Courtesy of Philly.com
Photographer: April Saul
Occupy Philly activist greets
another day in Dilworth Plaza.
Courtesy of LA Times
Photographer: Arkasha Stevenson
General assembly outside City Hall in Los Angeles
in the hours before the scheduled eviction.
Courtesy of LA Times
Photographer: Mark Boster
Riot police gather prior to an expected eviction.
In Los Angeles, the crowd swelled to at least about 1,200, as riot police lined up, erected barricades, and a helicopter flew overhead. One group marched down to the police department and read to the police from the Constitution. Back at City Hall, numerous individuals stood to speak passionately about peaceful assembly, corporate greed, financial inequity, and a growing sense of degradation in America, by the 99%, and at hands of the 1%. "This is what humanity looks like!" chanted the crowd, following addresses by teachers who spoke, at one point, about the diminished status of students and children in the United States. "There comes a time when one can no longer be silent!" proclaimed one educator. "We want to live with respect!" Around 10:30 P.M., during a scheduled non-violent activism teach-in, another series of speakers rose to emphasize the need for peaceful behavior in the face of police action, in the words of one, that people should "stick together, stay peaceful, and stay safe."
Courtesy of LA Times
Photographer: Gina Ferrazi
Occupy LA activist creates a shadow projection sign
for the 99% on the walls of City Hall.
Speakers were notably eloquent in Los Angeles, with the livestream host for OccupyFreedomLA describing how she had witnessed the growth of so many people through their participation in the direct democracy activities of the Occupy Movement. Around mid-evening, activists reported LAPD Commander Smith informing protesters that the police would be going in. Demonstrators prepared themselves for the possibility of arrest, announcing a telephone number for the National Lawyers Guild ready to come to their aide, bail donation requests circulated, and a speaker from nearby Occupy Irvine announcing that their camp was prepared to receive them if they were thrown out. Midnight arrived and passed, however, with the police announcing, instead, that demonstrators needed to clear the streets, but not the park where they were camping.
Courtesy of LA Times
Photographer: Gina Ferrazi
LAPD walk through "a sea of tents" just a few hours before The Witching.
Both mayors assert that they will stop the demonstrators eventually, with each elected official claiming non-specified sanitation issues, and Michael Nutter of Philadelphia also referencing the scheduled renovation of the Plaza for an ice skating rink, grass, cafe, and stage for the Christmas season.
Philly.com reports
the renovation, "Christmas Village in Love Park," as a planned open-air market modeled after clusters of outdoor shops in large German cities at the holidays. Below is an example (I guess) of one in the U.K.:
Courtesy of Free City Guides
'Edinburgh Christmas "German Market" In The Snow'
Tis the Season to Be Loving, Giving, and Jolly
Lauren Keiser, 26, a student from Audubon, said she was willing to get arrested because she believed homeless people, who are a constant presence on the plaza, deserve more help. She thinks the money that will transform Dilworth could be better spent on housing, addiction programs, and other services.
"It's disgusting that a $50 million skating rink is going to be put here," she said.
City officials across the country have also been sharply criticized for spending millions just to evict peaceful demonstrators while shutting down shelters and passing laws to prohibit the homeless from sleeping overnight in public. And all while homelessness is on a sharp rise, with HUD reporting a 30% increase in foreclosures pushing families onto the street in 2009 only.
In Atlanta, Huffpost says Occupy Atlanta activists (recently spotted squatting in the home of a law enforcement officer facing foreclosure) now moved directly into a homeless shelter city, business, and civic leaders have reportedly been trying to close illegally in order to get the real estate.
Huffpost describes the shelter as the largest in the Northeast, with the largest U.S.A. gap between rich and poor in Atlanta. Occupy Atlanta activist Tim Franzen reports that the shelter actually houses up to 1,000 people per night (vs the ABA Journal's already large estimate of 500-700).
Courtesy of LA Times
Photographer: Rick Loomis
Still Occupied Tree At Occupy LA
The Daily News reports Philadelphia demonstrators planning to meet Monday to discuss possible next steps in their city, including a new site, taking over an abandoned building, or staging sudden "flash" occupations.
More photos here at the LA Times on LA. Also, Occupy LA releases its first issue of Occupied Los Angeles.
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