Is The Occupy Wall Street Movement an Answer to The Tea Party Movement?

[we vs us]

This will be interesting.  The G8 and NATO are meeting simultaneously in Chicago in May, which is supposedly quite rare.  Unsurprisingly, Occupy is going to make that the centerpiece of their spring protests:

http://www.adbusters.org/files/imagecache/splash_image/magazine/splash_image/adbusters_occupychicago_s_1.jpg

Hey you redeemers, rebels and radicals out there,

Against the backdrop of a global uprising that is simmering in dozens of countries and thousands of cities and towns, the G8 and NATO will hold a rare simultaneous summit in Chicago this May. The world’s military and political elites, heads of state, 7,500 officials from 80 nations, and more than 2,500 journalists will be there.

And so will we.

On May 1, 50,000 people from all over the world will flock to Chicago, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and #OCCUPYCHICAGO for a month. With a bit of luck, we’ll pull off the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen.

And this time around we’re not going to put up with the kind of police repression that happened during the Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago, 1968 … nor will we abide by any phony restrictions the City of Chicago may want to impose on our first amendment rights. We’ll go there with our heads held high and assemble for a month-long people’s summit … we’ll march and chant and sing and shout and exercise our right to tell our elected representatives what we want … the constitution will be our guide.

And when the G8 and NATO meet behind closed doors on May 19, we’ll be ready with our demands: a Robin Hood Tax … a ban on high frequency ‘flash’ trading … a binding climate change accord … a three strikes and you’re out law for corporate criminals … an all out initiative for a nuclear-free Middle East … whatever we decide in our general assemblies and in our global internet brainstorm – we the people will set the agenda for the next few years and demand our leaders carry it out.

And if they don’t listen … if they ignore us and put our demands on the back burner like they’ve done so many times before … then, with Gandhian ferocity, we’ll flashmob the streets, shut down stock exchanges, campuses, corporate headquarters and cities across the globe … we’ll make the price of doing business as usual too much to bear.

Jammers, pack your tents, muster up your courage and prepare for a big bang in Chicago this Spring. If we don’t stand up now and fight now for a different kind of future we may not have much of a future … so let’s live without dead time for a month in May and see what happens …

http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/tactical-briefing-25.html

If a protest of any size materializes -- and I think there's a very good chance that for this event it could -- it's not going to be pretty.   I'm sure that Mayor Rahm isn't going to let anything get in the way of the global exposure that G8/NATO could bring.  This would include a month-long occupation of the city's major parks. 

But within Occupy I think this could be seen as the next pivotal step in the movement, and so has the potential to be well-attended.  I also think if it comes off poorly, it would be the first Occupy debacle that could boomerang back directly on Obama.  Not necessarily because he'll be directing the horse corps, but because it's his city, his former chief of staff, his international meeting.  Chicago's so closely tied to Obama, it'd be hard not to interpret him as being part of whatever suppression tactics the CPD will inevitably deploy. 

[Townsend]

This will be interesting.  The G8 and NATO are meeting simultaneously in Chicago in May, which is supposedly quite rare.  Unsurprisingly, Occupy is going to make that the centerpiece of their spring protests:

http://www.adbusters.org/files/imagecache/splash_image/magazine/splash_image/adbusters_occupychicago_s_1.jpg

http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/tactical-briefing-25.html

If a protest of any size materializes -- and I think there's a very good chance that for this event it could -- it's not going to be pretty.   I'm sure that Mayor Rahm isn't going to let anything get in the way of the global exposure that G8/NATO could bring.  This would include a month-long occupation of the city's major parks. 

But within Occupy I think this could be seen as the next pivotal step in the movement, and so has the potential to be well-attended.  I also think if it comes off poorly, it would be the first Occupy debacle that could boomerang back directly on Obama.  Not necessarily because he'll be directing the horse corps, but because it's his city, his former chief of staff, his international meeting.  Chicago's so closely tied to Obama, it'd be hard not to interpret him as being part of whatever suppression tactics the CPD will inevitably deploy. 

You thinking this?

[patric]

Sadly, history tends to repeat itself

Some confrontations are planned. Some are spontaneous. This one was planned, but nothing happened the way it was supposed to. Many months before the Chicago convention, experienced movement activists decided that it would be an ideal place to confront "the system" and demand an end to the Viet Nam war. They invited one hundred thousand people to come and demonstrate. The City of Chicago responded by refusing to grant permits for any marches and for only one rally.

The expected masses did not show. Only a few thousand people participated in the demonstrations; most of those were local, or had come to support their favorite Democratic candidates. They were swept into the protests by events more than by intention. Outnumbered by law enforcement by five to one, 589 people would be arrested while the Democrats met in August, and many were injured.

The major battles were fought in Lincoln Park, three miles north of the Loop (the city center), when the police tried to enforce evening curfews. A legal rally in Grant Park ended when the police clubbed a teenager who was lowering an American flag, and others who tried to protect him.
Mayor Richard J. Daley called out 7,500 members of the Illinois National Guard to reinforce the 12,000 police officers. Wednesday night they tried to remove everyone -- mostly party volunteers, candidate supporters and tourists -- from Michigan Avenue in front of the Hilton hotel, which was the convention headquarters. While the nominating speeches were being given at the amphitheater several miles away, these unlucky people were pushed through plate glass windows when caught between Guard and police as they dispersed the crowd.

TV cameras in front of the Hilton captured the confrontation. When these images were played on monitors at the convention itself -- about an hour later -- they disrupted the proceedings far more than the demonstrators could have had they succeeded in their efforts to march. "The whole world is watching" became more than just a slogan. What an official report later described as a "police riot" did more damage to Chicago's reputation  than anything the protestors could have done.

[Conan71]

"I'm sorry I ruined your Black Panther party"

[Red Arrow]

Assuming that it was a guess!  Put some tape over your webcam.  We're watching you!

I'm in disguise.

[we vs us]

You thinking this?

I am in fact.  CPD isn't as inherently belligerent as it used to be in the 60's, but it's also the police force of the third largest city in America, which means it has access to pseudo military gear and tactics, and if they're called on to protect something that seems like an assault on the city and its guests . . . well, you could see where things could get hairy pretty quickly. 

[patric]

Its like deja-vu all over again! Donald Segretti anyone?

Seriously, these aren't new tactics. We saw them under Nixon/Agnew and Hoover when young people were demonstrating. I remember the naivete of people at that time who found it impossible to believe that government or political entities would infiltrate and pollute such movements. I was one of them.

Its real, its pervasive and its accepted. Sometimes people in the movements are mislead and gravitate towards the very things that will destroy their movement. Gingrich shows up for a speaking engagement where Romney supporters have packed the hall with malcontents and Romney supporters. What makes you think they wouldn't do the same thing to wreak havoc with punk donkey kids?

With all of that going on, something remarkable slipped through the cracks.
So, I'll give credit where credit is due:  A police department with backbone in New York State --


ALBANY -- In a tense battle of wills, state troopers and Albany police held off making arrests of dozens of protesters near the Capitol over the weekend even as Albany's mayor, under pressure from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration, had urged his police chief to enforce a city curfew.

The situation intensified late Friday evening when Jennings, who has cultivated a strong relationship with Cuomo, directed his department to arrest protesters who refused to leave the city-owned portion of a large park that's across Washington Avenue from the Capitol and City Hall.

At the Capitol, in anticipation of possibly dozens of arrests, a State Police civil disturbance unit was quietly activated, according to officials briefed on the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. But as the curfew neared, the group of protesters estimated at several hundred moved across an invisible line in the park from state land onto city property.

"We were ready to make arrests if needed, but these people complied with our orders," a State Police official said. However, he added that State Police supported the defiant posture of Albany police leaders to hold off making arrests for the low-level offense of trespassing, in part because of concern it could incite a riot or draw thousands of protesters in a backlash that could endanger police and the public.

"We don't have those resources, and these people were not causing trouble," the official said. "The bottom line is the police know policing, not the governor and not the mayor."

A city police source said his department also was reluctant to damage what he considers to be good community relations that have taken years to rebuild. In addition, the crowd included elderly people and many others who brought their children with them.

"There was a lot of discussion about how it would look if we started pulling people away from their kids and arresting them ... and then what do we do with the children?" one officer said.

Around midnight Friday, police leaders reported that the protesters were confined to city sidewalks and therefore they were not in violation of the city's curfew governing park land. But in truth, the protesters had set up tents in the park and several dozen slept there.

Meanwhile, Albany County District Attorney David Soares on Sunday said that over the weekend he had conversations with Jennings, Albany Police Chief Steven Krokoff and State Police officials about his concerns regarding prosecution of "peaceful protesters."

Soares said protests at the state Capitol are common, and historically anyone arrested for trespassing generally faces a low-level charge that's later dismissed.

"Our official policy with peaceful protesters is that unless there is property damage or injuries to law enforcement, we don't prosecute people protesting," Soares said. "If law enforcement engaged in a pre-emptive strike and started arresting people I believe it would lead to calamitous results, and the people protesting so far are peaceful."

Soares said another concern discussed by law enforcement officials was whether arrests could trigger an influx of young adults from Albany's significant college community.

Joshua Vlasto, a spokesman for Cuomo, did not respond directly to questions about contact between Cuomo's secretary, Larry Schwartz, and Jennings. "The state is working collaboratively with the city to enforce the curfew," Vlasto said in a statement Friday evening.

Late Friday afternoon, after his contact with the governor's office, Jennings took a hard-line stance and indicated he had instructed his police force to enforce the city's curfew. He declined to talk about his conversations with Schwartz, saying: "It's not important."

Inside police circles, there was speculation by some officials that the pressure from the governor's office to enforce the curfew was about political perception. They noted that some critics had questioned New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's handling of a similar protest in lower Manhattan that has become an organized fixture, with medical supplies, food and even donated office space supporting the protesters.

Jennings and Krokoff could not be reached for comment on Sunday afternoon. About 30 tents remained as the sun rose Sunday morning, and protesters who stayed the night remained commited to staying in the park as long as their message had not yet affected change.

"I think this has to go on indefinitely," said Chris Scully, 23, an engineer from Troy, as he wrote "Our Way Of Life is Dying" on a sign.

Local media outlets captured a small fight on video that happened during the Saturday night protest, a scuffle that apparently involved a passer-by trying to take a sign away from someone. But police made no arrests. The protest, called Occupy Albany, is an offshoot of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City that participants say aim to eradicate economic inequality. The protests have taken place across the country and spread overseas, including London.

The police strategy in Albany was evident early Friday. Krokoff issued a departmentwide memo instructing officers "to be continually aware of the possibility that a small element may intentionally seek to draw us into conflict," according to a copy obtained by the Times Union. "At this time I have no intention of assigning officers to monitor, watch, videotape or influence any behavior that is conducted by our citizens peacefully demonstrating in Academy Park. ... In the event we are required to respond to a crime in progress or a reported crime, we will do so in the same manner that we do on a daily basis."
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Under-pressure-to-make-arrests-police-and-2232934.php#ixzz1bjuTTSmY

[Gaspar]

Occupy McD protester gets tased.
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012/02/03/1155055

Those dirty cops!

[Townsend]

Occupy McD protester gets tased.
http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012/02/03/1155055

Those dirty cops!

I wondered how many people stayed in line while the whole thing unfolded.  "I'd really like my apple mcpie now."

[Conan71]

DON'T TAZE ME BRO!  DON'T TAZE ME!!!!  AAAAGHHGGGHHH!

[Gaspar]

Awesome!  It's a business opportunity now!

Protesters at Friday’s “Occupy CPAC” event, organized by AFL-CIO and the Occupy DC movement, told The Daily Caller that they were paid “sixty bucks a head” to protest outside the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.

One protester told TheDC that all the “Occupy” activists were being paid to protest, and that his union, Sheet Metal Workers Local 100, approached him about the money-making opportunity.

“I have nothing nice to say about Local 100. … They just told me ‘you wanna make sixty bucks? So c’mon,’” the protester said.

Other “Occupy CPAC” protesters were unwilling to speak on camera because they were unaware what they were protesting and what the CPAC event was about.



Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/10/occupy-cpac-protesters-paid-60-for-the-day/#ixzz1m0aNlOmF

[Conan71]

Awesome!  It's a business opportunity now!

Protesters at Friday’s “Occupy CPAC” event, organized by AFL-CIO and the Occupy DC movement, told The Daily Caller that they were paid “sixty bucks a head” to protest outside the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.

One protester told TheDC that all the “Occupy” activists were being paid to protest, and that his union, Sheet Metal Workers Local 100, approached him about the money-making opportunity.

“I have nothing nice to say about Local 100. … They just told me ‘you wanna make sixty bucks? So c’mon,’” the protester said.

Other “Occupy CPAC” protesters were unwilling to speak on camera because they were unaware what they were protesting and what the CPAC event was about.



Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/10/occupy-cpac-protesters-paid-60-for-the-day/#ixzz1m0aNlOmF

That's it! We need to unionize the protestors.  They need higher wages than $60 per day, plus they need healthcare and a pension!

[Gaspar]

That's it! We need to unionize the protestors.  They need higher wages than $60 per day, plus they need healthcare and a pension!

They should form their own union and demand that the AFL-CIO pay them more and provide benefits.  If they refuse, they could launch a strike at the protest, and picket the picketing.  Or they could take $30 of the $60 they are being paid and pay someone else to picket them as they picket.

[we vs us]

G8 Summit in Chicago cancelled:

(Crain's) — The G8 summit has been canceled in Chicago in May, according to the White House, though the NATO summit will still be held in Chicago.

The White House issued a statement this afternoon saying the economic summit will be held instead at the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland.

No reason was given for the change. A White House spokeswoman said the decision to relocate the G8 meeting to Camp David in Maryland “had nothing to do with any kind of terrorist threat.”

It's an unusual late location change for such a large international summit.

The G8 meeting will be held May 18-19. The White House says Mr. Obama still plans to host the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21.

The White House announced last summer that Obama would hold both summits in his hometown of Chicago.

The White House statement from the White House reads:

"To facilitate a free-flowing discussion with our close G8 partners, the president is inviting his fellow G-8 leaders to Camp David on May 18-19 for the G8 Summit, which will address a broad range of economic, political and security issues.

"The president will then welcome NATO allies and partners to his hometown of Chicago for the NATO Summit on May 20-21."

The last time a G8 summit was held in the United States was in 2004 at Sea Island, Ga.

Somebody decided to deflate the OWS Spring Offensive just a bit. Can't say that was a dumb idea.   

[Gaspar]

Don't blame them. Chicago is falling apart.  OWS seems to be able to make a spectacle at every public event there.  Rahm can't do anything without some kind of protest march or unwashed gathering.

Probably not a real good idea to have leaders from around the globe all converge in an area so insecure.

The president needs the movement, and it would be damaging to him if they produced an international embarrassment, or something worse.  Camp David is secluded and offers an unbelievably secure stronghold that will be difficult to penetrate by prying eyes, and avoids embarrassing defication incidents.