Occupy Philly: From the Frontlines - Part 4: Eviction

They lied.

On Sunday, November 27th at 5PM, Occupy Philly was supposed to leave Dilworth Plaza after an eviction order from the City of Philadelphia. Despite this, more than 1000 people came down to protest and defy the eviction. By 11PM, it became clear that no one was going to be removed. The move came because the City of Philadelphia for nearly two weeks said that they needed to leave so construction could begin on Dilworth Plaza.

By Tuesday, Novmber 29th, it became clear that the city lied about why Occupy Philly had to leave. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that on that same day that the Wolk Law Firm had a permit for the spot to put up a plane at Dilworth Plaza at the same time "construction" was supposed to begin. The permit was signed and approved the same week the eviction order was given!

In other words, the reason Occupy Philly was being evicted was a lie.

Last night, November 29th, Occupy Philly was evicted from Dilworth Plaza. There have been nearly 70 arrests. Reports are coming in that they will no longer be allowed to march during the day, that every single park they tried to go to was blocked by the police, and reports of the police being violent as well as some protestors. A friend of my from Occupy Philly Media, Vanessa, possibly had two toes broken by a horse.

Either a horse was spooked or made to attack a crowd of protestors as well:

There is another report that a police pulled a knife on a protestor:

A person nearly getting crushed by a horse:


And a ton of protestors facing off against the cops:

As the day goes on, the reports from the mainstream media are ignoring the fact that there was another event planned for the site despite "construction." Even after the eviction, it still isn't being reported.

Reports are coming in that Mayor Nutter wasn't in town Sunday, but was in Chicago to attend a funeral.

PRO Al-Jazeera Protest - Thursday, February 10th - 7PM!!!

From the wire:

When:
Thursday, February 10, 2011 7:00 PM


Where:
Free Library of Philadelphia
1701 John F Kennedy Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA


Message from Al Jazeera -  
 "The past month has shown us something that America can no longer ignore: millions of Americans want to watch our channel and better understand our region, and too many are deprived of that opportunity." - Wadah Khanfar, director general of the Al Jazeera Network

As I wrote in the past, I firmly believe we need this in the U.S., and Comcast should carry it. So spread the word and come out and show your support!!!!

Tag any tweets, photos, and videos with #AJEMeetups in reference to this!

Egypt Protest Today!

THE STORY EVERYONE ELSE IS TOO SCARED TO POST!

Are you mad about what you're seeing on the news about Egypt? Do you want to show your support for the people on that country as they yearn for freedom, TRUE freedom, and Democracy?

Today there will be a protest to show solidarity with the people of Egypt!

Monday, January 31st
The Federal Building, 6th and Market, Philadelphia
4:30 p.m.-6p.m.

Photo courtesy of Global Political Awakening

Anti-Soda Tax Rally Today

This just came in:

RALLY SET TO OPPOSE BEVERAGE TAX

Hundreds to gather at City Hall to oppose what would be nation’s highest beverage tax

WHAT: “Philly Jobs. Not Taxes” Coalition members will hold a rally against the city’s unprecedented 2-cents-per-ounce tax proposal on sugary drinks. The growing coalition is composed of concerned union workers, businesses, community organizations and individuals that strongly oppose the beverage tax. The coalition believes the tax unfairly burdens consumers, targets one component of the business community and is illegal under State law. The tax would more than double the cost of some beverages and put Philadelphia jobs at risk.

WHO: Danny Grace, Teamsters Local Union 830

Rushdi Mohamed, Owner, Cousin’s Market, North Philadelphia

Philly Jobs. Not Taxes Coalition members

Pete Ciarrocchi, President of Chickie’s & Pete’s and Co-Chairman of Philly Jobs. Not Taxes. (Available for morning interviews only.)

WHEN: Wednesday, March 24

12:00 PM

WHERE: Dilworth Plaza

City Hall (Northwest side)

SOURCE: PhillyClout

Now, I'm not happy that the movement to oppose this tax seems to be centered around union leaders and soda companies, and it actually hurts the movement in and of itself. What we need is a rally of the people, by the people to happen instead. More on that later, as well as possibly footage of the rally itself.

Bike Messangers Oppose new Bike Laws, Hit & Run

Nothing better than finding out that Bike Messengers will be holding a protest at their little hang out, LOVE Park, at 5PM today to protest the new bike laws that were proposed. They say they have no problem with current laws, but say the new ones target them specifically.

The fines would raise for existing laws (riding on the sidewalk, running red lights) and banning "breakless bikes". Again, the Bike Messengers oppose these ideas.

But on a sad note, one of them was hit early on Thanksgiving:

Fletcher said she was yelled at by an angry driver near 23rd and Locust and then struck by his silver hatchback at about 2:30 a.m. Brito says police are treating the incident as an accident, not the hit-and-run they said it should be.

Was this a hit-and-run based solely on the person being a cyclist? If it was, it simply is tragic to see this happen, especially due to the severity of the injury. I hope she has a speedy recovery. This hit-and-run driver needs to be persecuted immediately.

Again, the protest is:

LOVE Park
5PM Today

SEPTA STRIKE Day 6: No End in Sight

There is no deal.

Governor Ed Rendell has left town and with him he takes nearly $7 Million dollars in funding to help the union get what it wants. The union got increasingly angry at SEPTA for rewriting the deal. At last check, TWU 234 wanted an independent audit of their pension and SEPTA wanted language in the contract so they could possibly work on health benefits if (or when) the public option is passed.

TWU 234 President "Little" Willie Brown stated during a press conference that any talk of an agreement "was a lie." No new talks are scheduled.

The 2005 SEPTA strike lasted 7 days. A 1998 SEPTA strike lasted 40 days.

Willie Brown, this one goes out to you:



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Today a protest was scheduled at 1234 Market Street for 1PM in front of SEPTA headquarters by someone on Twitter called simply "strikeprotest". I arrived at 12:45PM and saw one protester named Till Ayala, who had actually lost a job due to this strike. When I arrived, there were a bunch of cameras and reporters, far outnumbering the protestor. I arrived carrying a sign that read, "I'm not Anti-Union, I'm Anti-Willie Brown." I spoke to reporters and was asked if I was the organizer and replied, "No, but I saw this on Twitter and wanted to put my money where my mouth is."

Shortly after most of the media left, 3 people came over to support us and hold balloons with slogans to help the cause of the protest: To show that the people of the city were being hurt most by this strike.