Updates 12/22/11

Hello everyone,

I want to let everyone know that due to some odd scheduling, updates may be sketchy in the two days leading up to New Years. Driving to the airport at 3 a.m. tends to make you a little tired. :) I will be updating on Christmas, though it may be later than usual. After New Years, I will be doing a hard reboot on my computer. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we? Tomorrow is Festivus, so in case I forget, Happy Festivus. :) Hanukkah is ongoing as well, so Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate it.

On to the news for today:


-- Occupiers in Eugene have started leaving their encampment, after the city council voted to evict them. While no citations have been issued yet, Occupiers are split between staying and going, as many in the group are "chronically homeless."


-- Occupy Berkeley had many people leave last night in preparation for the eviction raid, but that raid never came. While police did walk through the encampment several times, only one empty tent was removed, leaving Occupiers confused as to why they chose then to take it.


-- Occupy Tuscon was raided last night, with no reports on arrests. While there has been no violence reported from Tuscon, their encampment has been unequally targeted for citations, with the police department saying they number over 700. The Occupiers are meeting at noon today to discuss further action.


-- Occupy Youngstown protested the brine injection and fracking project set to begin in Hubbard Township yesterday. The protesters say that there are too many unknown results to allow the project to continue, and that current regulations are not enough.


-- Police in Scranton have given Occupiers until noon today to remove their encampment or be evicted. Protesters say they will not disobey police orders, and are having a meeting to discuss plans for further action.


-- Occupy Auckland has lost their appeal to keep their encampment. Their time limit expires at 2:30 p.m. If Occupiers choose to stay after eviction time, officers have been granted the right to cite them for contempt of court.


-- San Francisco State University brought in police to clear out the Occupy encampment yesterday, after they told Occupiers they would not be allowed to stay during the Winter break. Most protesters left willingly, but 10 tents remained around 5 a.m. Police in riot gear showed up to clear them out, and they left peacefully.


-- A war veteran who was smoking a cigarette and talking on his cell phone was approached by Long Beach police yesterday, and told he could not smoke in the park. As he hung up his phone, police wrenched his arms behind his back, placing him in a chokehold until 30 seconds after he went unconscious. This story pisses me right off, so go read about it here: http://www.lbpost.com/news/greggorymoore/12961


-- Occupy Boston has dropped their lawsuit against the city, citing slow moving litigation as an issue with reaching their goals.


That's all the news I have for today.


***Solidarity***


If you have questions, comments, corrections, or other information, please contact me at elvishbutterfly@hotmail.com. Thanks.