Saturday, February 4, 2012

Updates 2/4/12

Hello everyone.


We all knew it was coming. With Occupy DC being investigated by several congressmen to find out why they were still allowed to stay, we all knew it was only a matter of time before they forced their rules on the park service. And of course, they did. Early this morning dozens of police swept into McPherson Square, arresting four and tearing down tarps and tents. They said "It's not an eviction," as they threw away blankets and sleeping bags, sometimes taking tents that had nothing inside, the "vigil tents" that Occupiers are allowed to have. Occupiers made an agreement to remove the tarp, collapsing the "tent of dreams." They were surprised at the sheer number of police, as well as the fact that they brought mounted officers and a paddy wagon. I wish I was surprised at that. The four arrested were refusing to leave the central area of the park so the personnel dressed in Haz-Mat suits could clean.


Oakland has another protest planned for today, in a continuance of their series of Saturday marches. They will be marching on the Oakland Police Department to file claims of abuse at the hands of police, due to the events last week. Protesters were kenneled into a corner and told they were being arrested for failure to disperse, but many Occupiers are saying there were no previous announcements. They are saying that police officers used military tactics against the unarmed protesters.


In a bit of good news, Occupy Rochester can breathe easier for the time being. Protesters reached a deal with the city, allowing them to remain in their Occupation spot until March 11. Occupiers started the conversation with the city after being harassed by police, who repeatedly asked them for identification around 2 a.m. on Thursday. The city wants them to leave after March 11 to allow the planting of grass seed. Occupiers offered to do the job for the city, but the city replied that they would rather do it themselves.


Anonymous is displaying its hacking prowess again, as the hacktivist group attacked the Boston PD website yesterday, taking it down and leaving their own message. Anonymous is apparently quite angry with how police handled the Occupy Boston movement, saying "So you get your kicks beating protesters? That's OK; we get our kicks defacing your websites - - again." While Boston PD claimed to have their "skillful technical staff" working to rectify the issue, as of 5 p.m. yesterday, the site was still redirecting to the PD's Facebook page. Also in Anonymous news, the group released an audio recording of a conversation between the FBI and the British Cybercrime Unit, intended on tracking down members of Anonymous and prosecuting them. The FBI said that the information was meant for law enforcement only, and was illegally obtained.



That's all for today, everyone.


***Solidarity***


If you'd like to contact me, please do so at elvishbutterfly@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading.

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