Starting at 4:30pm at McKinley Elementary (McKinley ave. and E 38th St)
*Peacefully protest the closing of the school.
UPDATE at 7:08 PM: Cops are getting nasty, armed with pepper spray and what appear to be rubber bullet guns. Police pushed through the human chain a few moments ago with their bicycles and began indiscriminately pepper spraying into the crowd of people, Goldy reports. Protesters are trying to clean out their eyes, including one victim who says he was standing back simply videotaping, when the cop pepper sprayed him and the surrounding demonstrators. Goldy points out that nobody was arrested—no clear law broken—but rather just a chance to pepper spray people (even those who weren’t in the human chain).Meanwhile, several dozen cops are standing on Pike Street, some of whom have rubber bullet guns. Asked what the guns shoot, one cop said it fired “flowers.”
UPDATE at 7:45 PM: As rain pelts down in heavy wind, the night wears on, and regular blasts of pepper spray begin to take their toll, the crowd has thinned to about 50 people. There aren’t enough people to maintain the human chain anymore, but they stand near the hotel entrance on Pike Street. When people want to leave the hotel, Goldy reports, a few police push their bikes into the crowd as barricades and then pepper spray everyone in the crowd. This has happened several times now. There’s a makeshift clinic across the street where pepper spray victims are having their eyes rinsed out (it reportedly begins to help after 20 minutes). One woman at the clinic says it was “like having habanero rubbed your eyballs.”
Holy shit this isn’t cool.
My boyfriend got caught up in this earlier. I’m not sure if he was part of the protest or just a bystander. He says the over-spray was not enjoyable.
I am not surprised in the slightest. Seattle cops are notorious for their brutality and blame shifting. But I am still disgusted. I am so happy Tacoma cops aren’t like this.
(via nitalee)
From San Jose Mercury News:
A man and a woman were hit at 11th Street and Broadway by a silver Mercedes, after a male driver ran a red light, said Joe Jackson, 37, of Oakland, who witnessed the incident.
The driver was irritated by protesters walking in front of him.
Onlookers said the driver deliberately ran over the pair, accelerating after a man hit on the hood of the car.
The windshield was splattered with what appeared to be a milkshake.
After the car stopped at the other end of the intersection, the driver switched seats with his female passenger.
About 40 people gathered in the intersection and some pulled open the driver’s door.
The woman inside shouted: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
The injured man and woman were taken away in ambulances.
Police let the driver go.
Both photos: Anda Chu/Mercury News
(via occupyallstreets)
Basically, we don’t vote for the President!
The government believes the people are not capable of electing the President of The Unites States.
So who votes for the President?
The Electoral Colleges do.
And who nominates the electors?
In some states, the political parties do.
In other states, the people do.
What does this mean?
Electors can thwart the popular vote for a candidate not supported by the voters of their state.
In 2000, Bush Al Gore had 50,999,897 popular votes.
Bush had 50,456,002.
Al Gore would’ve been President if the government trusted us to make our own decisions.
This makes me wonder, what control do we have over the government?
(via occupyallstreets)
Happy Halloween, from Occupy Seattle.
The number of prescription drug shortages tripled between 2005 and 2010. Besides having serious consequences for people’s health and well-being, drug shortages drive vendors to charge outragous prices for drugs that are normally affordable when in stock. One report found that price-gouging vendors mark up prices on drugs in short supply by 650 percent, on average.
(via By the Numbers: 650 Percent | The White House)
It’s good to believe in free markets and their efficient nature, but one must also be willing to acknowledge when a lack of regulatory oversight causes inefficient developments.
(via occupyallstreets)
A Baltimore police union and two firefighters unions have written to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (who wants to shut down Occupy Baltimore) asking that the protests be allowed to continue.
And city employees from Irvine, California to Providence, Rhode Island have correctly said that –whether or not they agree with the protesters’ views – the protesters’ have the right of free speech and free assembly under the Constitution.
(via occupywallstreet)
Beware of Police Infiltrators and Provocateurs!
This video is proof that police have gone undercover as protesters in Occupy Oakland, and possibly other occupation.
If you have any other proof of police infiltrators please report it to us.
(via occupyallstreets)
The Stop, Stop & Frisk protestors that were arrested earlier today are being held in the 77th and 73rd precincts in Brooklyn.
They are being charged with misdemeanors.
They have released about 10 or 11 protestors but aren’t releasing others.
If you can, call the precincts and demand the release of our brothers and sisters.
77th Precinct Number:
(718) 735-0611
73rd Precinct Number:
(718) 495-5411
Watch live at Global Rev
Watch live at tulsaslick
Police are expected to make arrest.
