| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 15, 2011 1:02 PM | CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167 |
Attacks on Occupy: “Revenge of the 1%”
WASHINGTON - November 15 - The New York Daily News is reporting: “Hours after baton-wielding cops cleared Occupy Wall Street protesters and their tents out of Zuccotti Park, a judge signed a order Tuesday saying the demonstrators can return with their stuff.
“Mayor Bloomberg said the city was trying to clarify the restraining order signed by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings, a former civil liberties lawyer.
“In the meantime, Zuccotti — which briefly reopened after a scrub-down — would be closed to the public, Bloomberg said.”
For more, including video streams from New York City and other occupations, see.
MARGARET RATNER KUNSTLER, margaret at kunstlerlaw.net
Margaret Ratner Kunstler, who is with the National Lawyers Guild, is co-author of the just released book “Hell No: Your Right to Dissent in 21st Century America.” She is involved in the case and said today that “Bloomberg is in contempt of the court order.” She said that in effect, Bloomberg had said that the park would be open, but not allow tents, the judge said tents should be allowed. Bloomberg responded by closing the park altogether. A hearing is scheduled for 11:30. A copy of the court order.
NATHAN SCHNEIDER, [in NYC] nathan at wagingnonviolence.org
Schneider is an editor of the website Waging Non-Violence and has been extensively covering Occupy Wall Street from its beginning. He said today from a protest near Wall Street: “It’s pretty likely that this was timed to try to take the wind out of the sails of the planned march to shut down Wall Street on Thursday. That’s the kind of thing Bloomberg has done in the past. But from the feeling on the streets today, it will have the opposite effect and strengthen the numbers on Thursday.”
ARUN GUPTA, ebrowniess at yahoo.com
A founding editor of the New York City based Indypendent, Gupta also helped found the Occupied Wall Street Journal. He is currently in New Orleans. He said today: “This is the revenge of the 1%. It’s no coincidence that the largest occupations — Oakland, Portland and New York — are all under attack at the same time. For two months a deeply popular movement has confronted this country with the social costs of the extreme concentration of wealth and power. The 1% could not deny the evidence that their policies and politicians had rigged a system that kept money flowing upward while tens of millions are without full-time employment, mired in poverty, lack health insurance and are homeless or have lost houses to foreclosure.
“When you can’t win with words, you resort to the fist. This is why so many cities have tried to break up occupations in recent weeks, from Honolulu and Denver to Chicago and Albany to Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Mobile, Alabama. The 1% want to sweep the poor, homeless, unemployed and the rest of the 99% back into the abyss. But this has failed so far, and we should remember what has been said about those who would make peaceful change impossible.”
“Mayor Bloomberg said the city was trying to clarify the restraining order signed by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings, a former civil liberties lawyer.
“In the meantime, Zuccotti — which briefly reopened after a scrub-down — would be closed to the public, Bloomberg said.”
For more, including video streams from New York City and other occupations, see.
MARGARET RATNER KUNSTLER, margaret at kunstlerlaw.net
Margaret Ratner Kunstler, who is with the National Lawyers Guild, is co-author of the just released book “Hell No: Your Right to Dissent in 21st Century America.” She is involved in the case and said today that “Bloomberg is in contempt of the court order.” She said that in effect, Bloomberg had said that the park would be open, but not allow tents, the judge said tents should be allowed. Bloomberg responded by closing the park altogether. A hearing is scheduled for 11:30. A copy of the court order.
NATHAN SCHNEIDER, [in NYC] nathan at wagingnonviolence.org
Schneider is an editor of the website Waging Non-Violence and has been extensively covering Occupy Wall Street from its beginning. He said today from a protest near Wall Street: “It’s pretty likely that this was timed to try to take the wind out of the sails of the planned march to shut down Wall Street on Thursday. That’s the kind of thing Bloomberg has done in the past. But from the feeling on the streets today, it will have the opposite effect and strengthen the numbers on Thursday.”
ARUN GUPTA, ebrowniess at yahoo.com
A founding editor of the New York City based Indypendent, Gupta also helped found the Occupied Wall Street Journal. He is currently in New Orleans. He said today: “This is the revenge of the 1%. It’s no coincidence that the largest occupations — Oakland, Portland and New York — are all under attack at the same time. For two months a deeply popular movement has confronted this country with the social costs of the extreme concentration of wealth and power. The 1% could not deny the evidence that their policies and politicians had rigged a system that kept money flowing upward while tens of millions are without full-time employment, mired in poverty, lack health insurance and are homeless or have lost houses to foreclosure.
“When you can’t win with words, you resort to the fist. This is why so many cities have tried to break up occupations in recent weeks, from Honolulu and Denver to Chicago and Albany to Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Mobile, Alabama. The 1% want to sweep the poor, homeless, unemployed and the rest of the 99% back into the abyss. But this has failed so far, and we should remember what has been said about those who would make peaceful change impossible.”
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