Robin Hood

While Occupy Oakland was clashing with 18 different police agencies - still publicly unnamed - and Occupy Atlanta set on its pilgrimage about federal property, other occupy developments taking place throughout the United States and the rest of the planet are too numerous for this post.

 

 

Up there, however, you can see a lot of Robin Hoods - and we sure need 'em! - a 400 strong coalition of activist and clergy supporters in the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York on Friday - and "carrying 7,000 letters of complaint to offices of banks they accuse of corporate greed."

The letters, collected through the occupytheboardroom.org website, were written by people including some who had lost their homes through foreclosures during the economic crisis, said protester Harry Waisbren, of Milwaukee.

"We're hoping the banks will see the damage they've wrought," Waisbren said.

He spoke as demonstrators gathered next to the stone lions on the steps of the New York Public Library in Manhattan. He wore a cheese-shaped hat, a symbol of Wisconsin, and carried a sign that said one bank "spread bad mortgages, then foreclosed on thousands."

On Wednesday, Pittsburgh campers were locked inside a PNC bank when they entered to open bank accounts and request interest equal to the amount of interest PNC requires on its loans.  Bank representatives summoned 20 police officers, paddy wagons and dogs, illegally detaining them inside for an hour. 

Occupy Pittsburgh states:

This action was intended as a protest against PNC's moves following its receipt of almost $8 billion in TARP money from the federal government in 2008. PNC didn't use that TARP money to give loans to small businesses or to help people buy homes, as intended. Instead, within hours of receiving the funds PNC moved to buyout its longtime rival, National City. In the midst of the financial crisis, as folks lost their homes and their jobs, PNC used its bailout money to build its empire.

OP reports about 20 protesters gathered outside chanting, "Let them go!"  One protester observed, ""The bank brought in 20 police to deal with 4 unarmed people. It was ridiculous."  

In the Pacific Northwest, Occupy Seattle has planned a mass occupation at Seattle Community College.

Occupy Bellingham braved poor weather planting its first tents. 

Occupy Portland is marching and protesting poor camping ordinances, and following two Friday arrests.

In New York, it is snowing.

Somewhere in between the headlines, N.Y.C. decided to allow Occupy Wall Street to pitch tents.

In New York, they have also overcome the generator issue that plagues Mayor Reed of Atlanta besides the demands for his recall, along with Oakland calling for the resignation of Mayor Quan.  NY Daily News reports:

Over in the media tent, spokesman Justin Stone-Diaz, 38, said he wasn't bothered by police and firefighters taking away the protesters' generators on Friday.

"What happened was we're in the process of swapping out five small diesels for a larger bio-diesel generator," he said. "The police are trying to work with us."

The protesters had been using generators to power laptops and in the kitchen.

"No heaters, we don't need heaters," he said. "Just hand warmers - lots of them."

Here's the hate you've been missing if you don't watch FOX.  (Joel Connelly of Seattle PI summarizes so you won't get kooties if you link.)  Did you know that a Seattle cab driver, pulled over and given a ticket for honking his horn in support of Occupy Seattle, was hit with a bigger penalty than bank and mortgage executives who set off America's Great Recession?