Hello everyone.
On the last day of January, it is going to be over 60 degrees here. Isn't that odd? We've got lots to talk about today, so let's get to it!
Here's the news:
-- More news is coming out of Oakland. Yesterday, Mayor Jean Quan said that she will be contacting the "leaders" of the Occupy movement to ask them to condemn the violence displayed by Occupy Oakland. Just the day before, she had said that the violence was caused by a fringe group. (Swinging opinions much?) Fox News has also started a Corporate Media trend of calling the demonstration the "Oakland Riots," and other media branches are following suit. (Nice to know they're staying objective.)
-- Occupy Austin has started a petition to stop the city from power washing City Hall three times a week. Right now, the city washes the building on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., leading Occupiers to have to wake up, pack their belongings and come back later to sleep on wet ground. The protesters say this isn't just about saving water, as they believe this is a tactic to break them down. (Tactic or not, for a state that uses up to 80% of their limited freshwater supplies to water lawns and power wash buildings, I'd say they need to cut down a bit.)
-- Occupy DC remains in place in full force, tents and all. Protesters braced for an eviction as rumors flew yesterday, but so far, no police actions have been taken. The Park Service says the tents will be allowed to remain, as long as one side remains open so they can see inside. A tarp has been draped over a statue of Civil War General James B. McPherson, and has been named the "Tent of Dreams."
-- The city of Chapel Hill will not be bringing in or allowing an outside investigation of the events that took place in November. Police had used riot gear and assault rifles in their raid of an abandoned car shop that had been taken over by Occupiers. Chapel Hill city council members conducted an internal investigation, saying that the force used was appropriate. They will not allow an independent investigation because they believe it would have any advantages over their own, and may even lead people to withhold information due to the public nature, causing more charges to be laid. (So basically, "We don't want someone else to look, because if they find something we didn't, we'll have to charge people, and that would make us look bad." Ugh.)
-- Occupy San Diego attempted to make a citizen's arrest yesterday, charging the Mayor with embezzlement stemming from the unapproved name change of the Qualcomm stadium in December. According to public record, taxpayers lost money when the Mayor approved the changes without the approval of the City Council. Qualcomm had asked the Mayor to change the stadium name to "Snapdragon" Stadium, to promote their new line of cell phones, paying the city only $1000 to cover the extra staff needed. Qualcomm reportedly made over $125,000 in the exchange. Occupiers say they are presenting the information to the D.A., and if she doesn't take action, they will go to the State's Attorney.
-- A teenager has been arrested for the murder of his foster parents, and police believe that the family troubles had worsened because the boy was spending too much time at the Oakland Occupy movement. The 15 year old allegedly strangled the two, and put them in the car with blankets on top of them, before setting the car ablaze in an attempt to cover things up. Police say that he reportedly killed them directly after an argument concerning the time he spent at Occupy.
-- Occupy Minneapolis is showing its face again. Occupiers moved into an abandoned church for about 45 minutes on Saturday, before police arrived and told them to vacate the premises or be arrested. Occupiers say they moved into the building to show that people "have the power to reclaim and liberate" spaces. Police boarded up the doors as soon as the protesters left.
-- Occupy Charlotte has been raided twice within 24 hours. The first raid, yesterday afternoon, ended with at least seven people arrested as protesters locked legs and sat down to prevent their removal. They were pulled apart by officers and arrested for delaying and obstructing an officer. The second raid occurred this morning, as police shined spotlights on sleeping Occupiers, demanding that the leave immediately. No arrests were made in the second eviction. Occupiers will be in court today, protesting the new law that they say violates their free speech and assembly rights.
-- Occupy London is outraged due to the actions of a bailiff on Monday night. The bailiff, who had apparently been involved in a fight with Occupiers, got in his car and drove through them, with one man clinging to the hood for roughly 50 yards before falling off. Police did nothing to stop this action, and Occupiers are publicly asking them why they did not move to protect the citizens. You can read the article and watch the video here: http://rt.com/news/occupy-london-eviction-police-091/
***Solidarity***
To contact me for any reason, please email me at elvishbutterfly@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading.
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