Occupy Wall Street----Boston(NECN: Peter Howe, Boston, Mass.) - A group that says it now exceeds 200 people has pitched tents in a park in downtown Boston, vowing to settle in for a long-term protest against banks, capitalism, the wealthiest Americans and the government. “We’re here indefinitely,’’ Nadeem Mazen, a participant in the “Occupy Boston” event, said in an interview Monday. “We’re doing a number of great actions every day. We are having great consensus-based discussions. This is real democracy. We are having real direct democracy.’’ But just what the point of all this is? That’s still not quite so clear. “We’re talking about government reform and financial reform in order to restore the promise of America,’’ Mazen said. “We’re talking about the ties between Wall Street and finance and government.’’ Zoe White, a self-described “transwoman” in the process of moving from man to woman who is currently homeless, said, “A lot of people have been asking questions about the main objective or the main demands. We have lots of ideas … This is a living movement. Anything we do is done by consensus. Nothing can be decided by one person.’’ Several participants described the event as a protest by the other 99 percent of the people against the 1 percent of Americans who they say control 50 percent of the wealth in the country. While the group is violating several city ordinances and has not pulled a permit to camp in the Greenway plot, Boston Police superintendent William Evans said there are no plans to evict or arrest a group he says has been well-behaved and respectful and attended to things like picking up their own trash. “They’ve been very respectful of the public, and right now there are no problems at all,’’ Evans said. “They have a First Amendment right to protest here and show their support against some companies, and we respect that right. As long as things are going well, they’re well behaved, there’s no issues, we’ll respect that right.’’ How well the group is doing convincing average workers it has a clear agenda, much less persuading them to support it – those aren’t so clear. “I think what it comes down to is that it’s a lot of people who are mad at something, but they’re not exactly sure what, and they want to stop it, but they’re not exactly sure how,’’ Greg Kerr of Boston said. Nima Krodell, taking lunch back to her office downtown, said from what she could see, “They’re, like, anti-big-business. It seems a little vague to me. I don’t know.’’ Nathan Katz of Quincy said he was sympathetic to the protesters’ messages. “I think I understand why they’re doing it, and I feel for them, but at the same time, I feel like they should go out and get jobs themselves and participate in the economy a little better,’’ Katz said. “Camping out for days in front of buildings doesn’t do much good for anybody.’’ With videographer Cameron T. Robbins

(NECN: Peter Howe, Boston, Mass.) - A group that says it now exceeds 200 people has pitched tents in a park in downtown Boston, vowing to settle in for a long-term protest against banks, capitalism, the wealthiest Americans and the government.

“We’re here indefinitely,’’ Nadeem Mazen, a participant in the “Occupy Boston” event, said in an interview Monday. “We’re doing a number of great actions every day. We are having great consensus-based discussions. This is real democracy. We are having real direct democracy.’’

But just what the point of all this is? That’s still not quite so clear.

“We’re talking about government reform and financial reform in order to restore the promise of America,’’ Mazen said. “We’re talking about the ties between Wall Street and finance and government.’’

Zoe White, a self-described “transwoman” in the process of moving from man to woman who is currently homeless, said, “A lot of people have been asking questions about the main objective or the main demands. We have lots of ideas … This is a living movement. Anything we do is done by consensus. Nothing can be decided by one person.’’

Several participants described the event as a protest by the other 99 percent of the people against the 1 percent of Americans who they say control 50 percent of the wealth in the country.

While the group is violating several city ordinances and has not pulled a permit to camp in the Greenway plot, Boston Police superintendent William Evans said there are no plans to evict or arrest a group he says has been well-behaved and respectful and attended to things like picking up their own trash.

“They’ve been very respectful of the public, and right now there are no problems at all,’’ Evans said. “They have a First Amendment right to protest here and show their support against some companies, and we respect that right. As long as things are going well, they’re well behaved, there’s no issues, we’ll respect that right.’’

How well the group is doing convincing average workers it has a clear agenda, much less persuading them to support it – those aren’t so clear.

“I think what it comes down to is that it’s a lot of people who are mad at something, but they’re not exactly sure what, and they want to stop it, but they’re not exactly sure how,’’ Greg Kerr of Boston said.

Nima Krodell, taking lunch back to her office downtown, said from what she could see, “They’re, like, anti-big-business. It seems a little vague to me. I don’t know.’’
Nathan Katz of Quincy said he was sympathetic to the protesters’ messages. “I think I understand why they’re doing it, and I feel for them, but at the same time, I feel like they should go out and get jobs themselves and participate in the economy a little better,’’ Katz said. “Camping out for days in front of buildings doesn’t do much good for anybody.’’

With videographer Cameron T. Robbins

Occupy Wall Street-Boston

Thousands come together in Occupy Boston protests

By Kit Haines  from The Tech

October 4, 2011

Last Friday at 6 p.m., several hundred people were already milling about Dewey Square by South Station in Boston. A man with buttons lining his hat took the megaphone to start the chant, “Whose city? Our city!”; Dan, it was explained to me, was an old face at protests in the city.

Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests — thousands of protesters have been camping out in New York City since Sept. 17 — Occupy Boston has gathered thousands of people who also want to join in on the discussion about economic equality and democracy. The occupation, which started last Friday in Dewey Square, had drawn almost 2,000 people that evening at its peak, The Tech estimates.

While there is a general consensus among protestors that things need to change, what exactly this change entails is yet to be determined. They call this occupation a discussion of, by, and for the people: “Our country is owned by the top one percent. We are the 99 percent. Join the conversation!”

As people started filtering into Dewey Square, drumbeats resonated throughout the air, providing some entertainment for the growing crowd. People held signs high with slogans that became iconic of the Occupy Boston movement: “We are the 99%,” “No war but class war,” “United Against Wall Street.” The police occupying the borders of the square were politely ignored as the crowd began to organize itself.

Organized protest groups come together

Many of the protesters participating in Occupy Boston are also part of other Boston-area activist movements.

Take Back Boston, a joint protest covering Hyatt hotel layoffs, Verizon union disputes, and Bank of America foreclosures, began at 2 p.m. at Boston Common and ended its march in time for the occupation in Dewey Square.

The Boston coalition of Jobs with Justice, a national network seeking to empower workers and communities, set up a booth for the protesters, marking a stop sign with “Stop Corporate Greed” in a nearby flower pot. They were taking donations, signing people up on their email lists, and selling the newspaper Justice, produced by the Socialist Alternative — a national activist organization. Jeremy, who connected with Jobs with Justice at the protest, was wearing one of their small stickers on his chest as he relayed his concerns about the Bank of America; the bank gets excessive tax rebates and promotes gentrification by foreclosing homes, he said.

Other groups came ahead of time — in shirts — to put forth their own specific complaints.

A half-dozen people from the T Riders’ Union were angered by what they called the “classist” behavior of the MBTA. According to the group, while the MBTA services all of the Greater Boston area, the train lines avoid the poorer areas of the city, which are instead serviced by busses.

Critical Mass Boston, an organized bike group that “reclaims the streets of Boston for bikes” on the last Friday of every month, also made an appearance. Riding through Dewey Square, they were met with supportive cheers from the Occupy Boston protesters. Critical Mass, consisting of hundreds of bikers, stopped traffic as they took to the streets, slowing down and pausing in the square. Many of the bikers seemed fascinated by the protest and mingled with the protesters before taking off. Still others came back later to join the protest.

Emma, one of the riders, said that she has missed only a couple of rides since May. It is a “great way to get out and meet new friends,” she said.

New York-based Rude Mechanical Orchestra came to Boston to bring musical encouragement to the protest. Although only a small number were present, they played their music as loud as ever.

Protest attracts curious onlookers

Not everyone who participated in Occupy Boston were protest veterans. There were many new faces as well.

Visiting after work on her daughter’s advice, Kaitlyn was simply interested in seeing what was happening. Although she wasn’t sure she was ready to spend the night, she was curious about “joining the discussion.”

Social networking played a big role here. Salma, a resident of Medford originally from Morocco, had read about the protests on Twitter and decided to make an appearance. Students from the Wentworth Institute of Technology had heard about the protest on Facebook.

There were even those who dressed up for the occasion.

A man who went by the name “Boston Scooterdude” scootered up and down the sidewalk with his sign, “It’s all about Free Speech, and Free to be heard!” He attended the protest because he believed there was a lack of traditional media coverage of Occupy Wall Street.

“Everyone here is a CEO, a Community Excellence Organizer, and every one of them is just as important to me as the CEOs on Wall Street, and that is how it should be,” said Scooterdude.

One man in a suit and top hat was hoping irony would carry the message better. His sign read, “More Prisons Less Schools.” With his sign and costume he hoped to “capture some of the absurdity of the state of the nation.”

The Protest Chaplains didn’t arrive until later, dressed in white robes holding a cardboard sign inscribed with “Blessed are the poor.” The Chaplains said their goal was to bring “spiritual, emotional, and mental support to the protesters.” Marisa Egerstrom, one of the Chaplains, added, “People of all faiths are invited and welcome to talk with us and join us in the protest.”

Over 200 people had attended the first Occupy Boston planning meeting on Tuesday. Since then, the crowd grew at subsequent evening planning sessions. By Friday, almost 2,000 protesters split up into organizational groups: legal, medical, tactical, media, and food.

In a “general assembly” meeting, protestors spoke out with a people’s microphone; the crowd repeated the speaker, propagating the message. Hand symbols were used to show support or dissent for ideas, and to save voices for cheers as groups made announcements.

With everyone able to stand and speak, Kaitlyn explained, “It was a chance to be part of something bigger.”

One speaker summed it all up nicely: “No one slogan captures Occupy Boston. … It is a discussion, and everyone has a voice.”

Occupy Boston: Beyond left and Right, But It’s Right

The protests in Boston from Charleston Patch

As Occupy Boston, the child of the national movement Occupy Wall Street, develops, some people have tried to claim it’s disorganized and purposeless. 

To some extent this is true, but it is a movement that needs no coherent, bullet-point plan; it simply needs to make a point, and it has. 

Sure, some may say the crowds in Dewey Square aren’t that big and this is just a movement for the purpose of belonging to a movement. Or some may echo the feelings of a comment a jogger yelled as he ran by the Rose Kennedy Greenway yesterday, saying, “get a job,” -- insinuating that protesters are just lazy hippies causing trouble for no reason. 

The great thing about what is happening, not only here in Boston, but in New York and other cities as well, is the focus on a major concern we should all have about our country. This issue is far beyond left and right. In fact, this is an area where the political gap should be bridged.

The majority of us getting screwed by stagnant wages, outrageous health care costs, student loan bills, a destroyed housing market and record unemployment. But a handful of people who sit at the top of these industries are making money on all our suffering. We should all feel outrage about this. 

The fact is Bank of America is raising its fees on users -- that's you and me -- while its CEO pulls in millions of dollars. This is a dangerous and irresponsible step for the country's largest bank. And it reflects the general direction our financial and business institutions are moving in. This is the kind of thing Occupy Boston and Occupy Wall Street are objecting: We all pay more while the few at the top collect. 

At a time when our country is stuck at 9.1 percent (fake) unemployment and something over 18 percent actual unemployment, banks such as Bank of America should be trying to help solve the problem. But why should we expect them or any other major institution to help fix the mess they caused? We shouldn’t. 

We are like abused citizens at this point. The middle class did not cause this problem, yet we are told we must be the ones to sacrifice for it. We are told Social Security must be “reformed" (aka reduced or cut entirely), we are told classroom sizes must get bigger, companies must cut salaries, overtime should be eliminated, colleges have to raise tuition and student loans are a necessity if you want to get a degree. And this is all happening as we watch the fat and bloated salaried Red Sox blow a historic lead.

Yeah, Occupy Boston is right!

How about Occupy Fenway, Occupy colleges, Occupy health care companies, Occupy everything. Also, for those that may be thinking this is just angst from somebody on the left, it's not. I blame the corruption in government for allowing this charade to continue. 

Let me ask you something, regardless of your political persuasions -- why should a big national bank, where a CEO makes millions of dollars a month, be allowed to charge its customers for usingtheir money? 

When did we allow this as a country? Comcast, AIG, you name it, continue to fleece us and we in the middle class stand around and yell at each other. Meanwhile those on the top laugh all the way to the... well you know how that phrase ends.

Occupy Boston is good because the insanity needs to stop. This is beyond left and right, this about the middle class coming together. We need to stop letting the ruling class divide and conquer us, using wedge issues to keep us apart. We need to unite and take our country back.

If you pass those protesters in Dewey Square, say hi, thank them and maybe even take some time to join them. 

Check out Jack's new blog, where he is occupying around the clock: Coffee with Caesar, coffeewithcaesar.com.

About this column: The view on politics, sports and social issues from the edge of Bunker Hill. Read more of Jack's work at http://coffeewithcaesar.com.

The Huffington Post Occupy Wall Street-Across America Page

Occupy Wall Street America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Occupy Wall Street-LA

Occupy Wall Street Protests Inspire Demonstrations In Other Cities

By CHRIS HAWLEY   10/ 4/11

NEW YORK -- Protests against Wall Street entered their 18th day Tuesday as demonstrators across the country show their anger over the wobbly economy and what they see as corporate greed by marching on Federal Reserve banks and camping out in parks from Los Angeles to Portland, Maine.

Demonstrations are expected to continue throughout the week as more groups hold organizational meetings and air their concerns on websites and through streaming video.

In Manhattan on Monday, hundreds of protesters dressed as corporate zombies in white face paint lurched past the New York Stock Exchange clutching fistfuls of fake money. In Chicago, demonstrators pounded drums in the city's financial district. Others pitched tents or waved protest signs at passing cars in Boston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., and Los Angeles.

A slice of America's discontented, from college students worried about their job prospects to middle-age workers who have been recently laid off, were galvanized after the arrests of 700 protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend.

Some protesters likened themselves to the tea party movement – but with a liberal bent – or to the Arab Spring demonstrators who brought down their rulers in the Middle East.

"We feel the power in Washington has actually been compromised by Wall Street," said Jason Counts, a computer systems analyst and one of about three dozen protesters in St. Louis. "We want a voice, and our voice has slowly been degraded over time."

The Occupy Wall Street protests started on Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp in a park nearby and have become increasingly organized, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper, the Occupied Wall Street Journal.

About 100 demonstrators were arrested on Sept. 24 and some were pepper-sprayed. On Saturday police arrested 700 on charges of disorderly conduct and blocking a public street as they tried to march over the Brooklyn Bridge. Police said they took five more protesters into custody on Monday, though it was unclear whether they had been charged with any crime.

"At this point, we don't anticipate wider unrest," said Tim Flannelly, an FBI spokesman in New York, "but should it occur the city, including the NYPD and the FBI, will deploy any and all resources necessary to control any developments."

Flannelly said he does not expect the New York protests to develop into the often-violent demonstrations that have rocked cities in the United Kingdom since the summer. But he said the FBI is "monitoring the situation and will respond accordingly."

Wiljago Cook, of Oakland, Calif., who joined the New York protest on the first day, said she was shocked by the arrests.

"Exposing police brutality wasn't even really on my agenda, but my eyes have been opened," she said. She vowed to stay in New York "as long as it seems useful."

City bus drivers sued the New York Police Department on Monday for commandeering their buses and making them drive to the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday to pick up detained protesters.

"We're down with these protesters. We support the notion that rich folk are not paying their fair share," said Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen. "Our bus operators are not going to be pressed into service to arrest protesters anywhere."

The city's Law Department said the NYPD's actions were proper.

On Monday, the zombies stayed on the sidewalks as they wound through Manhattan's financial district chanting, "How to fix the deficit: End the war, tax the rich!" They lurched along with their arms in front of them. Some yelled, "I smell money!"

Reaction was mixed from passers-by.

Roland Klingman, who works in the financial industry and was wearing a suit as he walked through a raucous crowd of protesters, said he could sympathize with the anti-Wall Street message.

"I don't think it's directed personally at everyone who works down here," Klingman said. "If they believe everyone down here contributes to policy decisions, it's a serious misunderstanding."

Another man in a suit yelled at the protesters, "Go back to work!" He declined to be interviewed.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire who made his fortune as a corporate executive, has said the demonstrators are making a mistake by targeting Wall Street.

"The protesters are protesting against people who make $40- or $50,000 a year and are struggling to make ends meet. That's the bottom line. Those are the people who work on Wall Street or in the finance sector," Bloomberg said in a radio interview Friday.

Some protesters planned to travel to other cities to organize similar events.

John Hildebrand, a protester in New York from Norman, Okla., hoped to mount a protest there after returning home Tuesday. Julie Levine, a protester in Los Angeles, planned to go to Washington on Thursday.

Websites and Facebook pages with names like Occupy Boston and Occupy Philadelphia have also sprung up to plan the demonstrations.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched from a tent city on a grassy plot in downtown Boston to the Statehouse to call for an end of corporate influence of government.

"Our beautiful system of American checks and balances has been thoroughly trashed by the influence of banks and big finance that have made it impossible for the people to speak," said protester Marisa Engerstrom, of Somerville, Mass., a Harvard doctoral student.

The Boston demonstrators decorated their tents with hand-written signs reading, "Fight the rich, not their wars" and "Human need, not corporate greed."

Some stood on the sidewalk holding up signs, engaging in debate with passers-by and waving at honking cars. One man yelled "Go home!" from his truck. Another man made an obscene gesture.

Patrick Putnam, a 27-year-old chef from Framingham, Mass., said he's standing up for the 99 percent of Americans who have no say in what happens in government.

"We don't have voices, we don't have lobbyists, so we've been pretty much neglected by Washington," he said.

In Chicago, protesters beat drums on the corner near the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In Los Angeles, demonstrators hoping to get TV coverage gathered in front of the courthouse where Michael Jackson's doctor is on trial on manslaughter charges.

Protesters in St. Louis stood on a street corner a few blocks from the shimmering Gateway Arch, carrying signs that read, "How Did The Cat Get So Fat?," "You're a Pawn in Their Game" and "We Want The Sacks Of Gold Goldman Sachs Stole From Us."

"Money talks, and it seems like money has all the power," said Apollonia Childs. "I don't want to see any homeless people on the streets, and I don't want to see a veteran or elderly people struggle. We all should have our fair share. We all vote, pay taxes. Tax the rich."

___

Verena Dobnik, Karen Matthews, Cristian Salazar and Jennifer Peltz in New York; Jim Suhr in St. Louis; David Sharp in Portland, Maine; Mark Pratt in Boston; Patrick Walters in Philadelphia; Pete Yost in Washington; Bill Draper in Kansas City, Mo.; Carla K. Johnson in Chicago, and Christina Hoag and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

(http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com)