10 a.m. All Hands on Deck for Square Reorganizing!
Posted Oct. 20, 2011, 12:31 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Liberty Square is a space created for culture and civics, for eduction, and building solidarity. A place to mint revolutionary thought, where the next generation of freedom fighters, organizers and artists will be raised. On Thursday, October 20th, at ten in the morning we will be reorganizing the square. Sanitation, and Town Planning are calling for #OWS to come out, grab a broom, a mop, and work to make the Square beautiful. This is a space for individuals of every age, race, creed and religion to enjoy. On Friday From 4pm - 11am there will be a Family sleep over. We need to create space and to welcome them into the #OWS!
OWS Snapshot
Posted Oct. 19, 2011, 3:30 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
OWS vibrates with activity. In every corner of Liberty Square people are organizing against corporate greed, refusing to be afraid, to be silenced. The local community center, the nearby atrium, the surrounding parks and cafes pulse with working groups planning actions, coordinating with community groups, engaging with the press, supporting each other, and strengthening solidarity within the movement. We are growing change in the shadow of the wealth, greed, and thievery that is Wall Street.
Highlights
Anniversary Night, OCT 17: The square was beautiful. It sparkled under the city lamp light. Occupiers flowed quietly through the clean passages, socializing in the new spaces designed by the town planning committee. We lit candles and sang "We Shall Not Be Moved." We shared our one month occupy cake. One month! A medical tent was raised, and when dozens of police lined up to take it down they were meet by hundreds of occupiers. Joined by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, arms linked, occupiers faced down the NYPD, and the medical tent remained in place. An amazing way to welcome the second month!
Good Neighbors: The community relations committee has been in hyperdrive. The General Assembly passed a Good Neighbor Policy 5 days ago and has been working nonstop to fully implement the agreement, distributing the policy via flyers, prominently displayed posters around the square, and by word of mouth. Drumming has been reduced drastically from the ten hours a day barrage a week earlier. We see drumming as a top priority and continue to work with the drummers, utilizing mediation, common sense, and mutual respect to implement the 2 hours a day policy.
No Hate: Many people from different places have been affected by the greed of the 1% and by the false solutions of corporate greed, union busting, and the slashing and privatization of social services. The 99% is varied and broad - but we have principles of solidarity, and we are working together to make a better world - a world of inclusion, dignity, love and respect. #OWS has no space for racism, sexism, transphobia, anti-immigrant hatred, xenophobia, and hatred in general.
Demands: A group claiming to be on the verge of issuing demands for #OWS has gotten the attention of a story hungry media. We are our demands. #OWS is conversation, organization, and action focused on ending the tyranny of the 1%. On Saturday we marched in solidarity against corrupt banking systems, against war, and against foreclosure. We discussed how to break up the "too big to fail" financial companies and end excessive wall street executive bonuses, we were arrested while trying to remove our money from the grasp of these dangerous institutions, we occupied the boardrooms of the 1% so they wouldn't feel so sad and alone, we occupied foreclosure court rooms where they use a broken system to legally steal the homes of the 99%, rallied in front of military recruitment centers demanding an end to US wars, and tens of thousands of us marched into the times square, the neon heart of consumerism, demanding economic justice.
Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power major banks and unaccountable multinational corporations wield against democracy, and the role of Wall Street in creating the economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in nearly a century. The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and around the world, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of a dangerous neoliberal economic agenda that is stealing our future.
70% of #OWS Supporters are Politically Independent
Posted Oct. 19, 2011, 2:11 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Two weeks ago we conducted an anonymous poll on this website to learn more about our visitors. We asked Héctor R. Cordero-Guzmán Ph.D, sociologist of the City University of New York to look at the data, which he analyzed to create an original academic paper titled "Mainstream Support for a Mainstream Movement".
His analysis shows that the Occupy Wall Street movement is heavily supported by a diverse group of individuals and that "the 99% movement comes from and looks like the 99%." Among the most telling of his findings is that 70.3% of respondents identified as politically independent.
Dr. Cordero-Guzmán's findings strongly reinforce what we've known all along: Occupy Wall Street is a post-political movement representing something far greater than failed party politics. We are a movement of people empowerment, a collective realization that we ourselves have the power to create change from the bottom-up, because we don't need Wall Street and we don't need politicians.
Since our humble beginning a few short weeks ago, we've helped inspire people around the world to organize democratic assemblies in their own communities to take back public spaces, meet basic needs, make their own demands, and begin building a better world today.
Below is Dr. Cordero-Guzmán's executive summary of his findings along with a link to his full academic paper.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has galvanized the attention of the world by organizing the largest demonstrations in this country as a response to the Great Recession caused by our financial and political leaders. Data from a survey of 1,619 respondents from a survey placed on occupywallst.org suggests that there is a huge undercurrent of mainstream dissatisfaction with traditional political party affiliations as well a huge amount of support for radical change in the United States of America.
- 92.5% of respondents either somewhat or strongly supported the protests with most respondents indicating strong support.
- 1/4th of the sample (or 24.2%) participated in the Occupy Wall Street protests as of October 5, 2011.
- 91.8% of the sample thinks that the Occupy Wall Street Protests will continue to grow.
- 64.2% of respondents were younger than 34 years of age.
- While the sample is relatively young, one in three respondents is older than 35 and one in five respondents is 45 and older.
- 7.9% of respondents have a high school degree or less.
- 92.1% of the sample has some college, a college degree, or a graduate degree.
- 27.4% have some college (but no degree), 35% have a college degree, 8.2% have some graduate school (but no degree), and close to 21.5% have a graduate school degree.
- This is a highly educated sample.
- 26.7% of respondents were enrolled in school and 73.3% were not enrolled in school.
- 50.4% were employed full-time and an additional 20.4% were employed part-time.
- 13.1% of the sample are unemployed.
- 2.6% of respondents were retired, 1.3% disabled, 2.6% homemakers and 9.7% are full-time students.
- 47.5% of the sample earns less than $24,999 dollars a year and another quarter (24%) earn between $25,000 and $49,999 per year.
- 71.5% of the sample earns less than $50,000 per year.
- 15.4% of the sample earned between $50,000 and $74,999.
- The remainder 13% of the sample earn over $75,000 with close to 2% earning over $150,000 per year.
- 27.3% of respondents considered themselves Democrats, another 2.4% said they were Republican.
- Interestingly, a very large proportion of the sample, close to 70.3%, considered themselves Independents.
- 66.4% in the sample agree somewhat or strongly that they regularly use Facebook.
- 28.9% in the sample agree somewhat or strongly that they regularly use Twitter.
- 73.9% in the sample agree somewhat or strongly that they regularly use YouTube.
- Our data suggest that the 99% movement comes from and looks like the 99%.
Full Paper: Mainstream Support for a Mainstream Movement (PDF)
Occupy Wall Street Marks One Month
Posted Oct. 17, 2011, 8:20 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Occupations Spread to Over 100 US Cities
Movement For Economic Justice Gains Global MomentumLiberty Square, New York, NY — One month ago today about 2,000 people rallied in Lower Manhattan and marched up Broadway. Stopping at Zuccotti Park an estimated 150 stayed the night and began an encampment. Renaming the space “Liberty Square,” we kicked off a protest against bank bailouts, corporate greed, and the unchecked power of Wall Street in Washington. In the last month, the message of “We are the 99%” has won the hearts and minds of over half of Americans (according to a recent Time survey) and is gaining ground globally, with 1500 protests in 82 countries this past Saturday (October 15).
“I am here to celebrate the 30th day of this protest against corporate power,” said Karanja Gacuca from Liberty Square, a former Wall Street analyst who now organizes with Occupy Wall Street. “Concerned about the egregious Wall Street bonuses — particularly after the industry accepted a tax-payer bailout and the middle class continues to be squeezed — I believe it's time for a fairer system that provides health care, education, and opportunity for all, and rejects corporate influence over government.”
Inspired by the uprisings across the Arab world, and fueled by the feelings of anger and helplessness of everyday Americans, in the past month Occupy Wall Street has:
- Gone Global: On October 15th, protests were held from North and South America to Asia, Africa and Europe, with over 1,500 events in 82 countries, as part of a global day of action.
- Flourished with Diversity: Occupiers of different ages, races, walks of life, and political beliefs have joined the movement. The mix grew quickly to include students, elderly people, families with children, construction workers on their lunch breaks, unemployed Wall Street executives, Iraq & Afghanistan veterans, moms, and many others.
- Gained Support in the Heartland: Occupy actions are happening all across middle America, from Kethcum, ID to Kalamazoo, MI, from Orlando to Anchorage. Every day financial contributions arrive along with clothes, food, and notes of support from all across the country. A couple from West Virginia who have been sending supplies to Liberty Square occupiers writes: “We are so grateful for all of you involved in this defense of America. We firmly believe this is ‘it.’ If we can't grab this democracy this time, we'll sink and it will be a long time before we will have this opportunity again. Thank you for taking time from your busy life to be there.”
- Changed the Conversation: The people-powered force of shared anger at a broken system that profits the top 1% at the expense of the rest of us has shifted our national dialogue. The Occupy Wall Street protest has become a cultural phenomenon, mentioned everywhere from jokes on Saturday Night Live to the solemn dedication the national memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by President Obama Sunday. We, the occupiers, have shown our country how to come together and respect differences while working together to build a movement for change.
What a month, and we are only getting started!
Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations. The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future.
Posted Oct. 16, 2011, 1:08 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tens of Thousands in Streets of Times Square, NY
Tens of Thousands Flood the Streets of Global Financial Centers, Capitol Cities and Small Towns to "Occupy Together" Against Wall Street Mid-Town Manhattan Jammed as Marches Converge in Times Square
New York, NY -- After triumphing in a standoff with the city over the continued protest of Wall Street at Liberty Square in Manhattan's financial district, the Occupy Wall Street movement has spread world wide today with demonstrations in over 1,500 cities globally and over 100 US cities from coast to coast. In New York, thousands marched in various protests by trade unions, students, environmentalists, and community groups. As occupiers flocked to Washington Square Park, two dozen participants were arrested at a nearby Citibank while attempting to withdraw their accounts from the global banking giant.
"I am occupying Wall Street because it is my future, my generations' future, that is at stake," said Linnea Palmer Paton, 23, a student at New York University. "Inspired by the peaceful occupation of Tahrir Square in Cairo, tonight we are are coming together in Times Square to show the world that the power of the people is an unstoppable force of global change. Today, we are fighting back against the dictators of our country - the Wall Street banks - and we are winning."
New Yorkers congregated in assemblies organized by borough, and then flooded the subway system en mass to join the movement in Manhattan. A group calling itself Todo Boricua Para Wall Street marched as a Puerto Rican contingent of several hundred playing traditional music and waving the Lares flag, a symbol of resistance to colonial Spain. "Puerto Ricans are the 99% and we will continue to join our brothers and sisters in occupying Wall Street," said David Galarza Santa, a trade unionist from Sunset Park, Brooklyn. "We are here to stand with all Latinos, who are being scapegoated by the 1%, while it is the bankers who have caused this crisis and the banks who are breaking the law."
While the spotlight is on New York, "occupy" actions are also happening all across the Midwestern and the Southern United States, from Ashland, Kentucky to Dallas, Texas to Ketchum, Idaho. Four hundred Iowans marched in Des Moines, Iowa Saturday as part of the day of action:
"People are suffering here in Iowa. Family farmers are struggling, students face mounting debt and fewer good jobs, and household incomes are plummeting," said Judy Lonning a 69-year-old retired public school teacher. "We're not willing to keep suffering for Wall Street's sins. People here are waking up and realizing that we can't just go to the ballot box. We're building a movement to make our leaders listen."
Protests filled streets of financial districts from Berlin, to Athens, Auckland to Mumbai, Tokyo to Seoul. In the UK over 3,000 people attempted to occupy the London Stock Exchange. "The financial system benefits a handful of banks at the expense of everyday people," said Spyro Van Leemnen, a 27-year old public relations agent in London and a core member of the demonstrators. "The same people who are responsible for the recession are getting away with massive bonuses. This is fundamentally unfair and undemocratic."
In South Africa, about 80 people gathered at the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, Talk Radio 702 reported. Protests continued despite police efforts to declare the gathering illegal. In Taiwan, organizers drew several hundred demonstrators, who mostly sat quietly outside the Taipei World Financial Center, known as Taipei 101.
600 people have begun an occupation of Confederation Park in Ottawa, Canada today to join the global day of action. "I am here today to stand with Indigenous Peoples around the world who are resisting this corrupt global banking system that puts profits before human rights," said Ben Powless, Mohawk citizen and indigenous youth leader. "Native Peoples are the 99%, and we've been resisting the 1% since 1492. We're marching today for self- determination and dignity against a system that has robbed our lands, poisoned our waters, and oppressed our people for generations. Today we join with those in New York and around the world to say, No More!"
In Australia, about 800 people gathered in Sydney's central business district, carrying cardboard banners and chanting "Human need, not corporate greed." Protesters will camp indefinitely "to organize, discuss and build a movement for a different world, not run by the super-rich 1%," according to a statement on the Occupy Sydney website.
The movement's success is due in part to the use of online technologies and international social networking. The rapid spread of the protests is a grassroots response to the overwhelming inequalities perpetuated by the global financial system and transnational banks. More actions are expected in the coming weeks, and the Occupation of Liberty Square in Manhattan will continue indefinitely.
Occupy Wall Street is a people powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Greece, Italy and the UK, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people who are writing the rules of the global economy are imposing an agenda of neoliberalism and economic inequality that is foreclosing our future.
Tens of Thousands Flood the Streets of Global Financial Centers, Capitol Cities and Small Towns to "Occupy Together" Against Wall Street Mid-Town Manhattan Jammed as Marches Converge in Times Square
New York, NY -- After triumphing in a standoff with the city over the continued protest of Wall Street at Liberty Square in Manhattan's financial district, the Occupy Wall Street movement has spread world wide today with demonstrations in over 1,500 cities globally and over 100 US cities from coast to coast. In New York, thousands marched in various protests by trade unions, students, environmentalists, and community groups. As occupiers flocked to Washington Square Park, two dozen participants were arrested at a nearby Citibank while attempting to withdraw their accounts from the global banking giant.
"I am occupying Wall Street because it is my future, my generations' future, that is at stake," said Linnea Palmer Paton, 23, a student at New York University. "Inspired by the peaceful occupation of Tahrir Square in Cairo, tonight we are are coming together in Times Square to show the world that the power of the people is an unstoppable force of global change. Today, we are fighting back against the dictators of our country - the Wall Street banks - and we are winning."
New Yorkers congregated in assemblies organized by borough, and then flooded the subway system en mass to join the movement in Manhattan. A group calling itself Todo Boricua Para Wall Street marched as a Puerto Rican contingent of several hundred playing traditional music and waving the Lares flag, a symbol of resistance to colonial Spain. "Puerto Ricans are the 99% and we will continue to join our brothers and sisters in occupying Wall Street," said David Galarza Santa, a trade unionist from Sunset Park, Brooklyn. "We are here to stand with all Latinos, who are being scapegoated by the 1%, while it is the bankers who have caused this crisis and the banks who are breaking the law."
While the spotlight is on New York, "occupy" actions are also happening all across the Midwestern and the Southern United States, from Ashland, Kentucky to Dallas, Texas to Ketchum, Idaho. Four hundred Iowans marched in Des Moines, Iowa Saturday as part of the day of action:
"People are suffering here in Iowa. Family farmers are struggling, students face mounting debt and fewer good jobs, and household incomes are plummeting," said Judy Lonning a 69-year-old retired public school teacher. "We're not willing to keep suffering for Wall Street's sins. People here are waking up and realizing that we can't just go to the ballot box. We're building a movement to make our leaders listen."
Protests filled streets of financial districts from Berlin, to Athens, Auckland to Mumbai, Tokyo to Seoul. In the UK over 3,000 people attempted to occupy the London Stock Exchange. "The financial system benefits a handful of banks at the expense of everyday people," said Spyro Van Leemnen, a 27-year old public relations agent in London and a core member of the demonstrators. "The same people who are responsible for the recession are getting away with massive bonuses. This is fundamentally unfair and undemocratic."
In South Africa, about 80 people gathered at the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, Talk Radio 702 reported. Protests continued despite police efforts to declare the gathering illegal. In Taiwan, organizers drew several hundred demonstrators, who mostly sat quietly outside the Taipei World Financial Center, known as Taipei 101.
600 people have begun an occupation of Confederation Park in Ottawa, Canada today to join the global day of action. "I am here today to stand with Indigenous Peoples around the world who are resisting this corrupt global banking system that puts profits before human rights," said Ben Powless, Mohawk citizen and indigenous youth leader. "Native Peoples are the 99%, and we've been resisting the 1% since 1492. We're marching today for self- determination and dignity against a system that has robbed our lands, poisoned our waters, and oppressed our people for generations. Today we join with those in New York and around the world to say, No More!"
In Australia, about 800 people gathered in Sydney's central business district, carrying cardboard banners and chanting "Human need, not corporate greed." Protesters will camp indefinitely "to organize, discuss and build a movement for a different world, not run by the super-rich 1%," according to a statement on the Occupy Sydney website.
The movement's success is due in part to the use of online technologies and international social networking. The rapid spread of the protests is a grassroots response to the overwhelming inequalities perpetuated by the global financial system and transnational banks. More actions are expected in the coming weeks, and the Occupation of Liberty Square in Manhattan will continue indefinitely.
Occupy Wall Street is a people powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Greece, Italy and the UK, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people who are writing the rules of the global economy are imposing an agenda of neoliberalism and economic inequality that is foreclosing our future.
October 15th - Global Day Of Action
Posted Oct. 15, 2011, 6:12 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
NYC Live Updates
- 12:40 a.m. Police are barricading Washington Square Park from the public. Property not people.
- 12:12 a.m. Police are advancing on bystanders standing outside the South side of Washington Square Park.
- 12:09 a.m. Police have sealed the North and South side of Washington Square Park.
- 11:54 p.m. Police in riot gear are advancing on peaceful occupiers in Washington Square Park.
- 11:34 p.m. Police are massing at Washington Square Park. Police are moving on #occupychicago
- 9:48 p.m. 3,000 at Washington Square now, about to have a General Assembly, 70 arrests total for today.
- 9:02 p.m. 42 arrests on 47th.
- 8:50 p.m. 700 reported in Washington Square Park. Music and food there.
- 8:30 p.m. Scanner says riot cops in full gear, nets out, headed to the crowd, 47th and 6th.
- 8:11 p.m. White shirt just ordered #NYPD line AWAY from barricades. Crowd ROARS
- 8:08 p.m. Tension escalating, police ordering protesters to step away from barricades.
- 8:02 p.m. Mario: 4 paddy wagons and arrests at 46 and 6th ave.
- 8:00 p.m. Police are arresting occupiers at 46th and 6th.
- 7:30 p.m. Unconfirmed estimates ranging as high as 50,000 people in Times Square.
- 6:45 p.m. Police have trapped people in times square with barricades.
- 6:35 p.m. A horse just went down. Crowd is going wild. NYPD says anyone near barricade is going to jail. This is is inexcusable. (Source)
- 6:22 p.m. Police on horseback arrive. Police pulling people out of crowd and attacking them. Protesters are rushing barricades.
- 6:10 p.m. Police in riot gear retreat.
- 6:05 p.m. Police are in riot gear.
- 6:00 p.m. Backup has arrived. Estimated 15,000 in Times Square
- 5:49 p.m. Orange nets along Broadway.
- 5:45 p.m. Five thousand more on their way from Liberty Square and other locations.
- 5:30 p.m. Thousands arrive in Time Square. Now livestreaming: http://www.livestream.com/occupywallstnyc
- 5:13 p.m. March now 7 blocks from Times Square.
- 4:18 p.m. March from Washington Square Park is at 20th St and 6th Ave.
- 3:40 p.m. March from Washington Square Park is at 11th St and 6th Ave. At least five thousand strong.
- 3:36 p.m. It appears that Twitter is censoring our updates.
- 3:26 p.m. General Assembly of Washington Square Park marches on Times Square. 8th st and 6th ave.
- 3:19 p.m. Zombie group arriving in Washington Square Park. Hundreds march from Liberty Square to Citibank at 555 La Guardia Place in solidarity with arrested occupiers.
- 2:43 p.m. Around four thousand in Washington Square Park. Around three thousand in Liberty Square.
- 2:28 p.m. Police at 555 La Guardia Place are arresting occupiers in Citibank who are attempting to close their accounts.
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