy movement for refocusing the country to the issue of income inequality,’’ Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary and treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, said in a statement.
“We call for nonviolence in all acts of civil disobedience by Occupy LA and in professional procedures by the LAPD. We are committed to a long-term movement from the 99 percent to hold Wall Street and the banks accountable for devastating our economy,’’ Durazo added.
Villaraigosa has expressed admiration that, at least so far, the Occupy Los Angeles movement has remained peaceful, unlike those in some other cities around the country. But while the mayor, a former labor organizer, has said he sympathizes with the movement, he added it is time to close the encampment of tents that dot the lawn in front of City Hall for the sake of public health and safety.
The movement is at a crossroads, Villaraigosa said, and must “move from holding a particular patch of park to spreading the message of economic justice.’’
Although most protesters showed no signs of moving, a few seemed to support the mayor’s sentiments.
“I’m going,’’ said Luke Hagerman, who sat looking sad and resigned in the tent he’s lived in for a month. “I wish we could have got more done.’’
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In Philadelphia yesterday, nearly 50 members of that city’s Occupy movement sat with their arms linked as a 5 p.m. deadline to leave the site of their protest set by the city passed without immediate action.
Mayor Michael Nutter set the deadline for the Philadelphia demonstrators to remove their belongings. Some had done so by the deadline and others were in the process of tearing down their tents. Others vowed to remain, saying the importance of their message outweighed long-set plans to renovate Dilworth Plaza in the heart of the city.
Police were monitoring the Philadelphia sit-in, describing it as a peaceful demonstration....
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"Occupy protesters defy orders to leave; Deadlines pass in Philadelphia and Los Angeles" November 29, 2011|By Christina Hoag, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Wall Street protesters in Los Angeles and Philadelphia defied orders to leave their months-old encampments, making it through the deadlines without the acrimony that marked earlier forced evictions in other cities.
Protesters chanted “We won, we won’’ as Los Angeles police clad in riot gear left yesterday, though there were four arrests. Occupy LA supporters asked a federal judge to bar the city from tearing down their encampment.
In Philadelphia, the camp was mostly quiet amid a heavy police presence, and during the morning, a handful of people marching down one of the city’s main business corridors banging drums.
When the camps would be cleared after officials in both cities ordered their removal was unclear....
Police and protesters have clashed in recent weeks, most notably in Oakland, as officers sometimes used pepper spray and tear gas to close camps that officials say have grown more dangerous for public health and safety.
Some of those encampments had been in use almost since the movement against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed began with Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan two months ago.
That is a VERY TELLING PHRASE!! It means the corporate AmeriKan media do not see things that way!!
In Maine, Occupy Augusta encampment in Capitol Park took down its tents after being told to get a permit or move their shelters. Nine people were arrested when a demonstration spilled onto the grounds of the Maine governor’s mansion.
Also see: Occupy protest ends up at Maine governor's mansion; 8 arrested
In San Francisco, protesters shouted and chanted as they disrupted a University of California board meeting, forcing officials to move to another room.
The meeting comes after video footage captured a UC Davis police officer pepper-spraying peaceful protesters drew outrage, not just at the school but around the world, and set off a debate about the appropriate use of force.
Also see: Globe Grinds Pepper Spray Protest Story
In Los Angeles, about half of the 485 tents had been taken down as of Sunday night, leaving patches of the 1.7-acre park around City Hall barren of grass and strewn with garbage.
Police turned back after hundreds of Occupy LA supporters showed up at the camp Sunday night as the midnight deadline for evacuation neared. As the night drew on, many demonstrators left.
Protester Julie Levine said she was surprised that police did not move in as the numbers dwindled. “We were fearful,’’ she said. “But we held our numbers and police were on their best behavior.’’
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"Police break up camps in LA, Philadelphia; Phoenix officers pepper-spray protest at resort" December 01, 2011|By Jennifer Medina, New York Times
LOS ANGELES - The police broke up large Occupy encampments in Los Angeles and Philadelphia early yesterday, arresting hundreds of protesters who had been camped out for the past two months and who had remained in public squares beyond city-mandated deadlines this week.
Around 12:30 a.m. in Los Angeles, scores of police officers raided the Occupy camp that had been set up in a park outside City Hall, leading most of the protesters to scramble from their tents and gather in large groups in the surrounding streets.
By the time the raid ended several hours later, the police had arrested about 300 people. Most were cited for failure to disperse.
After much of the park had been cleared of what had grown into a colorful - if sometimes squalid - camp of several hundred tents, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa told reporters that he was proud of the way the police had performed, in particular, by employing force only as a last resort....
But while the police and city officials said the raid had been conducted as peacefully as possible, some protesters said they had watched officers throw demonstrators to the ground and beat back people with batons.
Yesterday in Philadelphia, once officers arrived in force yesterday, the protesters took to the streets. The police trailed them for hours, seeking to avoid confrontations, but eventually called in mounted units to help cordon off demonstrators....
I'm sorry I'm so unenthusiastic about reading and posting the Globe these days, readers; however, I'm so sick of reading apologetic slop from the mouthpiece media.
In Phoenix, police clad in riot gear twice used pepper spray yesterday morning to disperse protesters gathered outside an upscale resort. The Occupy Phoenix protesters moved from the downtown park where they have been camping for weeks to the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, where an annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council brought together lawmakers and corporate executives.
So you SEE WHO the POLICE are WORKING FOR, right?
As of midday, seven protesters had been arrested outside the hotel on charges ranging from criminal trespass to aggravated assault on an officer. Sergeant Trent Crump, a police spokesman, said a small group of “anarchists’’ dressed in black had charged police lines, prompting the use of pepper spray.
"Anarchists" is mediaspeak for AGENT PROVOCATEURS!!
“The pepper spray is very effective in dispersing those who are being aggressive, and that is what happened here,’’ Crump said.
Then maybe some police thugs wouldn't mind it being sprayed in their face.
But protesters, many holding signs decrying the influence of money in politics, said it was the police who overreacted.
“I think it’s very unfortunate when the police think they have to support the 1 percent when they are part of the 99 percent,’’ said Joyce Smith, a retired teacher who has been active in the Occupy movement.
That's why my attitude now id f*** the cops, f*** their collective bargaining rights, and f*** their pensions. I love budget cuts when it comes to cops. That means less of them out there.
It's no longer protect and serve; it's beat and oppress now.
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Related: Wall Street Protests Winding Down
Also see: Occupy Harvard looks ahead
City will make its case on protest
Occupy protesters can stay - for now
I'm sorry I didn't have the time or will to read those pos, readers, and I think it's over for me for tonight. Long weekend of work ahead.
