Albany, NY – Tom Burke, a leader of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, toured upstate New York Nov. 29 through Dec. 1 to talk about FBI repression and the upcoming trial of Carlos Montes. Burke spoke to hundreds of people at events in Rochester, Albany and Buffalo. He also visited and spoke at Occupy Wall Street camps where dozens of tents are pitched and scores of people are holding their ground, protesting the wealthy 1% and the politicians that serve them.
Minneapolis, MN – Occupy Minneapolis won a real victory, Dec. 2, when Hennepin County Sheriffs and security guards were forced to abandon their plans to remove the possessions of occupiers, including tarps, bedding, tables, chairs, signs and banners from People’s Plaza.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 400 protesters gathered on People’s Plaza here, Nov. 29, defying the anti-free speech rules imposed by county government. While state Representative Karen Clark spoke to the rally, activists set up 40 tents on the Plaza.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Los Angeles Committee to Stop FBI Repression on the mass arrests and jailing of Occupy LA protesters.
Los Angeles, CA – More than 1000 police raided the Occupy LA encampment here, Nov. 30, at about 12:30 a.m. The massive camp, comprised of more than 400 tents, was constructed on the grounds surrounding L.A. City Hall. The Los Angeles Police Department raid came at the camp from all sides, with some cops emerging from within the city hall.
On the evening of Wednesday, November 30 occupiers at Occupy Minneapolis defied the 'no tents' policy imposed by Hennepin County officials by setting up dozens of tents on People's Plaza. The tents stayed up until just after 4:00 a.m. on December 1, when county police dragged people out of the tents, then dismantled and took the tents away. Protesters then decided to set up more tents across the plaza in front of City Hall, until police dragged people out of those tents too and confiscated them, arresting two people in the process. These photos by Kim DeFranco document some of what happened on the night of Nov. 30 and morning of Dec. 1 in People's Plaza in Minneapolis.
Chicago, IL – Activists here will gather for the 20th annual People’s Thanksgiving, Dec. 3. Every year, Fight Back! hosts this event to give thanks for advances in the people’s struggle. One of the organizers, Stephanie Weiner states, “We join together friends, co-workers and family with
fighters from many movements because these are what we’re grateful for.”
St. Paul, MN – Chanting “Money for human needs, not for stadiums,” members of the Welfare Rights Committee, the Minnesota Coalition for a Peoples' Bailout and supporters from OccupyMN gathered outside Senate Taxes and Local Government and Elections committee hearing, Nov. 29, at the State Capitol building. The committee was holding an informational hearing on proposals to build a new stadium complex for the Minnesota Vikings football team owner – a New Jersey real estate developer named Zygi Wilf.
Editor’s note: This is the second article of a four-article series. The first article was titled, “ Who are the one percent?” This article describes the working class, who make up most of the 99%. The next article will be about the rest of the 99% who aren’t part of the working class. The last article will talk about how the history of racism and national oppression is important to understanding what is behind the 1%-99% divide and how the 1% enriches itself while maintaining its privilege and power.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following resolution adopted by the UW-Madison Teaching Assistants Association (AFT Local 3220). It passed unanimously at its general membership meeting on Nov. 14, 2011.
Los Angeles, CA – Mayor Villaraigosa set a 12:01 a.m. Monday deadline for occupiers to end the massive 400 tent encampment that is surrounding City Hall. Participants in the occupation vow to remain and more have joined the occupation, this evening, Nov. 27.
St. Paul, MN – The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against Hennepin County, Nov. 22 on behalf of Occupy Minneapolis. The lawsuit argues that the county’s new restrictions on the OccupyMPLS unconstitutionally restrict the demonstrators’ free speech rights. OccupyMPLS has been continuously occupying the Hennepin County Government Center Plaza, since renamed People’s Plaza, since Oct. 7 to express their frustration with the growing economic and political inequities in this country.
Minneapolis, MN – About 50 people rallied here at People’s Plaza, the encampment of Occupy MN, and proceeded to south Minneapolis where they occupied a foreclosed home, November 19. In the early evening Minneapolis police, arrested two participants, and attempted to board up the home. Activists surrounded the home, police left, and occupiers re-entered the home. The occupation is ongoing.
Minneapolis, MN – City Council members here signed a letter to Senators Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken and Representative Keith Ellison affirming constitutional rights of anti-war activists subpoenaed and raided by the FBI last year. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression published the letter on its website Nov. 15.
Minneapolis, MN – About 800 people blocked a major bridge here, Nov. 17 in a march demanding jobs. Police declared the protest to be an unlawful assembly and arrested 11 people who sat down in an act of civil disobedience. The 10th Avenue Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River, was closed for about an hour.
Los Angeles, CA – “Evict us, we multiply, occupy will never die!” Despite crackdowns against encampments around the country, a large group of students, activists, and union members launched “Occupy UCLA” on Thursday, after a noon rally of several hundred students and workers against budget cuts and fee hikes.
Milwaukee, WI – Protesters in Milwaukee occupied a bridge here, Nov. 17, as similar actions took place across the country. Roughly 200 people gathered in Carver Park in a working-class Milwaukee neighborhood, then marched to the Highway 43 bridge, where they met with about 100 other protesters intent on civil disobedience.
Grand Rapids, MI – Chanting “Condi lied, people died!” 40 people with Occupy Grand Rapids protested outside Devos Place, Nov. 16. Inside, Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State under the Bush administration, spoke at a $100 per plate Republican Party fund raising dinner. At the entrance to the event, Occupy protesters put a giant puppet of former Secretary of State Rice on trial for her war crimes against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Inside, a small gathering of Republican die-hards heard Rice promote her new book in which she defends the U.S. wars and occupations.
Durham, NC – 40 people marched here, Nov. 12, from Occupy Durham's rallying place in downtown Durham to a Wells Fargo branch two miles away, to protest big banks like Wells Fargo, Citibank, Bank of America and others. Protesters chanted, “Hey hey Wells Fargo, foreclosures have got to go!” and “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!” After arriving at the bank, ten people withdrew their money and closed down their accounts with Wells Fargo. Outside the bank, protesters held signs and denounced foreclosures and exploitative lending practices – under the watchful eye of three Durham police squad cars and another police officer on foot.
