Sable: "Speaking up about speaking out against the Occupy movement"

Sable:

I want change. I’m willing to fight for it, to suffer for it, to go to jail for it when it’s right. When that day comes, we’ll be standing shoulder to shoulder, right on the front line.

I have readily said the Occupy movement and Occupy Seattle is something. But I continue to question if it is what it claims to be. I continue to be concerned over the lack of cohesive direction and strategy, the lack of equitable representation of the 99 percent and those, to this day, who have always struggled under economic inequality and continue to at a disproportionate rate. These issues have to be drawn out and highlighted for the movement to get stronger and grow. Thus, writing critically of Occupy Seattle is in itself a viable contribution to the movement.

I don’t want it to fail, but I fear in its current form, on is current trajectory… it will. MORE...

(Updated) "John arrested and beaten by Seattle police‏"

UPDATE: Here's the link to the full story.

Tim Nuse sent me email from Freddie Helmiere about an occupy activist, John Helmiere:

Yesterday evening, I was brutally beaten by my brothers on the Seattle Police force as I stood before an entrance to Pier 18 of the Seattle Port in my clergy garb bellowing, “Keep the Peace! Keep the Peace!” An officer pulled me down from behind and threw me to the asphalt. Between my cries of pain and shouts of “I’m a man of peace!” he pressed a knee to my spine and immobilized my arms behind my back, crushing me against the ground. With the right side of my face pressed to the street, he repeatedly punched the left side of my face for long enough that I had time to pray that the crunching sounds I heard were not damaging my brain. I was cuffed and pulled off the ground by a different officer who seemed genuinely appalled when he saw my face and clerical collar. He asked who I was and why I was here, to which I replied, “I’m a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe another world is possible.” He led me shaking to a police van where began a 12-hour journey of incarcerated misery.

Howie P.S.: The email continues with John's description of his day, from the beginning through his detention. I haven't figured how to link to it.

Occupy Seattle: "Where Do They Go Now?"

Eli Sanders (The Stranger):

Occupy Seattle may have withdrawn from its bedraggled encampment at Seattle Central Community College under threat of eviction, but the movement showed in the December 12 West Coast port shutdown that it can still marshal hundreds of supporters, cause attention-getting disruptions to commerce, and make a point.

"I'm down here because I see this as a pivotal moment as we transition from stage one to stage two of the movement," said Dan Mahle, 26, standing outside Terminal 18 on the chilly afternoon. He described that transition as going "from occupying space to more strategic objectives." MORE...

"owsoccupyseattle raid_onOccupyseattlelatenight" (video)

Occupy Seattle on livestream from 4a.m. Saturday.

Sable Verity: "The Occupy Seattle movement has gone from bad to worse - it’s time to occupy home"

Sable Verity:

Last month I wrote about the growing failings of the Occupy Seattle movement and the Occupy movement in general.

I said Occupy is a failed effort that lacks, among other things, organization, unified messages and overall purpose. Aside from taking up space, demanding attention and stroking each other’s misguided interpretation of revolution, Occupy, especially in Seattle, isn’t actually doing much to create the change it claims to want so desperately.

A month later, the same observations ring true. Things have only gotten worse. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Please discuss this among yourselves.

"Occupy Seattle camp" (slideshow)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

SeattlePI.com (slideshow).

"SCCC Board Proposal to Ban Camping on College Property! Come Support Occupy Seattle Today at Noon!"

Occupy Seattle:

Jill Wakefield requested a special meeting for noon today (11/23) so the district's board of trustees can vote on an emergency proposal to ban camping on college property. The ban, which would take effect immediately, is aimed solely at Occupy Seattle's camp at the Seattle Central Community College on Capitol Hill.

Special Board Meeting Notification

Please be informed that a special Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled to be held on November 23, 2011, at 12 noon in the Seattle Community College District Office Boardroom, 1500 Harvard Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122.

AGENDA:

CALL TO ORDER

ROLL CALL

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS (please sign in)

APPROVAL OF AGENDA / ACTION

PUBLIC COMMENTS
Fifteen minutes are regularly set aside for others to express their views on any matter except those restricted to Executive Session. Anyone wishing to speak to the items on this meeting Agenda will be recognized when the item is being discussed.

RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION
Proposed Emergency Rule on Camping
ADJOURNMENTS

Dorli Rainey in Seattle:"We are losing our freedoms every second we stand around and do nothing."

Cienna Madrid (SLOG):

In front of the municipal tower, two security guard concierges politely directed protesters to their destination—SPD headquarters and the department's Office of Professional Accountability—where fresh-eyed 84-year-old activist Dorli Rainey waited, surrounded by members of the press, eager to talk about the Occupy movement and police accountability.

"I would like to get all elected officials in one spot and create a plan that would allow us free speech with more teeth than the resolution the council passed on Monday," Rainey said. "Tuesday, they let loose the cops. So I would like to see some accountability over there [she gestures at City Hall] and over there [she gestures at the King County courthouse].”

Rainey said she has no plans to file a complaint with SPD's Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) for being pepper sprayed on Tuesday. Still, she'd like to see SPD pay for how they've treated protesters. “I want their budget cut," she said. "They need to clean house. Get rid of the poisons. [That pepper spray] was big, like a fountain.”

And she doesn't regret blocking the street during Tuesday's protest. "I’d do it again. And if it happens again, it happens... We are losing our freedoms every second we stand around and do nothing.”

More photos and interviews after the jump. MORE...

Goldy: "What Exactly Is It that Occupy Critics Don't Get About Civil Disobedience?"

Goldy:

An if you think their civil disobedience has been an inconvenience to you, trying being a participant. Do you think the protesters like marching through the freezing rain? Do you think they enjoy camping out on the pavement, or getting themselves arrested or beaten or doused with pepper spray? Do you think the organizers of yesterday's action wanted to piss off motorists and bus commuters? Of course not. But this is what works. Faced with corporate media hostile to their agenda, if they want to get their message heard, the protesters have no choice but to give reporters the one thing that they can't resist: A great fucking story. MORE...

Howie P.S.: Like Herman Cain, I've had all these thoughts about the "inconvenience" argument spinning inside my head. Goldy got me straightened out.

Seattle: "Occupy protest marches on bridge, blocks traffic" (with slideshow)

Protesters gather on the University Bridge in Seattle during an Occupy Seattle and labor union protest. Occupy Seattle protesters and labor union members gathered on the bridge to call for the government to spend more money on infrastructure. The protesters shut down the Seattle bridge during rush hour. Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO / SEATTLEPI.COM

CASEY MCNERTHNEY (SEATTLEPI.COM) with slideshow:

Rush hour was jammed in Seattle on Thursday evening as hundreds of Occupy Seattle and union protesters occupied University Bridge.

Some protestors came north from Capitol Hill at around 4:30 p.m., while others came down from a rally at the University of Washington.

Police estimated a peak crowd size of about 600, but at one point the event looked like it reached a crowd size of about 1,000. The crowd swelled quickly as people marching from various locations met on the bridge. But the masses didn't stay long, thinning to about 300 people shortly after 6 p.m. MORE...

"Occupy Seattle: Octogenarian activist Dorli Rainey on being pepper-sprayed by Seattle police, importance of activism" (with video)

"Countdown" (Current.com), with video (09:26):

Eighty-four-year-old activist Dorli Rainey tells Keith about her experience getting pepper-sprayed by the police during an Occupy Seattle demonstration and the need to take action and spread the word of the Occupy movement. She cites the advice of the late Catholic nun and activist Jackie Hudson to “take one more step out of your comfort zone” as an inspiration, saying, “It would be so easy to say, ‘Well I’m going to retire, I’m going to sit around, watch television or eat bonbons,’ but somebody’s got to keep ’em awake and let ’em know what is really going on in this world.”

H/t to Revel Smith.

Howie P.S.: Dorli puts the Occupy Movement in historical context by recounting her experiences living in Nazi Germany. She gets in a few jabs at the tunnel project that is under construction on the Seattle waterfront to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct.

Seattle: Your tax dollars @work (with photos)

SeattlePI.com with photos:

An elderly woman, a pregnant woman and a priest were among those who were pepper-sprayed during a protest in support of the Occupy movement on Tuesday.

The demonstrators taking part in the Occupy Seattle movement marched from their current camp at Seattle Central Community College to Westlake Park late Tuesday afternoon.

While en route, they came across police officers at several points. At the intersection of Fifth and Pine, the crowd was met by a line of several dozen police officers on bicycles who blocked the way.

Tensions mounted until police deployed pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the crowd and get the protesters out of the streets. About a dozen people were hit with the stinging fume.

"Pepper spray was deployed only against subjects who were either refusing a lawful order to disperse or engaging in assaultive behavior toward officers," said Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel. MORE...

Howie P.S.: "subjects"---how appropriate...

"Overhead view of 5th & Pine where #OccupySeattle has taken over the intersection" (with livestream)

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
@JJtweets, photo. Here's the livestream.

WATCH Seattle City Council Endorse OWS (video)

seattlechannel.org, video (111:40).
Howie P.S.: This is video of the unanimous action on November 14, 2011. Click on the "Public Comment" button to listen to testimony from Seattle citizens.

"Occupy Seattle Bans Activist (Dorsol Plants) from Discussion Group"

Morning Fizz (publicola):

Speaking of Occupy Seattle, while the NYPD were kicking all the protesters out of Zucotti Park last night, Occupy Seattle was doing the job locally, banning a local activist from its Facebook chat group. Local homeless and veterans advocate Dorsol Plants was banned from an Occupy discussion after he suggested that the group run candidates in 2012 and 2013. I guess the protesters aren’t interested in occupying office.

Plants, 26, who ran an idealistic and surprisingly solid campaign as a progressive city council candidate himself in 2009 (he got 18,000 votes), wrote on his Facebook page yesterday afternoon after getting bounced:http://publicola.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2067105557&action=edit

Was just banned from the Occupy Seattle group for suggesting that they needed to prep people to run for office in 2012 and 2013. It would seem that the group is dedicated to shrinking their members down until they have everyone in line that agrees with them….I think that number is something like 1%. Sad to see what Seattle’s movements coming too. I know several of the people last week who left were forced out, and that number seems to be growing.

Plants has been working with veterans and the homeless at the Occupy protests, trying to connect them with social services. He says a couple of his friends were banned from online Occupy discussions for disagreeing with comments such as ones saying they should “kill white people for thanksgiving.” MORE...

"Come to Town Hall Saturday for a Conversation About Occupy Seattle" (with video)

Paul Constant (SLOG):

So Occupy Seattle has survived its rocky start. They've got a semi-secure location and they're building a community and outreach. But what happens now? We worked with Town Hall Seattle to set up a conversation about the future of the movement—does it get swallowed up by the Democrats in time for the 2012 elections? Does the Occupy movement head to Olympia to try to advocate for greater change on a local level? Does the whole thing just peter out when winter hits?

The panel will try to find answers to these questions, and you'll have time to ask questions, too. So come on down to Town Hall on Saturday, November 12th at 7:30 pm. It's free.

Here's the panel:

* Nick Licata (moderator), Seattle City Councilmember
* Lynne Dodson, Secretary-Treasurer of the Washington State Labor Council
* Josh Farris, from Occupy Seattle's Tactical Working Group, member of IBEW local 46 and Iraq Veterans Against the War
* Frank Greer of national political consultants GMMB
* Nick Hanauer, co-author of THE TRUE PATRIOT and THE GARDENS OF DEMOCRACY (both with Eric Liu), and Seattle entrepreneur/investor with Second Avenue Partners
* Tabitha, from Occupy Seattle's Sustainability Brigade and Kitchen, also a liaison with Seattle Central Community College
* JM Wong, from Occupy Seattle's People of Color Caucus, also a

Howie P.S.: Last night the president of Seattle Central Community college challenged the "semi-secure location" status of Occupy Seattle. Here's the video (02:03) of Linda Brill's report:

Seattle: "Occupy Town Hall: A Conversation-Saturday, November 12, 2011, 7:30 – 9:00pm"

townhallseattle.org:

The Occupy movement could be the most important political movement in a generation, or it could be a dud—it all depends on what happens next. Tonight, participants from the movement and community leaders talk about their vision, their plans, and hear audience questions, too. Town Hall’s Public Room will stay open late for continued conversation. Presented by Town Hall and The Stranger. THIS EVENT WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 2.

Free, general admission, though seating is limited. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

"Occupy Northwest - Seattle" (Photo Essay)

David Bacon (Truthout):

Seattle, Washington - Seattle is the first Occupy I've seen whose banners refer to it as a "planton," giving credit to the social movements of Mexico, Central America, the Philippines, and other countries for the tactic of living in tents in public spaces as a protest tactic. The US has its own history of occupations, especially factory sit-ins, but for anyone who's walked through Mexico City's Zocalo, the sight of tents full of protesters is very familiar.
Seattle's diverse and well-organized Occupy community sits in a park next to Seattle Central Community College. In addition to supporting the New York City demonstration, Occupy Wall Street, residents protest economic inequality and its impact on working people, students, the poor and the young. It is a protest by the 99 percent of the people, who are exploited by a system that only benefits the top 1 percent.
At the entrance to the tent city, Antonio Cruz, one of the cooks in the camp kitchen, washes dishes. Occupiers share the work of making sandwiches for lunch for the camp residents. Food preparers got food-handling licenses from the city the day before. Reina Hailee works in the food storage tent. MORE...

"Another Strong Day for Occupy Seattle"

Dominic Holden (SLOG):

Today is Bank Transfer Day, as Goldy mentioned earlier, featuring withdrawls from financial giants, new accounts at credit unions, and protesters blocking downtown traffic. The fun kicked off in Seattle this morning with city council member Mike O'Brien joining Verity Credit Union in Wallingford. He deployed the rallying cry that big banks are "making life difficult for customers while reaping record profits."

By early afternoon, a couple hundred protesters had gathered outside the Bank of America branch in Weslake Park while folks walked in and closed their accounts. While some of the protests in the past couple weeks have been mired in self-reflection and internal politics, today's demonstrations attracted lots of TV cameras catching the totally-on-point, completely-comprehensible message. (Mainstream media has lots of reports today on Bank Transfer Day and teach-ins here, here, here, here, here, and here.) This photo doesn't quite show it, but the crowd was roughly half folks with silver hair:
MORE...

Howie P.S.: I was out of town today, but my hair is also silver and I would have been there if I wasn't. As I have said earlier, we moved our family's banking to a local credit union over a year ago and have been very happy we did.

Seattle Television Stations Cover Occupy Seattle, Jaime Dimon Protests (with videos)

"6 arrested and pepper spray deployed in Occupy Seattle protests"(KING 5 News), with video (02:04):

Bottles were thrown, more pepper spray was deployed and police put on riot gear Wednesday night as Seattle police and Occupy Seattle protesters clashed outside the downtown Sheraton Hotel.

This comes on the heels of arrests made at a Chase bank branch in Capitol Hill and the CEO of JP Morgan Chase speaking at a UW Business school celebration at the downtown Sheraton Hotel. MORE...

"Angry Occupy Seattle protesters block roads, square off with police" (kirotv.com), video (01:38)

James Lynch, KPCQ with video (02:00):

From their old haunt at Westlake Park the group Occupy Seattle made its way to the Sheraton hotel, marching down the middle of the street while dodging oncoming traffic.

“I'm here because the gap between the rich and the poor keeps increasing and increasing and there's no solution on the table by our leaders, so we as citizens of America feel we have to step up,” said one protester. MORE...