Occupy City Squares, not Afghanistan & Iraq!

[Flying Horse]

It's time to occupy city squares and not other coutnries!. Thursday marks the 10th anniversaryo f the Afghanistan War. It's already the longest war in US history and people are going to the streets to demand and end to the war and turn a focus on human needs, not corporate greed. Fron New York City to Boston to Wasington, DC to Chicago to Austin to Los Angeles and all points in between, Occupy Wall Street has gone.
Today on Fox I heard someone denigrating the Wall Street protestors and parising the reactions of the NYPD in arreasting 700 of them who tried to march across the Brooklyn Bridge, including spraying one woman protester with pepper spray. I was too disgusted with what he was saying to listen for more than a few seconds. It's OK for the right to hold gatherings on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial but not the left in a park on Wall Street?
I say good for you who started this Occupation of Wall Street. How else is the average American supposed to get through to the Wall Strret fat cats that what they have done and continue to due are unacceptable when so many of us are slipping into poverty. I heard one statistic today on Morning Joe that is chilling. 37% of all families with young children are below the poverty level. 37%!!!

[Flying Horse]

Chicago financial meetings become 'occupy' target.

Organizers hope 1000s will march against mortgage bankers, futures traders. Mounting anger over joblessness and income inequality snarled rush-hour traffic in downtown Chicago as hundreds of teachers, religious leaders, union workers and other protesters marched on Monday. Chanting "We are the 99 percent" and "Tax, tax, tax the rich," demonstrators marched on Michigan Avenue and gathered outside the Chicago Art Institute where a U.S. futures industry trade group was holding an evening cocktail reception. Others marched outside a luxury hotel nearby where the American Mortgage Bankers Association was holding a meeting downtown, attracting a separate band of protesters. Five separate "feeder marches" — which converged into one giant march up Michigan Ave — were inspired by, but not formally affiliated with, the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York last month.
Organizers of the "Standup Chicago" coalition expected more than 7,000 people to take part, with the stated goal of reclaiming "our jobs, our homes and our schools," according to the coalition's website. If the coalition gets the numbers it expects, this would be the biggest Chicago protest since demonstrations focusing on economic inequality began in New York last month. "We really want to highlight the role the financial industry has played," said Adam Kader of Arise Chicago, an interfaith workers' rights group and part of the coalition. "They're here in our backyard, so this is the time to send a message about how we're really hurting," he added, saying the demonstration would focus on foreclosures, unemployment and lack of municipal funding for key services.
More demonstrations were planned for the next three days. Chicago has already several weeks of daily protests outside the Federal Reserve Bank by "Occupy Chicago," an echo of the larger Wall Street protests. Occupy Chicago demonstrators participated with the Stand Up Chicago marchers on Monday.

In developments elsewhere:

•A deadline for protesters to leave Washington D.C.'s Freedom Plaza came and went Monday with organizers saying they planned to stay indefinitely.The National Park permit issued to use the Pennsylvania Avenue plaza expired Sunday, and after a limbo of several hours the National Park service issued a new four-month permit.
•Hundreds of students from 10 area colleges marched through downtown Boston on Monday as part of the national Occupy Wall Street movement.
•Iowa police arrested 30 adults and took two juveniles into custody during a protest against economic inequality late on Sunday, subduing one man with pepper spray.

[Flying Horse]

UPDATE: Is all the bashing of Wall Street warranted?

David Shulman, senior economist at UCLA's business school, tells CNBC since nobody in power seems to care about the employment crisis, protests against Wall Street are justified. Among recent grads there is a 10%t unemployment rate, he adds.
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[Flying Horse]

'Occupy' protesters suspicious of cleanup play.

Demonstrators with 'Occupy Wall Street' protest at Zuccotti Park start cleaning up their belongings Oct. 13, the morning after Mayor Bloomberg sent out a message that the park needs to be cleaned. Protestors were told that, signs, sleeping bags, and other items need to temporarily be removed so the park's property owner send in a cleaning crew starting Friday.
Some fear the move by the city is a ploy to unravel the demonstration. City officials have informed protesters that they will need to leave Zuccotti Park on Friday so that it can be cleaned, but that they'll be allowed to return afterward. As a steady drizzle fell Thursday over the park, owned by Brookfield Properties, confusion was high over when the protesters will be ordered out — and where they'll go during the evacuation.
"The cleanup is a pretext to remove us from the camp. And we can return only if we abide by the rules of Brookfield Properties," said Justin Wedes, 25, a public high school science teacher from Brooklyn who was sweeping the pavement with others. "We're redoubling our efforts today." Brookfield did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the cleanup. City officials remained mum on logistics.
Meanwhile, about 700 members of the Service Employees International Union marched through the Financial District; the union, which represents 23,000 office cleaners, is gearing up for contract negotiations with the Realty Advisory Board. More protests are planned in Toronto and Vancouver this weekend, and European activists also are organizing. A lawyer for a woman pepper-sprayed during an action last month is demanding that the Manhattan district attorney prosecute an NYPD deputy inspector on an assault charge. Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the matter was being investigated by police internal affairs and the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

[Flying Horse]

'Occupy' protesters clash with NYPD; 10 arrested.

At least 10 arrests; 500 protesters on the move; police on horseback and scooters trying to push them off street. Clashes broke out between bottle-throwing demonstrators and police on horses and scooters as Occupy Wall Street protesters marched on the Stock Exchange on Friday, NBC News reported.
At least 10 people were arrested amid what was initially described as a celebratory march, which began when it was revealed the owners of Zuccotti Park — where the protesters had set up camp — had ditched cleanup plans that some claimed were a pretext to evict them. Despite the police's efforts, protesters were gathering at the Stock Exchange, NBC News said. They reported that police used the scooters to try to force protesters off of the street at several locations on Wall Street and Broadway. Despite the police's efforts, protesters were gathering at the Stock Exchange, NBC News said.
Elsewhere, police in Seattle earlier confirmed that they had arrested 10 people, while in Denver authorities moved in after protesters ignored a deadline to leave. Occupy Seattle protesters running a live video feed from their corporate power protest at Seattle's Westlake Park said police started making arrests Thursday. "It has remained non-violent, the energy at Westlake is high but peaceful," the Occupy Seattle group said on its website after 10 protesters were arrested. They later said police appeared to have backed off.
In Denver, police and troopers moved in after protesters ignored a deadline of 11 p.m. Thursday to leave or face arrest. Wes Gentry, a city desk reporter at the Denver Post, tweeted that officers moved in and knocked down tents at the protest in a park near the Capitol. "Protesters at Occupy Denver rallying around the tent city's kitchen (aka. - the "thunderdome") Could be their last stand," he said in a later tweet. Organizers of the protest tweeted on the @occupydenver account at about 4:45 a.m. local time (6:45 a.m ET) that 150 to 250 people remained in the park. It had been due to reopen to the public at 5 a.m. local time, but @occupydenver said the authorities had told them it was now closed indefinitely. "We can continue from the sidewalks," it said in a tweet. Earlier, State Patrol Chief James Wolfinbarger told the Denver Post that"we want people to go home."

"We want this to end well so people can come back tomorrow and continue," he told the paper.

The paper said Wolfinbarger said the original protest may have been "hijacked" by people who were intent on civil disobedience.







Elsewhere, police in Seattle earlier confirmed that they had arrested 10 people, while in Denver authorities moved in after protesters ignored a deadline to leave.

[Flying Horse]

Protesters plan to 'Occupy' London, Rome, Auckland

Members of a protest group try to enter Goldman Sachs' HQ in Milan, Italy
For an October revolution, dress warm. That's the word going out on the Web to rally street protests on Saturday around the globe from New Zealand to London, Frankfurt and, of course, New York.
Protesters got started early in Italy, where students managed to break into the hall of the Goldman Sachs building in the heart of Milan's financial district, a few steps away from La Scala opera house, police said. The protesters were quickly dispersed.
On Saturday, organizers hope to expand — nonviolently — to 951 cities in Europe, the US, South America, Asia and Africa. How many will show up, let alone stay to camp out in city centers as protesters have in New York's Occupy Wall Street protests, is anyone's guess.

[Flying Horse]

Iraq war vet injured during Oakland protests.

The Occupy Oakland protesters carry away Iraq War veteran Scott Olson after he was hit by a tear gas cannister.
The clash between Oakland police and Occupy Wall Street protesters left a Marine veteran (completed two Iraq tours) in critical condition. Scott Olsen, 24, suffered a fractured skull as he marched with other protesters toward City Hall, said Dottie Guy, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. The demonstrators had been making an attempt to re-establish a presence in the area of a disbanded protesters' camp when they were met by police officers in riot gear. It's not known exactly what type of object struck Olsen, currently a systems network administrator in Daly City, or whether he'll need surgery, Guy said. "It's still too early to tell," Guy said. "We're hoping for the best." Curt Olsen, a spokesman for Highland Hospital in Oakland, confirmed that the veteran was in critical condition but could not release any more information. A vigil for him is scheduled to be held Wednesday evening near the Oakland City Hall, she said.
Police say that when they moved in to break up the protest, they were pelted with rocks, bottles and utensils (?), before clearing 100s of people from the streets with tear gas and bean bag rounds. Multiple attempts to reach Oakland police Wednesday by AP were unsuccessful. Demonstrators plan to try again tonight to march and could clash again with cops.
It's hard to know what happened from the articles about this, but something is definitely wrong if an Iraq US Marine vet is in critical condition in a hospital because he was protesting Wall Street and corporate greed and the economy we all face. No other place has required such forceful actions by police. I hope someone is really looking into what happened here.

[Flying Horse]

Protesters, police clash in Denver, face off in Nashville.
Incidents come amid a week of police crackdowns around the country.

A tense standoff between 'Occupy Denver' protesters and authorities near the Colorado Capitol erupted Saturday with a surge of demonstrators being met with police force that included pepper spray and rubber bullets. The clash came as 'Occupy Wall Street' protesters and state officials in Tennessee squared off for a third consecutive night Saturday, even though a local judge has refused to jail demonstrators who have been arrested and said the state lacks the authority to set a curfew on the property.
In Denver, some supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement, marching with a group of about 2,000, tried to advance up the Capitol steps. About eight officers scuffled with a group of protesters, according to The Denver Post, and police confirmed to the newspaper that they used pepper spray and rubber bullets or pepper balls to break up the crowd. Denver police spokesman Matt Murray said protesters knocked an officer off his motorcycle and other officers were kicked by demonstrators. Murray said seven protesters were arrested, including two for assault and one for disobedience. He said some demonstrators had received medical treatment on the scene, but no one had been taken to a hospital.
In Nashville, protesters were galvanized by the friction between state officials and magistrate Tom Nelson. Vicki Metzgar, age 61, director of a Nashville Public Schools science and math initiative, who joined the protests Saturday said, "This (plaza) belongs to us, not the politicians."
Some legal experts agreed with the judge. The arrests appeared to be a violation of First Amendment rights in the U.S. Constitution that allow for people to peacefully assemble, said attorney David Raybin, a former prosecutor. He and others said the nature of the arrests, coupled with the judge's refusal to sign off on the warrants, could become ammunition for lawsuits. "The government is exposing itself to serious liability here by doing this," Raybin said.
Among those arrested Friday night was journalist Jonathan Meador, who told troopers he was a reporter covering the story for the Nashville Scene alternative newspaper. On Saturday, the owner of the newspaper sent a letter to Haslam's staff. "I expect the governor to publicly apologize to him for this violation of his rights and to assure the people of Tennessee that this administration will not interfere with the right to a free press that has been a fundamental right in this country since our founding," SouthComm CEO Chris Ferrell wrote. "I'm sure you understand that every media outlet in this country will vigorously defend our right to cover government action without fear of arrest or reprisal."

[Flying Horse]

'Occupy' reaches into living rooms through new TV ad.

The revolution may not be televised, but the “Occupy” protests are now reaching into American homes via a television ad. The 30-second ad features nine 'Occupy Wall Street' protesters talking about what they would like the movement to achieve. It is the work of filmmaker David Sauvage, who said he filmed it in half a day on Oct. 3.
The ad began airing Saturday on Bloomberg News, ESPN, CBS Sports and Fox News, among other networks and is booked through Monday. The purchase of air time was financed by donations from 168 citizens using a social contribution model created by the San Francisco-based LoudSauce ad agency. The ad does not request donations to the cause but rather attempts to counter what Sauvage sees as a concerted effort in conservative quarters to portray the protesters as members of the lunatic fringe.
“It’s not that I want people to send money … not so much a call to action but a call to meaningful political engagement,” he said. “I want people to see it and say that the people that are protesting are real people with meaningful concerns that I can relate to. And hopefully, in a subtle way, the ad helps shift the conversation.”
LoudSource has invited supporters to attend a “national viewing party, which it promoted via a Facebook page. Meantime, Sauvage has shot two more ads and hopes to make others that will attract similar financial support. “I’m going to interview a banker or someone in finance, and build one around moving moments that I’ve seen there,” he said. “I also have a fantasy not yet realized of getting a lobbyist to acknowledge the despicable nature of his career.”


Disclaimer: I don't believe that all lobbyists are despicable. Many work for nonprofit entities and do excellent work of informing Congress of facts regarding various aspects of life. Unfortunately, this does not include the oil companies, financial institution, drug companies, HMOS, etc.

[Flying Horse]

Bank dumping days begin.

Customers are dumping their banks in droves ahead of the nationwide "Move Your Money" and "Bank Transfer Day" movements. Given the recent spotlight on attempts -- and ultimate failures -- by some of the nation's biggest banks to tack on new debit card fees, 1000s of disgruntled consumers have already either left or pledged to leave their current bank for a community bank or credit union, which are known for having fewer and/or lower bank account fees.
At least 650,000 consumers have joined credit unions since Sept 29th (the day Bank of Americ announced its plan to impose its $5 debit card fee), according to a nationwide survey of credit unions by the Credit Union National Ass'n (CUNA). That's more than a year's worth of members in a single month -- with credit unions adding 600,000 members in all of 2010 and amounts to $4.5 billion in new savings accounts.
Even though BoA and other large banks have backpedaled on imposing the debit card fees, consumers are making it clear they are still fed up. More than 4 in every 5 credit unions said their new customers cied days like "Bank Transfer Day" and new fees as reasons for opeing accounts with them.
The Independent Community Bankers of America said a poll of its 5,000 members conducted on Oct. 17 found that nearly 60% of community banks are gaining customers who are sick and tired of the big financial institutions. The association's community bank locator has seen more than 5,000 inquiries in the last few weeks -- an increase of nearly 500%. By the end of this weekend, accounts at these credit unions and community banks could grow by tens of thousands more.

Occupy Wall Street has formed a separate united front, called "Dump Your Bank Day," which will take place on Tuesday, November 8.

Protesters want more from Bank of Americ.
"Move Your Money Day" and "Bank Transfer Day" are backed by consumer groups like MoveOn.org and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), which are urging customers to switch banks by this Saturday -- and turning to social media outlets like Facebook to do their convincing.
"Bank Transfer Day," was started by a Facebook user who had heard about Bank of America's $5 fee and posted an event on Facebook. So far, 75,061 Facebook users have said they will be attending, while 16,007 will "maybe" attend.
The PCCC said it has already received pledges from about 52,500 people to take their money out of major financial institutions by Saturday as part of the Move Your Money "banxodus," with just under 22,000 consumers planning to remove their money from Bank of America specifically. About 6,900 customers told the PCCC they have already moved their money. "They take your deposits and use them to buy politicians to de-regulate, give them immunity, interest-free loans and bailouts. Then they turn around and charge you fees to make them even richer," said one "Move Your Money" flyer posted on a Facebook page dedicated to the initiative (which has 43,679 "likes"). "Take your money to a credit union or a community bank that will use your money in your community and not to pervert the rule of law and fill their own pockets."
Even though Bank of America and other banks canceled plans to introduce the new debit card fee -- thanks to the mass uproar -- the momentum is still going strong. Plus, experts in the banking industry predict more fees -- and higher existing fees -- will be popping up soon. "The big banks will not be charging me a dime in additional fees. I moved my accounts to a great credit union last week," a CNNMoney reader wrote. "Next week I get to tell Wells Fargo, to put it nicely, to take a hike."

Last week I opened new accounts in my local savings bank and I will be transferring my money from Bank of America to that bank on Monday. I've already set up direct deposits of my pension and social security checks (pension was depoisted in my new bank on the 1st and SS will be on the 9th). And Bank of America can try all sorts of new fees without my donation from now on. BTW, I didn't do this to support these movements. I had been thinking about this for a couple of months and BoA's announcement of the debit card fee tipped the scales for finding a new bank.

[susala]

It's a concrete goal, Peg! I already banked with my credit union but I use a big bank credit card. I'm going to change that to a card issued by the credit union next week.

I read a good article yesterday about small businesses (2 million or less) being denied loans by big banks even when they are excellent risks. Those people are changing to community banks and credit unions, too.

If the government won't do it's job and break up these "too big to fail" banks, we'll do it one account at a time!

[Flying Horse]

Protesters arrested as police clear Occupy encampments.

Numerous arrests took place in several Western cities as police moved in to clear Occupy encampments over the weekend, authorities said.
Portland, Ore. Unrest continued into Sunday morning as protesters defied a midnight Saturday deadline for the Occupy encampments to close. Police were able to peacefully close city parks until reaching Chappman Square where protesters refused to leave. Video posted on the website of CNN affiliate KGW showed officers in riot gear holding batons facing off with protesters. Simpson said the officers were in the gear as a precaution, and were joined by other assisting agencies. "We needed the manpower because we used up a lot of resources yesterday (Saturday)," he said. Video showed authorities dismantling tents at the camp. Once the parks are cleared, temporary fencing will be erected so repairs can be made, Simpson said. The parks are "pretty beat up," he added. One member of Occupy Portland, however, said demonstrators were not planning to budge. The Occupy Portland movement, on Twitter, was calling for additional protesters as camps were coming down.
Phildelphia, Pa. Mayor Michael Nutter said he was increasing police presence near the Occupy Philly camp and asking the city's police commissioner to "establish structures and strategic positioning and deployment of officers on a regular basis in that location." What began as a peaceful protest 39 days ago has given way to increasing public safety and public health concerns, Nutter told reporters. In addition, there is the threat of fire near historic City Hall and concerns about litter, public urination, defecation and graffiti, he said. Numerous reports of thefts and assaults in the encampment have been made, and 15 emergency medical runs were made between October 6 and November 11, he said. Also, a maintenance project is set to begin soon on City Hall, one of several, he said. A $50 million renovation is planned for Dilworth Plaza, where protesters have camped. The protesters are "purposely standing in the way of nearly 1,000 jobs for Philadelphians at a time of high unemployment," Nutter said. "They are blocking Philadelphians from taking care of their families." "Misconduct is not about free speech," the mayor said, "and the behavior we're now seeing is running squarely into the needs of our city government that also represents the 99%. As mayor of the city of Philadelphia, I represent the 99% also."
Salt Lake City, Utah. Police said on Twitter 19 people were arrested Saturday night as authorities moved in to clear an Occupy Salt Lake encampment at a downtown park. Police had ordered protesters to leave the park after a man was found dead late Thursday night. The cause of death was thought to be carbon monoxide poisoning and a drug overdose, CNN affiliate KSTU reported. "We can no longer tolerate individuals camping on our streets," Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank told reporters. However, "only camping is over," Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker's office said on Twitter -- protests can continue at the park. KSTU reported authorities said protesters would be allowed to have a 24-hour presence and one building, but the tents had to go. A melee involving 30 people on Wednesday night led to four arrests, Becker's office said, and public safety "has become increasingly questionable. Additionally, the amount of human and animal waste, as well as drug paraphernalia, is an escalating public concern." Our rights to assembly, which are embodied in the First Amendment, are still being violated," protester Jesse Fruhwirth told KSTU. "Our forefathers are speaking to us, telling us that this is what assembly looks like. Not being able to camp here severely limits the ability of us to keep our coalition together." "Many thanks to all for a peaceful resolution," Salt Lake City police tweeted late Saturday.
Denver, Colo. Police in riot gear arrested 17 people Saturday night as they cleared furniture and tents from an Occupy encampment near the city's civic center, police spokesman Sonny Jackson told CNN. The main issue, he said, was that the items were blocking a right of way. "People are welcome to come back and protest, but we don't want them to do it in a way that's not safe," Jackson said.
Oakland, Calif. Police issued a 3rd notice for demonstrators to vacate city parks on Saturday, police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson told CNN. The protesters had not complied with that order, Watson said. A second notice was issued Saturday morning after a fatal shooting near the camp, according to CNN affiliate KCBS. A man in his early 20s was shot Friday. Authorities said one of the suspects has been "a frequent resident at the encampment over the past several days," KCBS said.
St Louis, Mo. 27 protesters were arrested in St. Louis after defying an existing park curfew, authorities said.

I'm all for the free exercise of the right to peaceful assembly, but I'm not sure that contains the right to set up housekeeping at the same time. And now that is becoming a haven for the homeless and druggies and other-nonprotesters. So where is the line drawn between peaceful assembly and public safety and health?

[Flying Horse]

Muslims to NYPD: "Respect us, we will respect you[."

Hundreds of Muslims prayed in a lower Manhattan park and marched to New York Police headquarters Friday to protest a decade of police infiltrating mosques and spying on Muslim neighborhoods. Bundled in winter clothes, men and women knelt as the call to prayer echoed off the cold stone of government buildings.
"Being Muslim does not negate our nationality," Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid told the crowd of about 500 gathered in Foley Square, not far from City Hall and local courthouses. "We are unapologetically Muslim and uncompromisingly American." To Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, he added, "We want for you to respect us and we will respect you."
An Associated Press investigation revealed widespread NYPD spying programs that documented every aspect of Muslim life in New York. Police infiltrated mosques and student groups. Plainclothes officers catalogued Middle Eastern restaurants. Analysts built databases on Arab cab drivers and monitored Muslims who changed their names. Many of these programs were built with the help of the CIA as part of an unusually close collaboration that is now the subject of an internal CIA
"Had this been happening to any other religious group, all of America would be outraged," said Daoud Ibraheem, 73, a retired graphic artist from Brooklyn. investigation. Abdur-Rashid, of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, said it was no secret that police have been watching mosques. But the news that the NYPD was monitoring everything from Islamic schools to restaurants was unacceptable.
"We're peaceful people," said Dalia Nazzal, 18, a freshman at the City University of New York, the target of police infiltration. "We don't deserve to be under surveillance." Mohamed Mahmoud, 40, the owner of a Brooklyn printing shop, said he knew several people who had been approached by NYPD officers trying to recruit them as informants. Documents obtained by the AP also show that police monitored even those Muslims who decried terrorism and partnered with the government to prevent violence. "They think that all Muslims are criminals, and it's not right," Mahmoud said.
A dozen or so uniformed police officers monitored the protest, watching in small clusters from around the perimeter. There were no clashes between protesters and police. The protest was joined by about 50 members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, who marched to Foley Square chanting "Surveillance is violence, we won't remain silent!" Following the prayer, protesters were scheduled to march to police headquarters, calling for an end to the surveillance. Protesters carried signs that said "NYPD Watches Us. Who Watches NYPD?" and "NYPD/CIA: Hands Off Our People."
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[Flying Horse]

Occupy L.A., Philly prepare for evictions.

Anti-Wall Street protesters appear to be taking few steps to vacate their Occupy encampments in Philadelphia and Los Angeles despite fast-approaching deadlines to move out. Few broke down tents at the Occupy LA spread Saturday on the City Hall lawn — and most said they didn't intend to.
Protesters were abuzz with activity, but nearly all of it was aimed at how to deal with authorities come Monday's 12:01 a.m. PST deadline. Some handed out signs mocked up to look like the city's notices to vacate, advertising a Monday morning "eviction block party." Dozens attended a teach-in on resistance tactics, including how stay safe in the face of rubber bullets, tear gas canisters and pepper spray.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Friday that despite his sympathy for the protesters' cause, it was time for the camp of nearly 500 tents to leave for the sake of public health and safety. The mayor said the movement is at a "crossroads," and it must "move from holding a particular patch of park to spreading the message of economic justice."
Will Picard, who sat Saturday in a tent amid his artwork with a "notice of eviction" sign posted outside, said the main organizers and most occupiers he knows intend to stay. "Their plan is to resist the closure of this encampment and if that means getting arrested so be it," Picard said. "I think they just want to make the police tear it down rather than tear it down themselves." But some agreed with the mayor that the protest had run its course. "I'm going," said Luke Hagerman, who sat looking sad and resigned in the tent he's stayed in for a month. "I wish we could have got more done."
Police gave few specifics about what tactics they would use for those who had no intention of leaving. Chief Charlie Beck said at Friday's news conference that officers would definitely not be sweeping through the camp and arresting everyone just after midnight. But in an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, Beck said that despite the lack of confrontations in the camp's two-month run, he was realistic about what must happen.
In Philadelphia, Saturday looked nothing like a moving day despite Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s notice that protesters must leave the steps of City Hall by 5 p.m. Sunday. The mayor said they could move across the street to Thomas Paine Plaza, but no more tents or overnight stays,.
Protesters said that the deadline had focused the local movement’s otherwise disorganized energies. “Having this kind of pressure is a good thing,” Michael Pierce, 50, a member of Occupy Philadelphia’s information working group, said. “Without some of the struggles that the other cities have had, we’ve been sitting around, drinking coffee,” Mr. Pierce said. “This is bringing us back together.”
In other developments Saturday:
•Occupy Salem, Ore., organizers said they will take their protests to Marion Square Park for daytime demonstrations after being ordered to remove all tents, waste, portable toilets and other structures from Willson Park, near the state Capitol.
•In New York, Occupy Wall Street organizers said they plan to be outside the Egyptian Embassy on Tuesday in solidarity with protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
•An 18-year-old University of South Dakota freshman reported missing earlier this week turned up in New York after authorities traced a credit card purchase for bus tickets to the Big Apple. Protester Aaron Schmidt met up with his father and uncle in New York after spending two nights on a cardboard tent in Zuccotti Park.
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[Bluerobin]

The whole world is watching, once again. I keep seeing police brutality.