OB Rag Coverage of the Occupy Wall Street & Occupy San Diego Movements

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead

The OB Rag has been following the Occupy Wall Street Movement since it moved into Zuccotti Park on the 17th of September, and several of us have been involved, on some level, in Occupy San Diego since it began planning later that same month. The articles on this page are an archive of pieces we have posted about the Occupy Movement.

Occupy San Diego

Get involved! For more information; on the Web, #OccupySD, Twitter, Facebook, Ustream & Livestream. For daily updates on issues relating to local efforts, subscribe to the OccupySD email newsletter maintained by Ray Lutz. Occupy San Diego needs bodies on the ground at 3rd and B St, Downtown San Diego

Bank of America Target of Occupy San Diego Demonstrators and Supporters

November 6, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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Several hundred San Diegans marched and rallied in downtown San Diego yesterday (Nov 5, 2011) against Bank of America. It was Bank Transfer Day, and as hundreds of thousands of Americans withdraw their monies from the large banks, locals too were closing their accounts.

Sponsored by Occupy San Diego, MoveOn and Veterans for Peace, a crowd gathered at the Civic Center Plaza about 10:30 in the morning. The Plaza has been the site on the on-going Occupy San Diego movement as it enters the anniversary of its first month.

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The U-T: Portraits of the Occupiers of Occupy San Diego

November 6, 2011 by Source
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Editor: Today’s San Diego U-T ran a nice series of portraits by Matthew T. Hall of seven of the occupiers of Occupy San Diego, accompanied by excellent photos by U-T staff photographer K.C. Alfred. The piece is much more sympathetic to our own Occupy Wall Street protesters than the standard fare from the U-T. And Hall, at least, has spent some time out on the quad and at bank actions in an sincere effort to get to know just who is doing the daily occupying.

By Matthew T. Hall / San Diego U-T SignOnSanDiego / November 4 – 6, 2011

On Monday, the Occupy San Diego movement will mark a milestone many locals may not have seen coming: Its first month of occupation.

True to the word’s double meaning, camping out on downtown city property has become a job for dozens of demonstrators who protest corporate greed and economic inequality by day, and sleep (or not) outside the Civic Theatre at night.

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Occupy Movement in the News for the Week Ending 11-7-11: “We are here to take care of each other!”

November 6, 2011 by Anna Daniels
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This week’s news of the movement takes place against the backdrop of two reports also released this week that detail how the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer .” We knew that already. Now we can update our signs…

The leading story is Occupy Oakland’s successful general strike and temporary port shutdown this past Wednesday. Estimates are all over the map about how many people participated over the course of the day to protest the violent eviction of Occupiers and wounding of an Iraq War vet by police during the previous week. Check out this raw chopper video of the march to the port and do a head count yourself!

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Protesters to Converge on Gaslamp Bank of America for National Move Your Money Day

November 4, 2011 by Source

SAN DIEGO—Several groups, including MoveOn.org, Veterans for Peace, the Gray Panthers, and Occupy San Diego will be holding a “Death of the American Dream” mock funeral outside of Gaslamp Bank of America, 455 Island Ave. at noon.

The rally is part of the national bank transfer day (www.banktransferday.org), in which customers are urged to move their money out of banks and into community credit unions.

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Occupy San Diego Unfairly Blamed for Long-Standing Issues at Civic Center

November 4, 2011 by Source

Protestors want Centre City Coffee and Brooklyn Dogs to reopen and set new business records Occupy San Diego will not be participating nor protesting Carl DeMaio’s Nov 7th Event Friday, November 4, 2011 – Occupy San Diego openly expresses its support for Centre City Coffee and Brooklyn Dogs, the family-owned vendor carts operating at the […]

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The 5th of November: Occupy San Diego to Promote Bank Transfer Day and Plans to March Through Downtown San Diego

November 4, 2011 by Staff

Occupy San Diego to Promote Bank Transfer Day, November 5 – Group plans to march through downtown San Diego

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Saturday, November 5th at 10:30 AM, Occupy San Diego is holding a Big Banks Funeral March from the Civic Center to Petco Park to Bank of America, to stand in solidarity with National Bank Transfer Day and to encourage people to switch from large Banks to Credit Unions. TARP bailouts, illegal foreclosures and government bribery are out of control and the Occupation Movement is sending a message that American citizens will not take it any longer.

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Occupy Wall Street Movement Can Lead to a Better World

November 4, 2011 by Ernie McCray
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Editor: The following piece by Ernie McCray ran in today’s Op-Ed section of the San Diego U-T, as Ernie is a member of their Community Dialog partnership. Yet, we couldn’t find it online today.

More and more people are assessing the “Occupy Movement” with statements like: “We don’t think their way is working” or “There’s no single leader” or “It’s anti-capitalism.”

Now who can say at this stage of the movement what’s working or not working? Besides, there wasn’t a single leader in the Great Civil Rights Movement until Martin came along. And how does pretty much labeling something as Un-American promote positive social change?

But, we might consider that all the finite organizing that some think the movement should be doing, with clear goals and objectives and the like, under the guidance of some master leader who can, without bashing capitalism, articulate that we simply need a little more justice and decent paying jobs – well, maybe this is not for Occupy to do alone.

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The San Diego City Council and Occupy San Diego: How the City put the Cart before the Constitution

November 4, 2011 by Anna Daniels
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The City’s position is pretty damn clear- Occupy San Diego is a threat to business and business must be protected at all costs and above all other things such as protected freedom of speech and the right to assemble. While City Council President Tony Young has not responded to Occupy San Diego’s request for a resolution despite three weeks of an Occupy presence at council and myriad phone calls, the City has moved remarkably quickly to “help vendors displaced by Occupy San Diego.”

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‘Occupy’ protest sites a good thing, say landscape architects

November 4, 2011 by Source
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By Roger Showley / SignOnSanDiego / November 1, 2011

The takeover of parks, plazas and other public spaces by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement is a good thing, said a panel of landscape architects on the future of cities Tuesday at the American Society of Landscape Architects convention meeting in San Diego.

“I am so thrilled that we have reclaimed these places as places of protest and how important they are,” said Maurice Cox, former mayor of Charlottesville, Va., who now teaches urban design at the University of Virginia.

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Will anyone ask Occupy questions of the SDPD?

November 3, 2011 by Source
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By Lucas O’Connor / TwoCathedrals / November 2, 2011

It’s been a heady couple of weeks for OccupySD, indeed for the entire national Occupy effort. The dynamics of the movement and the importance of the issues being raised provide plenty to chew over for a long time yet, but even more immediately, its interactions with police have raised a number of questions that the public deserves answers to. None of these issues are raised with any presumption that the SDPD will be unable to provide a good explanation — I both expect and hope that they will. But that’s different than not caring if those answers are ever provided. It’s still necessary to raise these questions and require a meaningful process of accountability.

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Despite all the problems, Occupy San Diego is still occupied by the banks

November 2, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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Today is proof that despite all its problems – the disarray and the disenchantment of officialdom – Occupy San Diego is still focused on the banks; its attention is still occupied by the banks – as the source of the country’s economic woes. Today saw a march and rally in front of the Wells Fargo branch on B Street. There is another march and rally against Bank of America being planned on Saturday, November 5th.

With the help of a kick-off rally at the Civic Center Plaza initiated by the San Diego Labor Council at noon, several hundred demonstrators marched east to “bank central” – the intersection of B Street and 5th Avenue, where a middle-of-the-street impromptu rally was held.

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Withdrawal Wednesday – March at Noon

November 2, 2011 by Staff

Withdrawal Wedne$day Rally

November 2 at 12pm

Meet at Civic Center

3rd and B Street, San Diego

It is time to take the power and our money back from the BIG Banks.

Join the Labor Council and Occupy San Diego as we take part in the national movement to transfer funds from the BIG Banks to our local credit unions.

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The Occupy Movement in Europe

November 2, 2011 by Randall Erickson

By Randall Erickson / Special to the OB Rag

PARIS. Recent events have caused me to add a preamble to this dispatch. These concern the very idea of democracy. The Greek prime minister announced that he would call for a referendum on the agreement he reached with the members of the Euro Zone on the management of the Greek debt and austerity program. This was too much for the powerful financiers and their stock markets which immediately plunged. So they have already voted against the democracy of the people. Can’t let the people decide on their own futures, you need the capitalist oligarchy and technocracy to do that.

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Oakland General Strike Begins – Spurred On by the Occupy Movement

November 2, 2011 by Source
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By Cecily Burt, Kristin Bender, Sean Maher, Thomas Peele / Oakland Tribune – MercuryNews.com / Nov. 2, 2011 – updated 09:29:24 AM PDT

OAKLAND — Occupy demonstrators turned their ire on big banks Wednesday by marching, blocking traffic and chanting — and in some cases, defacing ATMs and pounding on doors at Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase and Citibank branches around downtown.

Thousands of people from all walks of life poured into downtown Oakland from points east, north, south and west, with more heading in every minute to lend their support and their voices to the general strike, the first of its kind in Oakland since 1946. For a time large crowds split off in separate marches, with some staying at the Occupy Oakland camp at 14th and Broadway, and others marching and protesting at various banks located near the Kaiser Center at 20th and Webster streets.

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For Third Time Occupy San Diego Activists Approach City Council for Support

November 1, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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For the third time in as many weeks, Occupy San Diego activists attended the Tuesday San Diego City Council meeting in efforts to elicit support from the Council. They did this by making comments during the “Public Comment” period looking for a resolution from the City’s legislative branch in favor of Occupy San Diego’s efforts – such as the LA City Council took for Occupy LA.

Organizers spoke about the recent late-night police raids during which 51 occupiers were arrested, about the people injured during those raids, and particularly about the manner in which police made subsequent arrests – producing an extremely negative image for the City.

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Updates on Reclaiming Personal Property Siezed by SDPD During OccupySD Friday Morning Raid

November 1, 2011 by Patty Jones
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UPDATES inside

Police confiscated a large amount of personal property when they swept through the civic Center Plaza early friday morning, and many people have expressed concern over how or if they would be able to get any of it back.

As posted by Matthew Hall, a rough list of items confiscated from OccupySD

  • 4 big pop up tents
  • 7 big trash cans full of miscellaneous stuff (ie. skateboards, blankets, clothing, sleeping bags, tents, tarps)
  • 15 chairs
  • 1 shabby chic yellow nightstand
  • 8 tables
  • variety of cardboard signs
  • 7 bikes
  • 30 backpacks/carts/roller suitcases
  • 9 boxes labeled games, dvds/books, toys, helmets, lunch boxes, blankets
  • 1 bucket labeled OC and mace remedy and prevention, containing vinegar and imodium AD
  • 3 coolers
  • 4-5 cameras
  • 10 plastic crates full of stuff
  • Also: 16 individual lots of property impounded from specific arrestees (backpacks, purses, tents, etc.)

SOURCE: SDPD

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We are not camping. Here is our permit: The Bill of Rights – Article 1

November 1, 2011 by Staff
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We are not camping. We are assembling peaceably to petition the government for a redress of grievances. This is our permit. The Bill of Rights – Article 1.

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Occupy Wall Street Movement Is Still Growing

November 1, 2011 by Source
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A combination of police crackdowns and bad weather are testing the young Occupy movement. But rumors of its demise are premature, to say the least.

By Robert Reich / Christian Science Monitor / November 1, 2011

A combination of police crackdowns and bad weather are testing the young Occupy movement. But rumors of its demise are premature, to say the least. Although numbers are hard to come by, anecdotal evidence suggests the movement is growing.

As importantly, the movement has already changed the public debate in America.

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8 Arrested as Police Clear Out Occupy Coachella Valley

November 1, 2011 by Source
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By Desert Sun staff / November 1, 2011

PALM DESERT — At least eight people were arrested overnight as Palm Desert police cleared the park where Occupy Coachella Valley protesters camped for a week.

“I saw a brigade of cops; it was unbelievable,” said protester Steven Finger, 56, of Palm Desert. “They were in two rows wearing gear and they were marching down the street.”

Five protesters and two other people not involved with Occupy Coachella Valley were arrested at Civic Center Park, Riverside County sheriff’s Lt. Bill Sullivan wrote in an email to The Desert Sun about 1:30 a.m. A Desert Sun photographer saw two more protesters arrested about 15 minutes later.

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My OccupySD Experience – In the Middle of a Storm Drain

November 1, 2011 by Source
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by Marco Gonzalez / Two Cathedrals / Originally published Oct. 28, 2011

I have to admit, I was pretty bummed when I received the text at 3 a.m. indicating the San Diego Police and County Sheriffs had thought it a good idea to put on the riot gear and beat up a bunch of sleeping Occupy SD activists at the Civic Center Plaza. Having seen the Third World-esque images of the Occupy Oakland raids earlier this week, I feared the worst. I also wondered if the same “public safety and hygiene” excuse used to justify tear gas and baton beatings in Oakland would be employed by our so-called public servants in America’s Finest City. At the same time, I hoped the strong-arm tactics in response to peaceful demonstration would ultimately backfire and spur earlier supporters back into the mix.

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The choices for Mayor Sanders: Portapotties or Storming Troopers

October 31, 2011 by Staff
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Here are the choices that faced Mayor Jerry Sanders at the end of last week.

Which costs more?

4 portapotties cleaned out weekly for $300 a month or over-time pay for 110 law enforcement officers, cost of gas and vehicles to transport the 51 arrestees to Vista or Las Colinas?

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Occupy San Diego’s Halloween Monster March

October 31, 2011 by Staff
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Group to march from Balboa Park to the Gaslamp to highlight frightening facts about corruption in America’s financial and political systems

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – On October 31, 2011, Occupy San Diego will lead a Halloween march through downtown San Diego to promote social justice, honesty, and generosity.

With costumes, street theatre, and candy, Occupy San Diego will rally at 5:00pm at the Haunted Trail Entrance in Balboa Park (6th & Juniper, just south of the Laurel Street Bridge).

March starts at 5:30pm from the Haunted Trail Entrance and will walk to the Civic Center, to Children’s Park, the Haunted Hotel, and ending in the Gaslamp Quarter.

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San Diego Free Speech Fights: Then and Now

October 31, 2011 by Jim Miller
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As we watch the Occupations from New York to San Diego fight for the right to exercise free speech and occupy public space, it is worth noting that we have been here before. Recently, it was my pleasure to do a small teach-in at Occupy San Diego with the OB Rag’s own Frank Gormlie on the history of civil disobedience in San Diego. For my part, I outlined the story of the San Diego Free Speech Fight in 1912 when the Industrial Workers of the World and other local labor and community activists struggled against the San Diego’s elite for the right to speak on a soapbox at the corner of 5th and E downtown. As the homepage of the San Diego Free Speech Fight 100 Year Anniversary website notes:

2012 is the 100-year anniversary of the San Diego Free Speech Fight, one of the most important moments in the history of the city of San Diego. During the winter and spring of 1912, members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and their allies in labor and the community engaged in a pitched battle against a city ordinance that banned public speaking in the area around 5th and E Streets in downtown San Diego.

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Police Erect Barricades at Plaza to Control Occupy San Diego

October 30, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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This afternoon, San Diego Police re-erected barricades at the Civic Center Plaza in an apparent effort to control access to the Plaza. Barricades have been re-set to control access from Third Avenue.

Occupy San Diego activities are due to begin around 5:30 pm with committee meetings and the General Assembly at 7pm. Hundreds of demonstrators and supporters usually show up for these meetings.

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This Week’s Leading Occupy Wall Street Stories

October 30, 2011 by Anna Daniels
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The biggest story of the week is the number of arrests made at Occupy encampments large and small across the whole country and the late night/early morning police raids that have generated so many of those arrests.

The most gripping example was the early morning dismantling of Occupy Oakland by police with riot gear. The whole world was watching as Iraq War Vet for Peace Scott Olsen was dragged to safety at a protest later that day after being left bloodied and prostrate on the ground by a police projectile. The image of someone in a wheel chair maneuvering through a cloud of smoke and tear gas was no less gut wrenching. Mayor Jean Quan decides to make nice with the occupiers the following day.

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Denver Police Shoot Pepper Spray at OWS Demonstrators – 15 Arrested

October 29, 2011 by Source
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DENVER — The simmering tension near the Colorado Capitol escalated dramatically Saturday with more than a dozen arrests, reports of skirmishes between police and protesters and authorities firing rounds of pellets filled with pepper spray at supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Officers in riot gear moved into a park late in the day where protesters were attempting to establish an encampment, hauling off demonstrators just hours after a standoff at the Capitol steps degenerated into a fight that ended in a cloud of Mace and pepper spray.

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SANDAG Approves 2050 Regional Transportation Plan Despite Possible Lawsuits

October 29, 2011 by Source
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By Hugh Moore / Special to the OB Rag

San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) voted this morning to approve the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). This planned 214 billion dollar transportation infrastructure is funded by local, state and federal funds that are granted to SANDAG as long as certain environmental goals are met. Unfortunately the required goals will most likely not be met.

In the meeting this morning SANDAG presented the proposed plan and had many organizations that had worked on the development of the plan try to show that the goals and requirements mandated by accepting the funds would be met.

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Hundreds of Critical Mass Bikes Join Friday Night Rally With OccupySD

October 29, 2011 by Doug Porter
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Coming off a Thursday night where the San Diego City government ordered the eviction of OccupySD protestors from the both Children’s Park and the Civic Center, it was no surprise on Friday night that the atmosphere had changed downtown. Fifty one people associated with the ongoing demonstration had been jailed on charges ranging from violating curfew to obstructing justice. Some of them were still in jail.

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Occupy San Diego Holds Freedom Plaza

October 29, 2011 by Rocky Neptun
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In spite of the 51 arrests early Friday morning, Occupy San Diego managed to hold the Civic Center Plaza, what some young people are calling ‘Freedom Plaza,” through the night and into Saturday morning. After a tense standoff with about 30 police officers over one of the two arrests during the night and a noisy march through downtown, occupiers meeting at their nightly General Assembly split evenly over whether to continue to occupy the plaza, but since there was not a single block on the action, about 75 OccupySD folks stayed.

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All Out for Vigil Tonight at Civic Center Plaza in Solidarity with Occupy San Diego

October 28, 2011 by Frank Gormlie

There is an urgent call for supporters to come to the Civic Center Plaza tonight at 8 pm for a vigil in solidarity with Occupy San Diego and all those who were arrested during the police raids earlier today. And people are asked to bring their candles, warm clothing, and to participate in the vigil as long as they can.

Originally scheduled as a “sleepover” by trade unionists and nurses in support of the occupation, plans had to change with the new conditions that police were imposing on the Civic Center area – site of a three week encampment by demonstrators. Now, a vigil – perhaps all night – is being planned.

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