Good morning everyone.
The new year is quickly approaching, and it feels like this past one has just flown by. It seems that as the tax season approaches, much of the Corporate Media is talking about the "worth" of the Occupy movement. There are a few reports saying that the top 25 supporters of the movement total 4 Billion dollars. To me, this is a mind trick. To calculate the actual worth of something, you need to take profit minus costs, which means that you can't just add up how much everyone has without taking away what everyone owes. For example, I'm roughly $300,000.00 in debt from health issues and the like. I bet they aren't taking that out of the equation...
Anyway, here's the news for today:
-- Occupy Plymouth (UK) has moved their encampment back into the park, after they were evicted from an old JobCentre building by the landlord. Rough storms are expected to move into the area soon, and protesters are working on what they will do next.
-- Occupy Tuscon, fresh from being disheartened by a judge's ruling for their eviction, are having a food drive and march today. People and pet food will be accepted for the food drive. Occupiers are then heading over to a park for a march for Postal Service workers, as their facility is being threatened with closure, which would cause the loss of roughly 400 union jobs.
-- The Rose Bowl Parade will have a lot more security this year, as several Occupy movements have said they will be at the planned protest of the event. A Bearcat armored vehicle will be deployed, as well as a helicopter or two. Occupiers will be joined by Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan, and will be holding signs from the sidewalk until the end of the parade, at which time they will form a human float and walk behind it. Protesters say the amount of police presence is unnecessary, as they will be completely nonviolent.
-- Occupy Louisville has been given until January 2nd to remove their tents, and they are not happy about it. Protesters are working to file for a temporary injunction against the city, to stop them from evicting them. Louisville officials say that they will grant the Occupiers a new permit, but it will be one that only allows protest during daylight hours, and no tents will be allowed.
-- Oakland has a new Occupy encampment, this time in the west part of town. Occupiers moved into a vacant lot on Tuesday, renaming it the "Cypress Triangle," and more than a dozen tents have already been set up. No word yet on police action, but past encampments have quickly met their demise at the orders of Mayor Jean Quan.
-- The last DC hunger striker is continuing his fast, three weeks in. He says his brain is still working, which makes him feel good, and recent tests showed his kidneys are still functioning properly. His sister, an ICU nurse, is flying in to be with him, as he may need to go into the hospital soon. He, along with the rest of Occupy DC, is fighting for voting and other rights in Congress for the District of Columbia.
-- Also in DC, police were called in to remove another wooden structure from the park last night. This time, no arrests were made, as no one claimed ownership of the 12 foot tall building before it was removed.
-- Huntington city officials gave a first reading of a new possible ordinance in the city yesterday evening, upsetting many members of Occupy Huntington. The new ordinance, should it pass, would not stop protesting, but it would "address other people's rights to access public property," says the city council.
-- Occupy Santa Fe may be moving on soon, but not at the orders of police. Members of the movement say they are concerned with the amount of drinking and drugs, and that some addicts have been threatening the safety of the Occupiers. They say they are worried about the potential for violence, and that those who have left already will not be returning.
-- Occupy Bellingham was given a deadline of this morning to vacate their encampment or be evicted, but there is so far no word on police activity. The Mayor says that even though he agrees with many of the issues brought forth by Occupiers, he has received many complaints from businesses and residents about the encampment.
-- According to McAfee, the huge internet security company, Homeland Security should be paying close attention to Occupiers. The internet security firm says that it is very likely that Occupiers and Anonymous will join forces to strike out at transportation computers and other vulnerable systems. To read more about their predictions and what they believe should be done to counteract these issues, look here: http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20111228_8727.php?oref=topnews
That's all the news I have for today, everyone. I am considering doing some independent academic research on the Occupy movement, and possibly using this to publish in an academic journal or book. If you would like to be part of this, and wouldn't mind giving me opinions and possibly answering some surveys or other interviews, please email me at the address below and let me know. I greatly appreciate your help!
***Solidarity***
If you have any questions, comments, corrections, information, or are interested in taking part in my research, please contact me at elvishbutterfly@hotmail.com. Thank you all so much.
"-- Occupy Santa Fe may be moving on soon, but not at the orders of police. Members of the movement say they are concerned with the amount of drinking and drugs, and that some addicts have been threatening the safety of the Occupiers. They say they are worried about the potential for violence, and that those who have left already will not be returning."
ReplyDeleteInteresting that city officials haven't indicated what they were willing to do to protect the members of the 99%, not only from the drugs and violence. They should start with rethinking their commitment to serving the 99% with better programs for the homeless in Santa Fe.