Deaths at Occupy camps bring pressure for shutdown

OAKLAND, Calif. — City leaders across the U.S. felt increasing pressure Friday to shut down Occupy protest encampments after two men died in shootings and two others were found dead inside their tents this week.

One was found dead Friday inside a tent at the Occupy Salt Lake City encampment, from what police said was a combination of drug use and carbon monoxide from a propane heater.

On Thursday, a man was shot and killed at the Occupy Oakland camp in California, and a military veteran apparently shot himself to death in a tent at an encampment in Burlington, Vermont.

The deaths come after a 53-year-old man was found dead inside a tent at the Occupy New Orleans encampment on Tuesday. The Times-Picayune newspaper reported that he appeared to have been dead for two days.

Some officials have responded with both pleas and orders for protesters to leave.

Citing a strain on crime-fighting resources, police asked Occupy Oakland protesters to leave their encampment at the City Hall plaza where the man was shot and killed late Thursday.

The Oakland Police Officer's Association issued an open letter saying the camp is pulling officers away from crime-plagued neighborhoods.

"With last night's homicide, in broad daylight, in the middle of rush hour, Frank Ogawa Plaza is no longer safe," the letter said. "Please leave peacefully, with your heads held high, so we can get police officers back to work fighting crime in Oakland neighborhoods."

On Friday night, police said, one man sought in connection with the Oakland shooting was a frequent resident of the Occupy Oakland encampment.

Oakland police also handed out eviction notices, but angry campers tore them all up, according to a report in the Oakland Tribune.

Since the shooting, anonymous fliers have been posted around the encampment urging protesters to leave.

"Occupiers, turn on your brains and see the harm you are causing to our town," it says. "You have devolved into mob rule. You have lost sight of the goal."

City Council President Larry Reid said outside City Hall that the shooting was further proof the tents must come down. He was confronted by a protester who said he wouldn't be in office much longer.

"You didn't elect me," Reid snapped back. "You probably ain't even registered to vote!"

Reid said the encampment has been a major setback for the area while attracting sex offenders, mentally ill and homeless people, and anarchists.

"This is no longer about Occupy Wall Street," he said. "This is about occupying Oakland and extracting whatever you can get out of Oakland by holding our city hostage."

The Oakland shooting occurred the same day the 35-year-old military veteran apparently fatally shot himself in the head in a tent at the Vermont encampment.

The shooting raised questions about whether the protest would be allowed to continue, said Burlington police Deputy Chief Andi Higbee.

"Our responsibility is to keep the public safe. When there is a discharge of a firearm in a public place like this, it's good cause to be concerned, greatly concerned," Higbee said.

In the Salt Lake City protest camp, the discovery of the dead man, believed to be in his 40s, led police to order all protesters to leave the park where they have camped for weeks.

Group organizers said many of the roughly 150 protesters plan to go to jail rather than leave.

"We don't even know if this is a tragedy or just natural," protest organizer Jesse Fruhwirth said. "They're scapegoating Occupy."

Tensions were also high at the 300-tent encampment in Portland, Oregon, which has become a hub for the city's homeless people and addicts.

Mayor Sam Adams ordered the camp shut down by midnight Saturday, pointing to two non-fatal drug overdoses at the camp.

"I cannot wait for someone to die," he said. "I cannot wait for someone to use the camp as camouflage to inflict bodily harm on others."

Many at the camp said they would resist any effort to remove them.

"There will be a variety of tactics used," said organizer Adriane DeJerk, 26. "No social movement has ever been successful while being completely peaceful."

Source: The Associated Press

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Occupy Dhaka - Bangladesh has joined The Movement against Capitalism

The People Solidarity Movement from Bangladesh gives solidarity to the global occupy Wall Street movement by holding a protest. Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations all over the world. Dhaka, October 19th 2011

Activists chant and wave placards and banners
supporting the global movement against the banks,
and corruption.

People Solidarity Movement from Bangladesh gives solidarity to occupy Wall Street movement. Activists chant anti capitalism slogan and demanding socialism. They congratulate all people who join such a movement.

Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park on Wall Street. Initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters, the protests were inspired by the Arab Spring movement, especially Cairo's Tahrir Square protests, and the Spanish Indignants.

The participants are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, as well as the power and influence of corporations, particularly from the financial service sector, and lobbyists over government. By October 9, similar demonstrations were either ongoing or had been held in 70 major cities and over 600 communities in the U.S., including the estimated 100,000 people who demonstrated on October 15. Internationally, other "Occupy" protests have modeled themselves after Occupy Wall Street, in over 900 cities worldwide.

Activists chant and wave placards and banners supporting the global movement against the banks, and corruption.

In mid-2011, the Canadian-based group Adbusters Media Foundation, best known for its advertisement-free anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters, proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street to protest corporate influence on democracy, address a growing disparity in wealth, and the absence of legal repercussions behind the recent global financial crisis. According to the senior editor of the magazine, “[they] basically floated the idea in mid-July into our [email list] and it was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world, it just kind of snowballed from there. They promoted the protest with a poster featuring a dancer atop Wall Street's iconic Charging Bull. Also in July, they stated that, "Beginning from one simple demand – a presidential commission to separate money from politics – we start setting the agenda for a new America." Activists from Anonymous also encouraged its followers to take part in the protest which increased the attention it received calling protesters to "flood lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street"

Activists chant and wave placards and banners supporting the global movement against the banks, and corruption.

One month ago today about 2,000 people rallied in Lower Manhattan and marched up Broadway. Stopping at Zuccotti Park an estimated 150 stayed the night and began an encampment. Renaming the space “Liberty Square,” we kicked off a protest against bank bailouts, corporate greed, and the unchecked power of Wall Street in Washington. In the last month, the message of “We are the 99%” has won the hearts and minds of over half of Americans (according to a recent Time survey) and is gaining ground globally, with 1500 protests in 82 countries this past Saturday (October 15).

“I am here to celebrate the 30th day of this protest against corporate power,” said Karanja Gacuca from Liberty Square, a former Wall Street analyst who now organizes with Occupy Wall Street. “Concerned about the egregious Wall Street bonuses — particularly after the industry accepted a tax-payer bailout and the middle class continues to be squeezed — I believe it's time for a fairer system that provides health care, education, and opportunity for all, and rejects corporate influence over government.”

Source: Demotix

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