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Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Nation

Let's take back the country — starting now, by planning a tour to occupy the country

01.17.12 - 2:05 pm | Steven T. Jones, Tim Redmond, and Yael Chanoff |
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news@sfbg.com

The Occupy movement that spread across the country last fall has already changed the national discussion: It's brought attention to the serious, systemic problem of gross inequities of wealth and power and the mass hardships that have resulted from that imbalance.

Occupy put a new paradigm in the political debate — the 1 percent is exploiting the 99 percent — and it's tapping the energy and imagination of a new generation of activists.Read more »

Obstructions of justice

Controversial arrests of OccupyOakland participants raise civil liberties concerns

01.13.12 - 7:27 am | Yael Chanoff |
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The uneasy relationship between OccupyOakland and the Oakland Police Department has resulted in a troubling spate of controversial arrests recently.

At a press conference last month, Police Chief Howard Jordan stated, "The plaza area outside of City Hall is a public area. We do not have any legal right to remove you if you're standing there, at any time during the day, if you're exercising you're First Amendment rights. If you're not breaking the laws, we're not concerned about your presence."Read more »

Occupy and the hostile media

The mainstream press is always on the wrong side of history

12.27.11 - 5:52 pm | Boots Riley |
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OPINION Every progressive movement in U.S. history was portrayed negatively by mainstream media at the time it was happening. It's no surprise that the media portray the Occupy Wall Street movement in the same light.Read more »

iProtest

The revolution will not be powered by smartphones (but these apps might help it along)

12.27.11 - 5:43 pm | Rebecca Bowe |
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rebeccab@sfbg.com

The year 2011, marked by mass uprisings in the Arab world followed by the wildfire-like Occupy Wall Street movement, also brought a handful of incidents that inspired mobile application developers to invent new tools for protesters taking to the streets.

There was the time Sam Zimmerman, a media producer in New York City, received a series of frantic texts from his girlfriend, who was getting arrested and wrapped up in orange mesh by New York Police Department officers along with a crowd of demonstrators at an Occupy Wall Street protest.Read more »

Revolutionary bedfellows: What Occupy has in common with the sex-positive movement

12.16.11 - 9:39 am | Yael Chanoff |
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Guardian reporter Yael Chanoff embedded at the Occupy SF and Occupy Oakland encampments during the months-long protest. Here, she reflects on the non-monogamy movement and what it could mean for the 99 percent

Temperatures were running high at Occupy San Francisco. After a day of hard work, the protesters were decompressing. Talented musicians shared their instruments with friends and strangers in impromptu jam sessions. 

The evening in question took place during Occupy SF's early stages, back when police would swarm at the first sign of a tent being propped up, and all of the 200 or so people who camped out that night mingled and slept in the open air. I sat with two young women and three young men who were all topless, leaning on each other and using laps as pillows. 

Another occupier, who said he had arrived that day, wandered by. “So,” he asked, “Is this thing about free love?”

“I don’t know” the guy next to me replied. He shrugged at the newcomer. “But we’re definitely doing that.” Read more »

Occupy's next steps

Staging a national event in Washington, D.C. could cement the movement's place in history

12.13.11 - 3:10 pm | Guardian Editorial |
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EDITORIAL In less than three months, the Occupy movement has changed the national political debate — and possibly the course of U.S. history. A small group of protesters, derided in the mainstream media, grew to a massive outpouring of anger at economic inequality — and it's no coincidence that politicians at all levels have begun to respond. At least five different measures aimed at raising taxes on the rich are in the works in California. In Kansas Dec. Read more »

Police arrest 55 in early morning raid at Occupy SF

12.11.11 - 3:35 pm | Yael Chanoff |
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After more than two months, police have successfully cleared out all of the Occupy SF encampment on Market Street between Main Street and the Embarcadero. In an early morning raid, police completely cleared out the Occupy SF protest site at 101 Market St. Read more »

Should Occupy pull back and reinvent itself?

12.09.11 - 4:47 pm | Steven T. Jones |
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Maybe it's time for the Occupy movement to simply take a bow, step off the national stage for now, and start planning its next big production. Because at this point, Occupy has been a smashing success – winning over its audiences and key critics, influencing the national debate – but it's in danger of losing that luster if its lingers too long in its current form.Read more »

OccupySF retakes plaza to debate whether to keep it

12.08.11 - 6:00 pm | Yael Chanoff |
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OccupySF and its supporters defended Justin Herman Plaza last night (Wed/7) in a strong display of nonviolent action, demonstrating a commitment to the movement. But the unfolding events also showed the group is at a crossroads as it debates its next moves, and whether to continue trying to occupy the plaza after the group's tent city was removed by police and city workers.Read more »

Occupy movement targets foreclosed homes

12.07.11 - 5:28 pm | Shawn Gaynor |
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Throughout the Bay Area on Tuesday (Dec. 6), Occupy activists and housing advocates launched what they said will be an ongoing effort to place families back into their foreclosed homes, seizing bank-owned homes to put pressure on the banking industry to cooperate with homeowners in loan trouble.Read more »