Democracy Now provides good coverage of the OWS 2-month Anniversary events. Watch the video news broadcast at:
http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2011/11/18
Occupy Wall Street Draws Massive Turnout in NYC and Across the Nation to Mark 2-Month Milestone
The Occupy Wall Street movement entered its third month Thursday with protests against the economic system in dozens of cities across the country. Reports estimated some 300 people were arrested nationwide, with the majority of the arrests taking place in New York City when protesters attempted to shut down the New York Stock Exchange. "We effectively shut down Wall Street this morning. We did it with our stories, with our bodies, with our hearts," says one of the organizers of the action. Democracy Now! reporter Ryan Devereaux filed this report.
NYC Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez Detained in Zuccotti Raid, Urges Mass Involvement in OWS
One of the factors that fueled Thursday’s huge march on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City was the dramatic surprise police raid on Zuccotti Park earlier in the week. Among those arrested in the raid was New York City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and then held in a police van alone for two hours. Rodriguez’s arrest came just a week after he helped organized an 11-mile march from the his district in the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, a largely immigrant community, to Occupy Wall Street. He describes his ordeal in police custody and why the experience has only emboldened him to continue his involvement with the Occupy movement. "We wanted to bring more black and Latino participants to that movement, because we believe that this movement is not only for the college students, this movement is not only for the unemployed, it’s for the working class, it’s for the middle class," Rodriguez says. "A block before I was arrested, there was a large number of demonstrators, and I saw a potential conflict that could happen. And what I did, I moved to the east side of Broadway, where there was not any demonstrations going on, any rally. It was when I walked to the next block, two blocks before the park—I believe it was two blocks... That’s where I was stopped. I said, ’I’m Councilman Rodriguez. I’d like to keep going, walking to the park.’ I was pushed back, and I was thrown on the floor. A police officer came from the middle of the street. He jumped on top of me."
The Revolution Will Be Live-Streamed: Global Revolution TV, the Occupy Movement’s Video Hub
For the past two months, a website called Global Revolution TV has become the main video hub for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Featuring live video feeds from New York and dozens of other cities hosting Occupy protests, the site has transformed how protests are covered and observed. When OWS protesters hold a general assembly in Zuccotti Park, the gathering is usually live-streamed across the world. When police raided the park early on Tuesday, it was caught on live stream, as well. We speak to one of the site’s co-founders, Vlad Teichberg. He is a former derivatives trader who gave up a life in the financial world to work on video activism. "This project started officially with the beginning of the New York occupation, although similar versions of this project have been done in the past for other actions and revolts," Teichberg says. "People think of Occupy Wall Street as like an American revolution. It has its roots, though, in the Arab Spring. Obviously it inspired a lot of things. And it has very direct roots in the Spanish revolution."
The Occupy Movement is now at its 3-month mark. Unless you've been following it closely, you're probably unware of what's been happening. For the most part, mainstream media is maintaining a blackout of OWS news. When they do report, it's to give a negative spin or to diminish what Occupy is accomplishing.
In the last few days, Occupiers from all over the country have occupied Goldman Sachs offices, causing at least one meeting to be postponed. They've shut down at least 4 seaports, to further target Goldman Sachs. Despite repeated attempts to remove their encampments, confiscate and destroy their equipment, and jail protesters for peaceably assembling, the Movement continues to grow.
In response, police departments in various cities are becoming more desperate and underhanded in their attempt to control them. At the Houston port, police threw a tent over protesters who had bound themselves together and were lying on the ground. They then inserted a canister under the tent and released the gas. There is no mention of this incident in MSM, and we still don't know what happened under the tent.
Here's a clip:
And an aerial view of the tent:
The next day, police across the country targeted Occupy's camera crews. In NYC alone, 17 OWS media team members were arrested for filming the police. Four of these people were released after two nights in jail, but only after agreeing to a retina scan.
Now, here is a beautiful video montage of the past 3 months, set to Makana's compelling song,"We Are the Many."