different news corporation brands

Which occupation would you rather attend?

Local newspaper Star Tribune reports this:

Police spokesman Sgt. Steve McCarty said police action will be determined by the protesters' actions.
In general, it is not illegal to spend the night in public parks or plazas, he said. "It doesn't become a problem until they starting blocking access or start causing a disturbance," McCarty said. "It is something we will deal with at the time."

Local FOX tv station reports this:

Carolyn Marinan, Hennepin County spokesperson: "This is not a campground. This is where people come during the day and do business. You can come here at night, but you can't camp overnight."
The Hennepin County Sheriff's office wouldn't comment on what type of law enforcement presence they will have, but given their experience with the RNC (Republican National Convention) they should be prepared for just about anything."
...
Now you talk about logistics, one of the things that this group has asked the county to do was to bring in some port-o-potties for all of the people that they are expecting, but again the county tells me they are reluctant to do anything that will encourage them to have an extended stay here, especially overnight.

Ugh.  I hope to learn more details at the class tomorrow night.

T minus 2 days

We aren't terrorists demanding ransom, we're protestors demanding equal representation. So, no, we don't have a convenient list of goals for you to read. People want an opportunity to list their grievances... and there are many. We are in no hurry. We will occupy until we are satisfied. It's not like we have the lure of high-paying jobs and comfortable mansions tempting us away from this process.

Meanwhile, the cleanup of media stories by management continues. I should be taking photographs of media stories rather than just bookmarking them, because they change so substantially over time. First the New York Times changes their tone to be less sympathetic to the protesters, but now I've caught Marketwatch changing their title to be less sympathetic. At least the original url still takes you to the article, and it is a good read.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/occupy-wall-street-is-a-tea-party-with-brains-2011-10-04

One idea gaining agreement is the sense that American democracy is "bought". Politicians sell themselves to the highest bidder, and neither major party can be trusted. Perhaps it is time that we erect a barrier separating business from government for the same reason that we created a barrier separating religion from government: they can't help but corrupt each other and cause suffering among the people that government claims to serve.

And for us people in Europe it is an open secret that the USA are more a Plutocracy then a Democracy. I am not here to discuss political definitions, but please, have you never heard about basic democratic principles in ancient Greece? It is about a system of representatives of many community groups, not about 2 parties of representatives of the richest people in a country. So you have to understand, why we Europeans can only quiet smile about your “Democracy” .
...
We European would like to see Captain America in the same way we are used to. And Captain America isn’t a greedy old man or a GI trooper. He is a dream.
- plus.google.com/u/0/100729828843019249206/posts/F8eTvBy2eYe, a German computer engineer

Yes, there is a lot to talk about. So go join an occupation in your area. Find your voice, and experience democracy firsthand. You will find people just like you. Attend the general assembly. Learn the sign language used by crowds to silently express their opinion. Experience the power of hearing your neighbor's voice through "the people's microphone".

From Egypt, social movements across the globe have learned of the power of camping together in city squares; from Spain the movements have learned to make decisions in large assemblies of thousands of people, by agreeing or disagreeing with specific proposals made by speakers via the use of sign language; from America, the most striking tactic has been the use of the ‘people’s microphone’. After a ban on using megaphones, the people at Occupywallstreet have taken to using this tactic in order to allow everyone in the crowd to hear the speaker. It simply involves the crowd repeating all the words of the speaker in order to collectively magnify his or her voice. It seems like a minor issue to focus on, but the reality is that it unites by getting people to relay information to others while also saying something to themselves, and, in addition, it shows the limitless power of creative civil disobedience.
- http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/09/the-"people's-microphone"/

I've experienced this new language already in Minneapolis. I hope you will too.