OWS Zucotti Park

[Riot]

The Observer’s Hunter Walker: “NYPD is blocking press and others from immediate vicinity of Liberty Plaza” he reports. “Here with credentialed photogs from NYT, WSJ and Reuters they’re also being barred from #occupywallstreet.”

Ben Doerenberg: Over the next 12 hours, both independent and mainstream journalists were prevented from covering the story, and 8 credentialed journalists (including AP, NPR, NY Daily News) were arrested.

New York Observer Politics Reporter Hunter Walker: I was blocked from viewing nypd raid at #occupywallstreet along with reporters from cnbc, nbc, cbs, wsj and reuters

NPR Freelancer Julie Walker and NY Times blog The Local reporter Jared Malsin were arrested by the NYPD, along with an unknown AFP photographer: Am still reporting on #OWS for NPR since being released from jail following my arrest.

Update 1:21pm --- 5 more credentialed journalists arrested, 2 from the Associated Press, 2 from DNAinfo,.com and 1 from the New York Daily News

AP Assistant Bureau Chief Chad Roedemeier: AP reporter Karen Matthews and AP photographer Seth Wenig were arrested by #NYPD while covering #Occupy protests.

New York Daily News: Our reporter Matthew Lysiak says that he has been arrested at the 6th Avenue park bit.ly/vl2NpO

Even Murdoch's NY Post reporters: New York Times Reporter Brian Stelter: I'm w/ a NY Post reporter who says he was roughed up by riot police as Zuccotti was cleared. He thinks violence was "completely deliberate." brianstelter 9 hours ago ReplyRetweet Per @LindseyChrist, riot police didn't distinguish between media & protesters. "They took a Post reporter and threw him in a choke hold."

Just as the raid began, the CBS helicopter that was filming Zuccotti Park was ordered to vacate the airspace by the NYPD, as confirmed by Reuters Social Media editor Anthony De Rosa "I just spoke with the CBS News desk and they were told to leave the airspace above Zuccotti Park by NYPD

The NYPD also attempted to prevent media from seeing what was going on from outside the park:

Gothamist reporter Christopher Robbins:".@Newyorkist myself, @_rosiegray @JulieShapiro and NYT's Rob Harris were all forcefully removed from park, past Cortland & Broadway

Christopher Robbins 9 hours ago ReplyRetweet: Ryan Devereaux of Democracy Now, contributor to The Guardian, The Nation and others: “Police parked two NYPD busses in front of press cage, engines running, blocking shots of square. Yelling at media trying to work. #ows

Ryan Devereaux 12 hours ago ReplyRetweet “Police are now pushing the press off the block. They just took the press pass off ab NBC news anchor. #OWS

Ryan Devereaux 13 hours ago ReplyRetweet: NYPD inspector who took press badge from NBC4's @glorioso4ny and refused to give name http://twitpic.com/...

Newyorkist 12 hours ago ReplyRetweet Columbia Journalism student and reporter Andrew Katz confirmed that even the Associated Press was kept out: “Walking with an @AP videographer to try and get a better view. NYPD wouldn't tell us why press is being penned #OWS

Andrew Katz 12 hours ago: ReplyRetweet: "Even after the park was cleared, the NYPD continued to prevent press from covering events on public streets: “We are being stopped by police from going further South on Broadway along with a credentialed Japanese TV crew. -NewYorkObserver"

More from the Observer: Speaking of reporters, the New York Daily News has been trying to keep tabs on which ones have been detained by police: “AP writer Karen Matthews was taken into custody; also AP photographer Seth Wenig and Daily News reporter Matthew Lysiak,” were all noted as having been arrested by the Daily News.

DNAInfo.com Managing Editor Michael Ventura confirmed with The NY Observer that their reporter Patrick Hedlund was arrested at 4:30 A.M. this morning while covering the OWS protests on the perimeter of Zuccotti Park.

A freelance photographer working for the online publication was also arrested. Paul Lomax was arrested at Duarte Square on Canal and Sixth Avenue later in the day as protesters were moving towards the area. Both Mr. Hedlund and Mr. Lomax were wearing NYPD-issued press credentials at the time of the arrest, according to a Mr. Ventura. Hedlund has already been released and received a Desk Appearance Ticket, he added.

Brian Stelter of NY Times 3:00 p.m. | Updated As New York City police cleared the Occupy Wall Street campsite in Zuccotti Park early Tuesday morning, many journalists were blocked from observing and interviewing protesters. Some called it a “media blackout” and said in interviews that they believed that the police efforts were a deliberate attempt to tamp down coverage of the operation.

As the police approached the park they did not distinguish between protesters and members of the press, said Lindsey Christ, a reporter for NY1, a local cable news channel. “Those 20 minutes were some of the scariest of my life,” she said.

Ms. Christ said that police officers took a New York Post reporter standing near her and “threw him in a choke-hold.”

Later in the morning, even when there were media reports that Zuccotti Park was reopening, reporters had a hard time getting access to the area. Debra Alfarone, a reporter at WPIX, the CW affiliate in New York City, wrote on Twitter around 8:45 a.m., “And we got kicked out of #zuccottipark again.”

At midday, as protesters tried to claim a vacant lot owned by a church, a confrontation ensued and at least four journalists were led away in plastic handcuffs. The City Room blog of The New York Times said that the journalists included a reporter and a photographer from The Associated Press, a reporter from The Daily News and a photographer from DNAInfo.

From the Gothamist:

During our coverage of the eviction of the Occupy Wall Street protesters early this morning, a NPR reporter, a New York Times reporter, and a city councilmember were arrested. Airspace in Lower Manhattan was closed to CBS and NBC news choppers by the NYPD, a New York Post reporter was allegedly put in a "choke hold" by the police, a NBC reporter's press pass was confiscated and a large group of reporters and protesters were hit with pepper spray. According to the eviction notice, the park was merely "cleaned and restored for its intended use." If this is the case, why were so few people permitted to view it?

NY Daily News:

3:52 PMRoque Planas: In addition to the four reporters whose arrests we blogged about earlier today, The Guardian notes the arrests of another three journalists -- news editor for DNAinfo.com Patrick Hedlund, freelance photographer for DNAinfo.com Paul Lomax and freelance reporter Jared Malsin.

3:50 PMKaren ZraickThe Deadline Club of NY has issued a statement on arrests of journalists: "The Deadline Club condemns the actions of the New York Police Department in detaining journalists who were covering the Occupy Wall Street protests today. As the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Deadline Club believes that a free press is a cornerstone of our democracy and opposes any police interference with journalists in the lawful pursuance of their reporting. We urge that any journalists who are in custody be released and that any charges against the journalists detained today be dropped immediately."

1:55 PMRoque Planas: Police arrested writer Karen Matthews and photographer Seth Wenig of the Associated Press while the two were covering the confrontation between police and OWS protesters today, the AP reported. Along with National Public Radio freelance reporter Julie Walker (who has been released) and the Daily News' own Matthew Lysiak, that makes at least four journalists arrested while covering the OWS eviction and ensuring protests today.

Follow the literal trashing of the library at this twitter feed.

Tech Herald secondary reporting:

, if a surprise eviction on the pretense of sanitation and random police violence wasn’t bad enough, the NYPD showed a disturbing lack of judgment when they attempted to shutdown press coverage of the raid, implementing a media blackout by threatening arrest.

It started with a news helicopter being forced to land after the airspace over the park was ordered closed off. Soon after, reports started to come in on Twitter form those on the ground that accredited media, with clearly marked credentials, were being forced to leave the area.

Reporters from the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, NBC, CBS, Reuters, and the New York Observer, were all subjected to the media blackout. According to reports, a handful of journalists were moved far away from the park, but in some cases others were stripped of their media passes and told to leave or be arrested.

As of 03:00 EST, at least two journalists were arrested, and two others from the New York Times left the park in order to avoid arrest. One journalist from NPR was clearly wearing her credentials as police took her away. At last count, 106 people were arrested during the raid.

“Cops at #OWS keep confiscating press passes, then arresting press with and without passes. Illegal and stupid,” said one report posted on Twitter.

Matt Cowgill, commenting from Australia, summed up the mood of many journalists watching the reports on Twitter, in addition to live video from the protesters themselves with, “I don't see how ejecting accredited journalists from a public place is defensible in a democracy.”

At 05:00 EST, CNN was running coverage, using video feeds provided by the protesters, reporters on cell phones, and comments from Twitter. But the real coverage will start later this morning, as Occupy protesters return in force, and Mayor Bloomberg answers hard questions.

[dellinger63]

Overnight camping in NYC parks in fact 99% of the country's city parks is illegal. This is the result of 'looking the other way'.

Comical in the fact protesters are all about coveting other's possessions but when theirs are touched?

Hint to Protesters: Go find a nice State Park where overnight camping is available, for a fee of course, and ponder how people like Oprah, Michael Moore and Steve Jobs became 1 percenters in a fixed system. Then grow up!

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

where s the peoples champion obama to rescue them..90 perc of these folks voted for change..they got it..and how are these protesters who are complaining about no jobs out looking for work when they are 'protesting'.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

where s the peoples champion obama to rescue them..90 perc of these folks voted for change..they got it..and how are these protesters who are complaining about no jobs out looking for work when they are 'protesting'.

Probably the same way I am betting on Churchill Downs today without actually going to the track.

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by jms62

Probably the same way I am betting on Churchill Downs today without actually going to the track.

Hopefully without the scabies, lice and lung ailments

[jms62]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

Hopefully without the scabies, lice and lung ailments

I confirm I have none of them

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

where s the peoples champion obama to rescue them..90 perc of these folks voted for change..they got it..and how are these protesters who are complaining about no jobs out looking for work when they are 'protesting'.

yeah, how dare American citizens protest wonderful champions of humanity like the government and Wall Street, who we all know have the best interests for the American people at heart.

I doubt the 90% thing is even close to true. Many Republicans, Libertarians and Tea Party members are part of Occupy Wall Street.

[Antitrust32]

my cousin, an 18 year old freshman at UNC Charlotte, started Occupy UNCC. Our entire family is extremely proud and supportive of him and his cause. and you wont find one liberal in this family. When will people realize this has NOTHING to do with partisan politics.

http://nineronline.com/2011/occupy-u...begin-protest/

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

my cousin, an 18 year old freshman at UNC Charlotte, started Occupy UNCC. Our entire family is extremely proud and supportive of him and his cause. and you wont find one liberal in this family. When will people realize this has NOTHING to do with partisan politics.

http://nineronline.com/2011/occupy-u...begin-protest/

Good for him!

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

yeah, how dare American citizens protest wonderful champions of humanity like the government and Wall Street, who we all know have the best interests for the American people at heart.

I doubt the 90% thing is even close to true. Many Republicans, Libertarians and Tea Party members are part of Occupy Wall Street.

True. Most of the protesters are employed, many are not just "students" or the young. Many are at the various Occupy protests while they are on vacation days.

The Occupy movement is primarily protesting the ownership of this government by monied corporate interests, to the detriment of the vast majority of it's citizens.

That people are defending that shows how effective their propaganda machine has been over the past 40 years.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Being in the park around the clock is legal, but camping out in it is NOT legal. That is referenced by the term "camping out".

Actually, no, the judge just ruled camping out illegal yesterday in the overturning of the temporary restraining order. There was no reference to camping before that in this type of park, only the NYC owned parks. That's why there was alot of confusion in the first forty days, and why Bloomberg allowed it.

Until, at 1:00am with only 10 minutes warning, he sent in his stormtroopers to illegal seize citizens property, and arrest them for exercising their constitutional rights.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Bloomberg allowed it because he is a liberal whose girlfriend is on the park's ownership's board.

Then what was his excuse for sending in storm troopers at 1:00am yesterday?

How many times have YOU walked around Zuccotti Park?

None. I know very well the dimensions of the park, having watched multiple live feeds, including overheads, over the past six weeks. Yeah, it's very small. When multiple news feeds show and say there are two to three thousand people there when it opened yesterday at 5:00pm, and yeah, it sure looks like that - I believe it.

You are free to continue deny that's physically possible.

(And why could you not take the time to spell it correctly in your thread title?)

Well, I think that disallows anything I say about it, certainly!

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Cardus

I recant: there must be not thousands, but MILLIONS in that picture!

MILLIONS!

Where did you protest, you occupier, you?

I actually happened to be watching the live feed when the Bloomberg stormtroopers busted in, and stayed with it for another couple hours. It was amazing to see that unfold live on the Ustream and Twitter, and Kos.

Then I sent them a $200 donation (see their website for the link, I'm sure you'll want to donate) to help OWS replace the destroyed computers, books and medical equipment

[geeker2]

Originally Posted by Cardus

I recant: there must be not thousands, but MILLIONS in that picture!

MILLIONS!

Where did you protest, you occupier, you?

ROR !!

Have you seen Fish lately ?

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Cardus

If the Dailykos is on the scene, then it is certainly not a liberal movement.

If information was available about Occupy on Red State or Big Government, I'd be looking there

But yes, those godless hippies do tend to be more giving towards the rights of others - versus, say, Boehner, Cantor, McConnell Of course, the Ron Paulites are there, too. Republicans, Independents ...

OccupyWallSt.org:

Tomorrow, Thursday November 17th, marks two months since the start of Occupy Wall Street as well as International Students Day. To commemorate this two month anniversary, Occupy Wall Street will take to the streets in celebration and in solidarity with people around the world participating in a massive global day of action in hundreds of cities.

7:00am — Shut Down Wall Street
We will gather in Liberty Square at 7:00am, before the ring of the Trading Floor Bell, to prepare to confront Wall Street with the stories of people on the frontlines of economic injustice.

3:00pm — Occupy the Subway
We will gather at 3:00pm at 16 central subway hubs and take our own stories to the trains, using the "People's Mic". Details here.

5:00pm — Take the Square, Festival of Lights on Brooklyn Bridge
At 5:00pm thousands will gather at Foley Square in solidarity with laborers demanding jobs to rebuild this country's infrastructure and economy. They will encircle City Hall and march across the Brooklyn Bridge, carrying thousands of handheld lights, as a festival of lights to celebrate two months of a new movement to reclaim our democracy.

There are events planned in numerous major cities:

In Boston, Detroit, Washington DC, Portland and Seattle, protesters, some allied with union workers and community groups, will march on high-profile bridges in order to highlight the problem of America's crumbling and underfunded infrastructure.

"We don't want to make this about police and protesters," said Stephen Squibb, an organiser with Occupy Boston, whose group will target the city's North Washington Street bridge. "It is about jobs and other things. That has been our message for two months and we are going to keep saying it," he added.

The range of activities across America spans a spectrum from the dramatic to the small-scale, including teach-ins, rallies and direct actions aimed at banks and corporations. In Portland, Oregon, protesters plan to target a city bridge and then try to organise flashmobs to go to local banks. In Detroit, protesters are marching from their camp downtown to the city's municipal centre, where they aim to highlight the brutal impact of government cuts on ordinary citizens.

[P]rotesters in Atlanta will hold events targeting two major corporations in the form of Home Depot and Verizon. In Las Vegas, protesters have vowed to set up an early morning encampment outside a federal building downtown and stay until police remove them. In Chicago, a major rally is planned with local union workers and community groups.

In Memphis, a "midnight march" is planned through the city centre. In Phoenix, local members of the movement are targeting the city's light rail network during the morning rush hour.

We are at a necessary evolution point in the Occupy movement. I say "necessary" for two reasons: one, because of the hard truth that cities around the nation simply cannot tolerate camping as a form of free speech, thus necessitating a response to "putting tents up" that is increasingly relying on tear gas, riot gear, and mass arrests.

Two, because they aren't listening. The government, Wall Street, the media: they simply aren't listening yet. Most press coverage revolves around which cities beat the holy hell out of which protestors on any given day or which senior citizen posed such a damn threat to the riot-gear-laden police that they needed to be pepper sprayed, but the underlying messages of income inequality, corporate corruption and a captured government are, unsurprisingly, still being stonewalled.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn't want people camping in his park anymore. Fine, then: he will push the protests into taking another form. That's probably good for the movement, and probably is probably going to be worse for him.

More Occupy news:

* Federal prosecution of financial fraud is at a 20-year low. Now, let's reflect on that. The whole "meltdown of the economy due to massive frauds perpetrated by top financial firms" bit would, you would think, have resulted in lighting a fire under prosecutors of such fraud. Nope. A Twenty. Year. Low. In the last few years, prosecutions for financial fraud have dropped to about one third of what those numbers were in the 1990's.

So if you were thinking that all of the high-profile news about slap-on-the-wrist, no-fault-admitted settlements for foreclosure fraud, selling fraudulent derivatives and the like sounded like the government was going remarkably easy on instances of Wall Street fraud, congratulations: apparently, you're right.

* The New York Press Club is asking for an investigation into the harassment and arrests of reporters during yesterday's enforced media blackout during the eviction at Zuccotti. Bloomberg says such things are done "routinely", which either means he's a damn idiot or there's an even bigger story to be written about ongoing NYPD abuse of reporters.

* Most of the books from the confiscated Occupy Wall Street Library were damaged or destroyed, as well as other personal property:

“There are only about 25 boxes of books; many of the books are destroyed. Laptops here but destroyed. Can’t find tent or shelves.”

“Many books destroyed. Most equipment -and structures missing. . . most of library is missing (ALL of the reference section btw), damaged or destroyed. “

Remember, this was done because Bloomberg and the park owners were concerned about protesters possibly damaging the property. But screw you, protesters, we'll damage whatever the hell we want.

* From Salon, the headline sums it up:
"Daily News cheers Occupy Wall Street raid, until Daily News reporter is arrested"
Their reaction went from "Bravo" to calling the action "alarming" and calling their attorney. Funny how that works. Oh, and no word on whether that reporter still has a working laptop.

* New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez says he was detained for over 17 hours after being arrested during the Occupy Wall Street eviction, and was denied access to his attorney until just before release.

* Continuing the theme of New York law enforcement treating everyone like dirt, all the time: private security calling people "faggots". Yes, there's video.

* Elsewhere in the nation, America's most successful political liar has a grumpy day:
http://thinkprogress.org/...

“Karl Rove is the architect of Occupy Iraq, the architect of Occupy Afghanistan!” yelled the demonstrators. Occupy Baltimore had infiltrated the crowd and began chanting against Rove. “Who gave you the right to occupy America?” asked Rove to the protesters [...]

Who gave them the "right" to occupy America? Thomas f---ing Jefferson, jackass.

* Occupy Cal drew an estimated crowd of 10,000 people to the UC Berkeley campus last night. More pics here.
* Occupy Atlanta working to help prevent a foreclosure.

* I've been looking for news on repercussions against officers who have been videotaped using excessive force against protesters: pepper spraying sitting people, shooting people at close range with rubber bullets or tear gas, using nightsticks on people who are quite obviously not resisting. Anyone see squat about such things? No? All right, just checking.

To keep up with Occupy related events, especially local actions and first-person accounts from our community, follow the Occupy Wall Street group and the Occupy Wall Street tag right here http://www.dailykos.com/

[Antitrust32]

"Whose responsibility is all this? It's ours. We must take responsibility. I never made a shady loan, created a mortgage-backed security, or used loopholes to keep from paying my taxes. But the people who created this situation did it right before our eyes. They did it because we, the people, didn't scrutinize them, didn't hold them accountable. It was too complex. It was too much to try and learn. It was way over there in D.C. and Wall Street and had nothing to do with our day-to-day lives.

We are guilty of distractibility, of laziness in our democracy. And while we were all sleeping, a few clever individuals rigged the entire system to siphon money in a hundred ways, some blatant and some covert, from our bank accounts, pensions, 401(k) accounts, and taxes. They said they were "too big to fail," threatened us with economic ruin and made off with billions.

So now, across the country and across the globe, regular people are standing up and taking responsibility. They're saying, "We are not going to let these crooks get away with this. Not on our watch. Never again." The Occupation Movement isn't some left-wing, fringe organization. It isn't a bunch of anarchists hoping to wreak havoc or anti-capitalist protesters hoping to create some utopian state. It is comprised of people just like you and me, willing to take responsibility, take our leaders to task, and make those not doing their part to ensure the prosperity of all either pitch in or pack up.



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...#ixzz1dtnJ7PXY

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Rubbish.

i respecfully disagree that the Occupy movement is a left wing movement. I do think it is categorized as one by some media, but I personally know as many or more conservatives who support it than liberals.

people of all political backgrounds should be pissed about how Wall Street has bought out the goverment.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

i respecfully disagree that the Occupy movement is a left wing movement. I do think it is categorized as one by some media, but I personally know as many or more conservatives who support it than liberals.

people of all political backgrounds should be pissed about how Wall Street has bought out the goverment.

is that wall streets fault, or the govts?

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

i respecfully disagree that the Occupy movement is a left wing movement. I do think it is categorized as one by some media, but I personally know as many or more conservatives who support it than liberals.

people of all political backgrounds should be pissed about how Wall Street has bought out the goverment.

I don't believe for a moment that this movement is "left wing" or inherently "liberally bias" either. Regardless of what Fox News wants to cram down their drone's throats.

The main ideals were pointed out very poignantly in a previous post (#17).


Unfortunately most of the responsible supporters of the movement can't afford to lay around in a park all day and all night with no agenda and no end in sight. It would be refreshing to see some organization, a unified message, and some castigation for the fringe anti-capitalist, dirtheads and hangers on that have attached themselves to this for their own personal reasons (like so they can sit around in a drum circle and smoke dope all day) and in turn have not only drawn negative attention to OWS, but have drawn attention away from the original message.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Also, for the Riots (read: uninformed) of the world: unless people were standing shoulder-to-shoulder and back-to-back (literally) in Zuccotti Park, you could not fit "several thousand" in that park.

I know. I have walked past that park for years. I have walked through that park. I was there a few weeks ago.

Brevity with knowledge beats long-windedness with ignorace.

Are you a joke? What I said was that yes, yesterday afternoon, when the park was re-opened, yes, there were estimates of two to three thousand people there. From the people actually there: police, news, feeds from the ground.

Feel free to continue to call them false. After all, you walked by the park a few weeks ago, so you are an expert on what happened when the park re-opened yesterday around 5:00pm.