marfmellow:

marfmellow:

hustle—rose:

thedailywhat:

Occupy Wall Street News Round Up of the Day: A week after the “occupation” of Wall Street began with a “Day of Rage,” the peaceful demonstration took a turn for the violent as tensions between police and protesters boiled over.

Between 80 and 100 members of the so-called “99 percent” were arrested for impeding traffic; some were charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. According to protest spokesman Patrick Bruner, the police response was “exceedingly violent.”

Bruner’s claim appears to be confirmed in footage from the Financial District and surrounding areas showing mostly unprovoked altercations between NYPD officers and demonstrators.

“I was shocked because it seemed like one person after another was being brutally tackled, and it wasn’t clear why,” rally attendee Meaghan Linick told the New York Daily News. “I was deeply disturbed to see them throw a man [down] and immediately they were pounding on him. Their arms were going back in the air. I couldn’t believe how violent five people needed to be against one unarmed man.”

Perhaps the most egregious incident involving excessive force came after NYPD officers began kettling protesters with orange police nets. In a video posted to YouTube, a uniformed officer can clearly be seen approaching a corralled group of women and macing them without warning or provocation, before quickly leaving the scene (see below).

In a statement to CBS New York, the NYPD said every arrest made was “justified.” The official Occupy Wall Street website is demanding jail time for the police officer responsible for pepper spraying the barricaded women.

Ironically, by attempting to curb the protesters’ continued Wall Street presence, the police may have unwittingly supplied the “diffuse and leaderless convocation of activists against greed, corporate influence, gross social inequality and other nasty byproducts of wayward capitalism” with the “infusion of energy” they had long hoped for.

Further Reading/Viewing: Photos: 1 2, Videos: 1 2 3, Twitter, Facebook, LiveStream.

[ows / nydn / bi / ap via wapo / cbsny / nyt.]

This is going to get worse. This has all been planned, it’s just coming to public fruition. It’s simple….

“Bankrupt” America —> Create widespread middle class job shortage while simultaneously taxing the living hell out of the poor —> Keep promising change; change never happens —> People become eventually upset (rightfully so) —> Anger and poverty bubbles over into the first small, and peaceful, protest/rallies —> Peaceful protesters are arrested for absolutely no reason, even police are unable to explain why, but their orders come from superiors with no explanation —> People become more angry —> Resulting in larger, and more widespread protests, due to unjust actions of the Police force, which are trickling down vaguely from higher government —> Protests actually DO become violent —> Government uses it as an example to instill fear that will help them take away MORE of our civil liberties.

It’s. Only. Going. To. Get. Worse. - You can absolutely count on it.  

I sobbed while watching the videos of this last night - I don’t want to live in this world, but I have no choice.   

I don’t want to sound harsh but I’m going to, and that’s that. This is our new reality. Educate yourselves on how to MAKE the government listen (join the ACLU, volunteer with activist groups, make contacts). Learn the pragmatic skills of neutralizing pepper spray (baking soda/water/milk in a spray bottle will help), getting out of zip ties (lots of Youtube videos on this), improvising weapons if you need to (but not as a first resort, of course). Don’t assume any more that any “authority” figure has your best interest at heart, don’t think they’ll hesitate before “making an example” of you. Do not stop taking to the streets just because they are brutal, just learn to get around the brutality. My heart goes out to all the people who were beaten and abused at the rallies, but I am also damned proud that they were there- and I hope this doesn’t stop them.

BOLDED FOR FUCK YEAH!

(Source: thedailywhat)

sea-smith:

Meet NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, former Commanding Officer of the First Precinct and a leader of the violent brute squad who maced a group of unarmed, nonviolent women during the Wall Street protest.

I love that this pig’s name is Tony Baloney. How perfect is that?

According to this little puff piece, Tony Baloney is a typical douchebag from Staten Island who couldn’t hack it running a deli, wasn’t smart enough to become a teacher, and so instead became a piece of shit cop where he rose through the ranks as a narc, a rat, and an all around asshole.

Of course, no one should be the least bit surprised that Tony Baloney is the kind of thick skulled dickbag that the NYPD promotes to a command position, nor should anyone be surprised when the NYPD does absolutely nothing to discipline him for his brutality.

I guess we’ll all just have to settle for making Tony Baloney the poster boy for the American police state. He really is a perfect fit, isn’t he?

If you’d like to contact him, here is his publicly available personal information, including a land line phone number and home address.

(Source: coketalk)

ocelott:

The actions of the Boston PD will not go unnoticed. Spread this like wildfire.

America???

thedailywhat:

Occupy Movement News Update of the Day: Demonstrator Felix Rivera-Pitre, who was involved in a serious altercation with an NYPD officer, spoke out in the aftermath of the incident to insist that he did nothing to provoke Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona’s right hook.

“The cop just lunged at me full throttle and hit me on the left side of my face,” Rivera-Pitre, a former dancer from Queens, told Gothamist. “It tore my earring out.” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne disputes this claim, saying Rivera-Pitre provoked the attack by attempting to assault Cardona.

The police are seeking to arrest Rivera-Pitre on several charges, but his attorney Ronald Kuby warned against pursuing that line of action.

“On the off chance they were intending to arrest him for injuring the captain’s fist with his jaw, I strongly suggest that you decide not to add insult to injury and avoid such a retaliatory move,” Kuby wrote in a letter to the NYPD.

Rivera-Pitre said he chose the identify himself after leaving the scene because his injury caused blood to be spilled, and he is HIV-positive. “That cop should get tested,” he was quoted as saying.

Video of the incident follows:

In addition to the above video, a second angle shows Rivera-Pitre walking away before being turned around by Cardona and struck in the face. 

Elsewhere, some 82 countries held solidarity protests, some of which were far more restive than their American counterpart.

Answering the call for a worldwide rally, tens of thousands marched through hundreds of cities across the globe, including Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Hong Kong, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, and Toronto.

Protesters in London were visited by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who was placed under house arrest nearly a year ago. Assange rallied the attendees with a short speech before being escorted away by the police.

In Rome, a peaceful protest turned violent, with masked demonstrators setting cars on fire and damaging buildings. Police attempted to disperse the crowd with tear gas and water cannons, but rioters pushed back with rocks and fireworks. Dozens were injured on both sides, and Italian Prime Minster Silvio Berlusconi called for the identification and punishment of those involved.

Back in New York, demonstrators marched on Chase and Citibank, with some withdrawing their money in protest. “A bank that got billions in bailouts and cut jobs doesn’t need my savings,” Brooklynite Biola Jeje told the Daily News.

According to reports, at least 20 people were arrested near the Citibank on La Guardia Place. A similar standoff outside the Chase Bank branch at Astor Place ended without any arrests.

A potentially “historic” Occupation Party is scheduled to take place in Times Square later this afternoon.

Live Updates: New York Daily News; Occupy Wall Street. Hashtags: #ows; #occupytogether; #globalchange; #occupy; #o15.

[gothamist / nydn: 1,2 / cnn / 15october / japantimes / globalvoices / newsfeed / abcnews / thelocal / elpais / bloomberg / ap / mediaite / reuters / rt / top.]

THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING.

itsthemusicpeople:

And heeeeeere comes the tear gas #occupyoakland -@garonsen

screenshots from ABC 7 live helicopter coverage

I’m going to be ill.

New Zealand is looking more and more appealing by the minute!

(Source: mknmv)