Day 17. Liveblog for #OccupyWallStreet events and news, posted daily at opening bell time, 9:30am Eastern. Updates are be below in the diary (with timestamps, newest first) and in the comments from various people.
Also look for the #OccupyWallStreet and other #Occupy movements in the latest Mothership Resource diary for wider coverage and information.
Resources:
Livestream:
www.livestream.com/globalrevolution
Donations:
Link: All information about donations can be found here: nycga.cc/donate
Physical mailing address:
Do look at the nycga.cc/donate link above for information about sending things.
The UPS Store
Re: Occupy Wall Street
118A Fulton St. #205
New York, NY 10038
In person: If you go to Zuccotti Park Liberty Plaza/Park/Square you can also easily deliver money and/or goods straight to the people. They have committees who accept and take good care of your donations immediately and very graciously.
Web sites:
OccupyWallSt.org
OccupyTogether.org (Be patient with this one. They are having trouble keeping up with the traffic).
Facebook:
OccupyWallSt
Occupy Together
Twitter:
@OccupyWallSt
@OccupyTogether
Updates
(All times are Eastern)
8:30pm: The Nation:
Occupy Wall Street: Why So Many Demands for Demands?
8:22pm: The Nation:
We Are All Human Microphones Now
It is, of course, ironic that New York City’s attempt to crackdown on political protest by restricting “amplified sound” unwittingly ended up contributing to the structural strength of its rowdiest protest in decades. But like in Egypt or Argentina or Belarus or other places where the authorities sought to silence speech, the people found a way to be heard. So how about it, can I get a mic check for this one: The people have the power.
8:17pm: Carney sort of responds to question about #OccupyWallStreet but says that he has not spoken to the president about it.
White House on Occupy Wall Street: `We understand’
8:02pm:
@TheOther99 TheOther99
CONFIRMED: Deepak Chopra to address #OccupyWallStreet momentarily...
13 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone
http://twitter.com/...
6:51pm: From the livestream: Monica announced that the Wednesday march is at 4:30pm, not 3pm.
6:28pm:
Progressives Gathered In DC Hail The Occupy Wall Street Protesters
The opening session of the Take Back The American Dream Conference here in Washington — a progressive confab led by former Obama administration official and Glenn Beck enemy Number One Van Jones — sought to find common ground with the protest movement on Wall Street, which some are already looking towards as the start of a progressive tea party.
Attendees here opened the conference an hour early for an update on the growing protests in New York, and talk of the occupation on Wall Street sprinkled into the opening speeches.
6:12pm:
On Al Sharpton's MSNBC show, a young gentleman wearing a suit is being interviewed.
Harrison Schultz: "As a sociologist I think this is the beginning of a revolution."
Al Sharpton: "Change must come and the only thing that is clear is that sitting down doing nothing is getting us nowhere."
6:17pm: There is a diary about the City Hall press conference here: Press conference: Announcement of solidarity, City Hall
6:12pm:
On Al Sharpton's MSNBC show, a young gentleman wearing a suit is being interviewed.
Harrison Schultz: "As a sociologist I think this is the beginning of a revolution."
Al Sharpton: "Change must come and the only thing that is clear is that sitting down doing nothing is getting us nowhere."
5:30pmThe livestream is back at Liberty/Zucotti. It's raining. I don't see any sign of Broadway being "blocked off" but what they may have meant is that they put barriers along Broadway against the curbs. I don't see or hear any sign of a march but that doesn't mean there wasn't one going on elsewhere.
5:10pm: On the way to City Hall Thoren said there were a lot of trucks carrying barriers. Now on the way back, the traveling guy with Thoren is telling him that they have blocked off Broadway. Thoren is wondering why, is it for the Wednesday march? The other guy says that he thinks there is a 5pm march.
4:55pm:
#OccupyWallStreet Press Conference at City Hall. Alexander Penley, Penley Global Law, a lawyer, spoke about the NYPD and how some of them are refusing to come to work in protest of the way #OccupyWallStreet is being treated by the department. He also spoke about how it should be illegal for Chase to give $4.6 million to NYPD and about how we have legal rights on paper but not in reality. Someone else spoke about how Bloomberg's legacy could be defined by this treatment of the #OccupyWallStreet movement. Others are speaking too. Someone fron the Islamic Leadership Council is wrapping it up. He asks why we are subsidizing the rich and not the poor. Those people of #OccupyWallStreet stand for true Americanism. Stand up for justice.
I don't see any news cameras but it appears that there are some journalists interviewing people now that the press conference is over. The livestream is headed back to Zuccotti.
4:45pm: Thoren is walking to City Hall for the press conference with the livestream laptop. He was required to go through security and a metal detector. 6500 people are watching the feed. People in the chat stream were saying "We're going through the metal detector?" "Wheeee!" and "Do they know that we're in here?" It was
4:33pm:
@TCorp Ƭɑɳɨɳ
#OccupyWallstreet is starting to march on New York city hall for a press conference NOW. 4 people arrested before even marching.
4 minutes ago via web
http://twitter.com/...
@BPGulfLeak Green Energy 绿色能源
#occupywallstreet About to march to City Hall for press conf. / 4 arrests just now for wearing bandanas over face
7 minutes ago via HootSuite
http://twitter.com/...
4:26pm: On livestream, Monica just announced that four people were just arrested for having scarves over their mouths. Just before that they said that they were going to march (to City Hall?) in support of the girl who was arrested last night for no reason (the one whose bike they cut in half, presumably). I am not sure if that march is canceled now.
4:06pm: Well this is the first time I've seen this -- they are singing using the people's microphone, led by Bethany. Bethany is the daughter of the niece of Eugene McCarthy.
And now everyone is singing "We Shall Overcome".
Peter and his former wife, Mary Beth McCarthy (the niece of the late Minnesota senator Eugene McCarthy, who was an anti-war Democratic presidential contender in 1968; Peter met Mary Beth at a rally in Portland, Oregon) have two adult children, Christopher and Bethany. Chris lives in Portland and is the co-owner of The Monkey and the Rat, a two-location emporium of Asian antiques; and Bethany lives in New York. A strikingly beautiful woman with a strong and passionate voice, Bethany, with her performing partner, cellist Rufus Cappadocia, travels throughout the world, taking the message of Operation Respect to war- and conflicttorn countries. As she was taken as a child to peace marches and concerts, she now takes her daughter, Valentina, 2.
For children-and grandparents-dragons do live forever.
http://www.grandmagazine.com/...
3:55pm: Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary are at Liberty Square singing "If I Had a Hammer" right now on the livestream.
2:52pm: Sounds like #OccupyHouston is really getting it together with the organizing work.
.@OccupyHouston has an Excellent list of Do's and Don'ts for #occupywallstreet activities http://bit.ly/... Read and RT #occupyhouston
2:40pm: #OccupyLA is broadcasting on the livestream.
2:37pm: #OccupyBoston is marching today.
‘Occupy Boston’ protesters march peacefully through downtown Boston
11:37am: From artisan in the comments: OWS is on DemocracyNow! this morning. Also from artisan:
Democracy Now! wins settlement... from Minneapolis St Paul police and Secret Service for abuse directed at press during Republican convention. Press conference to be held at 1pm at the corner of Liberty and Broadway near Occupation.
11:25am: CBS is setting up a camera on a stand and a journalist is walking around. Someone said (it might have been the journalist) "You have your own media. Why is that?" LOL. I guess CBS is allowed to have structures. Member of the OWS media team wanted to interview them but he says they weren't interested.
11:24am: Now they are showing nine sandwiches in boxes. Each sandwich looks to be about six feet long. I assume these were sent from someone.
11:10am: Reading the letters and noting that most of them have donations enclosed. One sample:
- "I know it's not much but it's all I could do right now... IWW member" (from Largo, Florida)
11:08am: Just finishing up opening the packages and reading the notes, and dispatching goods to the applicable committee areas:
- Air horns/blow horns from a person who notes that they also sent a bass drum.
- First aid kit. Got a big cheer.
- A big box of socks! This got a very big cheer. One woman said "What do we want? Socks! When do we want them? Always!"
- A big box of pineapples from Maui. It's a huge hit. Reaction: "Whoooo!" "Everybody grab a pineapple for a photo op!" "These are the people's pineapples!" "I gotta tweet that picture of the pineapples"
- Books for the library
- A whole bunch of letters: "Don't let the man get you down. Stay true."
- People in the chat room are very excited about the pineapples too.
- Herbal tea
- Organic ginger something, shea butter, tea filters, echinacea
- Reaction: "I love people, you guys" "I love alternative medicine" "Thank you Emma P."
- A big box from New Hampshire with candy, cough drops, cotton swabs, deodorant, and lots of other carefully chosen things.
Reaction: "I hope there's a love letter in there. We love the love letters. Oh there's a postcard and they circled where they are" "We love you Julie!" "Candy!"
- Tobacco and rolling papers and a love letter "Hi brothers and sisters... I'm coming up from Charlotte, NC in a week..." Gives a phone number. "Stay strong #OccupyCharlotte" Reaction: "Hey should we call them right now? Yeah!" and they're calling. "Hello? This is #OccupyWallStreet. (Lots of cheering) We wanted to thank you for your love and support. We're talking to you on the livestream right now. We could really use some good weather so if you could bring that up with you... Do you have any questions for us?" Jason is now telling him that it would be very difficult for him to park his bus in NYC, to park in Jersey and take the PATH train. Phone call ends very warmly.
- Another manilla envelope of tobacco. Menthol this time. Reaction: "Yes, my life has gotten better"
- They are making a list of who sent things so they can send thank yous.
- They are putting the medical supplies away at the medic's station. They showed a sign there that says "Total medics arrested: 8 Total medics discouraged: 0"
Note: They are walking around and still streaming so I assume they got new 4G hotspots.
10:38am: Livestream is live. They got a delivery of packages and are opening them. On the livestream there have been many requests for things to help them keep warm: sleeping bags, bivi bags, blankets, hats, gloves, socks!, thermal underwear, sweatshirts.
10:30am: jpmassar points out in the comments that OWS has a wikipedia page
Occupy Wall Street
10:15am: Transport Workers Union does not want to drive buses of protesters who were arrested and they are going to court today to try to stop NYPD from commandeering buses and drivers for this purpose. Their union president calls it "a blatant act of political retaliation."
TWU blasts city for putting handcuffed Occupy Wall Street protesters on buses
The Transport Workers Union will go to court Monday to try to stop the city from forcing bus drivers to transport Wall Street protesters arrested by the NYPD, the Daily News has learned.
[ ... ]
"TWU Local 100 supports the protesters on Wall Street and takes great offense that the mayor and NYPD have ordered operators to transport citizens who were exercising their constitutional right to protest - and shouldn't have been arrested in the first place," Samuelsen said Sunday night.
10:00am:
NYTimes: For Some, Zuccotti Park Becomes a Must-See Attraction
As the protest has grown in stature and size in recent days, it has drawn more than merely new recruits to Zuccotti Park. Tourists have also flocked here; some said they wanted to witness or take a photo of what they see as a moment in history; others lured to the site by the siren song of drum circles when en route to usual attractions like the World Trade Center site or Century 21.
9:51am: I can't access Twitter via the web and the situation was the same all day yesterday. I can access it via Tweetdeck with no problem. Anybody else having trouble? For instance does the Twitter home page load for you?
9:48am: Weather Channel says it is 54 º and cloudy in NYC right now. The weather forecast:
Overcast with showers at times. Thunder possible. High near 60F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
9:45am: Livestream is not live right now. Don't know if they did their daily opening bell march. I also have not heard whether they were able to get new G4 hotspots to replace the ones the police took. As of yesterday morning all three hotspots were gone (two lost during arrests, don't know what happened to the other one) and they could only broadcast from their stationary position in the media center in the park and could not move around. They won't be able to broadcast from marches until they get that situation resolved.
9:35am:
Two more YouTube videos of the bike sawing incident last night:
9:12am: Footage of the scene when protesters entered the bridge roadway on Saturday. This video, posted yesterday on YouTube, is closer and clearer than those I've seen before.
8:00am:
Two tweets from Richard Engel on Saturday:
@richardengelnbc
Expect nypd to react strongly to protests. 'We won't let what happened in london to go on,' I was told
Was told nypd dusted off old scooters from republican convention to deal with protests
7:00am: Via the livestream and Twitter:
Last night there was an incident at Liberty Square with the NYPD and a woman on a bicycle. I heard them talking about it on the livestream very late last night. NYPD asked the woman to do something. I could not quite make out what they were saying on the livestream but it might have been that they asked her for ID. I did hear this part clearly though: The woman locked her leg to the bicycyle. Then the NYPD came in with a saw and cut the bike in half and arrested the woman. The guy on livestream said they came in with jaws of life equipment but a man on the street in the YouTube video below says it was a concrete demolition saw.
Jim Roberts (@nytjim) from the NYTimes retweets @owsbot:
@nytjim
Jim Roberts
RT @owsbot: Police bring out chainsaw to cut girls bike apart. Seriously WTF? youtu.be/abo1Ni2i3kk #OccupyWallStreet
http://twitter.com/...
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