Occupy New Zealand Camps Raided By Authorities After Court Ruling

Auckland Council officers and police raided four sites in Auckland today, and effectively shut down the Occupy movement after more than 100 days of protest, The Associated Press reported.

Auckland Council officers and police Monday confiscated cars, tents and camping gear from more than 50 protesters at four sites in Auckland. The raid came after a local court ruled authorities could remove property from people who were illegally camping.

Police arrested three people in Aotea Square during the raids.

For more, click here.

Newark Patch has the story:

Nearly two dozens protesters trekked through downtown Newark Friday in solidarity with Move to Amend, a nationwide movement against what organizers call "corporate personhood."

To read the full piece and watch a video of the protest, go here.

When about 80 Occupy Cal students took over a UC Berkeley anthropology library Thursday night, some of their professors came along. The faculty told students they were both joining in the protests, and ensuring that they wouldn't be evicted by police.

"Members of the faculty and I have volunteered and have been authorized to provide the required supervision while we continue discussing a resolution...so we can avoid the immediate need to remove you from the building. I have been asked to emphasize that our continuing dialogue does not imply permission for you to stay," Anthropology department chairman Terry Deacon told the student protesters, after negotiating with the university's administration. He added, tongue-in-cheek, "I'm not going to suggest that you can't let your friends in. I didn't tell you you could...If you know someone that you trust that wants to come in here and play a role in this activity, of course, I won't notice that you're going down to open the doors."

Watch:

Video streaming by Ustream

The students were in the library to protest cuts in hours, according to the Contra Costa Times. The deal worked out with faculty was only valid through Friday morning, but as of this afternoon, about a dozen students remained in the library.

A previous Occupy rally at UC Berkeley ended in a violent confrontation with campus police.

-- Ariel Edwards-Levy

Protesters gathered outside the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in downtown Detroit Friday afternoon, joining the nationwide Occupy Our Courts protest taking place at more than 130 courthouses across the country.

A hat tip to OfftheBus contributor Pamela Powers Hannley...

To share your own photos, videos or first-hand reports from these or other political events, email us at offthebus@huffingtonpost.com.

There's a man in a gray hoodie carrying a video camera behind police lines. Activists have targeted him as the culprit for the clash. They claim via live stream that he started pushing folks.

Cops carry one activist away.

Activists have retreated to the base of the plaza. Mic check is called to talk about the police.

"We can not in one breath say they are a part of us and then in one breath tell them to fuck off."

"We are all Americans. Never forget that."

Mass of cops gathered around activist being arrested. The cops are surrounded by screaming activists holding up cameras.

"We are the 99 Percent and we are not afraid," an activist tells the cops.

Moments ago, activists had taken the top steps of the Supreme Court. They had gathered -- against police orders -- and chanted "money isn't free speech." Police issued a warning for them to disperse. And then went about taken activists into custody. During the clash with police, several activists fell down the steps.

Police pinned one activist to the steps of the Supreme Court. On the live stream, activists are saying the main instigator was a plain clothes cop and not one of their own.

During a mic check, activists calls for a little humor: "Our numbers and our humor let us breakthrough." Activists do the hokey pokey along the police line. The cops look on expressionless.

Activists take a few steps as police look on. The police have formed a loose line -- they do not look worried. Activists chant "money is not free speech!"

Outside the Supreme Court, dozens of activists have pushed down the barricades. Police have lined up along the court steps. The activists are chanting: "The people united will never be defeated!"

Dahlia Lithwick writes in the Guardian U.K.:

At one level, Occupy the Courts could not be a more brilliant campaign at more opportune moment. After all, Occupy Wall Street has been faulted for being ? as they might say in Texas ? all hat no cattle; a movement with huge popular support but no coherent objective. By taking a position on Citizens United and the massive influx of corporate dollars pouring into election campaigns, protesters not only align themselves with the 99% of Americans who can't yet afford to buy and sell entire elections, but also seize upon the most abhorrent metaphor deployed by the 5-4 majority in the Citizens United decision: that corporations are the same as living, breathing humans when it comes to constitutional protections.

Read the rest of the piece here.

Live stream from the Supreme Court protest can be found here.

The direct action begins at 9 a.m. Details here.

Occupy Wall Street plans evening actions and speakers. Details here.

The Portland Press Herald reports that local politicians took stand in support against corporate personhood:

The Portland City Council has approved a resolution that calls on members of Maine?s congressional delegation to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishing corporate personhood.

After listening to more than an hour of testimony tonight about the undue influence corporate donations can play in politics and elections, the council voted 6-2 to adopt the resolution.

The Des Moines Register reports:

In Des Moines, protest activities are slated to begin on Thursday with a funeral march around the Capitol Rotunda from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to mourn ?the death of democracy.?

An Occupy the Courts rally has been scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday at the federal courthouse at 123 E. Walnut St.

Judge rules the activists are not allowed to protest in front of the federal courthouse in Manhattan. They will instead protest at Zuccotti Park, reports The New York Daily News.

The Boston Globe reports:

As public opposition mounts for service cuts and fare hikes proposed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Occupy Boston activists have turned their attention to the issue.

Working largely through social media, an Occupy MBTA group has begun an effort to organize opposition to the MBTA?s proposals. At 3 p.m. Wednesday, the group?s Twitter account had 176 followers.

The MBTA?s proposals present options many T riders find unacceptable. In one, fares would increase by 35 percent overall, setting the price of a train ride at $2.25, while 101 weekday bus routes would be cut. Fares would increase from $2 to $3 for most trips on The Ride, the MBTA?s door-to-door transit service for the disabled, and to $5 for trips outside the T?s fixed-route service area.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/22/occupy-new-zealand-raid_n_1222688.html

janet jackson brooklyn decker palladium king arthur king arthur september 11 2001 september 11 2001