Jerry Curl

Act on Principles reports : Queer/LGBTIQA2Z OWS, a caucus of the NYC based Occupy Wall Street movement, announced yesterday that it will protest a Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Gala honoring Goldman Sachs on Saturday February 4, 2012 at the Waldorf Astoria. In contrast to the $650 a plate Gala, the Queer/LGBTIQA2Z Caucus will host a “Guerrilla Potluck” on the sidewalk outside of the prestigious hotel at 50th Street & Park Avenue from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Queer/LGBTIQA2Z Caucus strives for economic, political, and social equality for LGBTQ people both locally and nationwide. The Queer Caucus condemns HRC for honoring Goldman Sachs, Calls upon HRC to adopt a strategy of Full Equality by 2014, and demands that HRC create a transparent process that includes the grassroots.

More at the Huffington Post .

CNN reports : Defiant but festive, Occupy DC protesters hunkered down early today as a deadline passed for U.S. Park Police to begin enforcing a ban on camping in two Washington parks. "We're just having a great party," said Occupy DC representative Sara Shaw. "We've camped since October so it's a lot like any other night. We're all staying awake and looking out for each other." Until now, Occupy protesters have been allowed to remain under a Park Service interpretation that considered the activity a "24-hour vigil." But on Friday, the National Park Service set a noon Monday deadline for protesters who have occupied the parks for months to remove their camping gear. Park officials said protesters would be allowed to remain around the clock and keep up tents, so long as one side of each tent remains open at all times so they can see inside. Early this morning, the scene at McPherson Park was largely quiet. Some milled around, with little hin...

Occupy protesters in the nation's capital were preparing for a noon deadline set by federal park authorities to end camping at some of the movement's last remaining large encampments, with some "surprises" in store, one of the activists said. The National Park Service said in a flier released Friday that it would begin enforcing regulations prohibiting camping and the use of temporary structures for camping at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza. Individual violators may be subject to arrest and their property subject to seizure as evidence, the flier said. Justin Jacoby Smith, a 25-year-old activist with OccupyKSt, said the protesters at McPherson Square had plans for the deadline -- a "tent of dreams" was mentioned on their twitter feed, but he noted: “We’re still sort of keeping the specifics under wraps … we like to have surprises when we can.” “Today what we’re trying to do is make sure that everyone knows that when you enforce a regulation against sleep...

Photo caption: Occupy Congress/DC protesters held up a sign in front of the U.S. Capitol during a rally in Washington yesterday. More on how the DC rally went yesterday can be read at Reuters . In related news: A "smoking object" was thrown over the White House fence late yesterday, and authorities have closed the north gate of the residence while the object is investigated, U.S. Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie said. The president and his wife were not at home; they were celebrating the first lady's birthday at a restaurant a few blocks away. The unidentified object was thrown during a protest, Ogilvie said. (Via CNN )

MSNBC reports : Thousands of Occupy protesters from across the country are expected to converge on Capitol Hill today to take their message to the halls of Congress, in what some observers say is the movement’s overdue moment to engage the American political system. Protesters already have set up camps in public spaces, taken over foreclosed homes and shut down key shipping ports, but for the most part they have shunned the political system, viewing it as beyond salvation. The congressional protest – which falls on the movement's four-month mark and the beginning of a new session of Congress – appears to represent a strategic shift aimed at winning support of the many Americans disillusioned with the legislative branch. “Often the complaint that I hear is that, 'you guys are targeting the wrong people.' And so we have that discussion about you know whether or not Wall Street is the source of the problem or really Congress is," said Aaron Bornstein, a 31-year-old neuros...

Barricades surrounding Zuccotti Park park were removed yesterday, clearing the way for protesters to stream back in. The atmosphere at the park, which served as a camp for Occupy Wall Street protesters, was celebratory but calm last evening as about 300 protesters began filling in a couple of hours after the barricades were taken down and a day after a complaint about the barricades was filed with the city. Protesters milled around, eating lasagna on paper plates and playing chess. Security guards who were previously guarding the barricades stood off to the side, along with a handful of police officers. It was a minor victory for the protesters, who have complained about financial inequality in demonstrations that gained traction across the globe. "Word spread pretty quickly, and we ran down here," demonstrator Lauren DiGioia said. "It's hard to remember what it was like before the barricades were put up." Police spokesman Paul Browne said the NYPD and Brookfiel...

Towleroad reports : Last night marked the 33rd anniversary of Harvey Milk's death. To comemorate the sad occasion, a Harvey Milk Memorial and Candlelight March took place in the Castro. Former Milk intern Cleve Jones offered some inpiring words to the marchers and activist and videographer Sean Chapin captured it all in a touching montage. In related news: Today at noon, protestors shall gather at Harvey Milk Plaza and begin an occupation of the Castro to protest housing injustices. (Via Occupy the Castro )

New York Magazine's Vulture reports that Miley Cyrus is getting political. The now 19-year-old singer/actress posted a homemade video in support of the Occupy Wall Street protesters to her YouTube account last week. The peace-sign flashing teen set a dance remix of her song "Liberty Walk" to footage from Occupy protests, noting that her video is dedicated "to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in." As the Village Voice points out, Cyrus has received some negative feedback on her video, perhaps because the wealthy pop star is part of the 1% or maybe fans were just disappointed she didn’t use “Party in the U.S.A.” In related and less important news: the former Disney darling is currently dealing with the fallout from a joke she made about being a 'stoner' . (Via the Marquee Blog )

The LA Times reports : Without resorting to large-scale violence, Los Angeles police successfully cleared out the Occupy L.A. camp at City Hall early today, managing to avoid fierce confrontations that marred sweeps in Oakland and New York. Hundreds of police officers swarmed the large camp at City Hall’s south lawn shortly after midnight, encircling the demonstrators in less than 10 minutes. By quickly establishing a perimeter, police managed to take control of the scene in the first moments of engagement. No tear gas was used in the shutdown of what was the nation's largest remaining Occupy camp. More than 200 people were arrested in the operation that involved 1,400 officers. “They were like storm troopers. They encircled us,” said protester Cheryl Aichele, who was sitting in the middle of the south lawn in a circle with other protesters when police first entered the camp. The protesters largely kept to their promise of confronting the police peacefully. While some taunted polic...

MSNBC reports : Compared to Occupy protests on the coasts, the rebel encampment tucked between Tennessee’s War Memorial Plaza and the Statehouse – a few dozen tents adorned with American flags and even a libertarian one – has a decidedly Southern feel. While protesters in New York, California and elsewhere may often pass their downtime playing drums, meditating or knitting, their Tennessee counterparts could be playing football, hosting a square dance, flying kites, skateboarding or welcoming opponents with cookies. And if conversations on the coasts tend toward left-wing political theory, such as anarchy, Marxism and socialism, protesters here work on bridging a different divide: uniting the “blue” and “red” factions in their local audience. "We do have a lot of conservative voices in this camp and the thing that is really appealing to all of us is we believe in the common ties that bind us,” said Samantha Blanchard, a 30-year-old office administrator who was sheltering in a ten...

Photo caption: Jobs for Justice and Occupy DC teamed up yesterday for a march to the new MLK memorial.

--> Occupy LA asking court to stop eviction: --> Occupy Ourselves : Deepak Chopra explains: There could be an opening for change at a level higher than politics. The American public is confused and conflicted right now. When individuals are in that state, the answer is self-awareness. A therapist asks simple, relevant questions. Why are you angry? How well has your anger worked for you? Do you have negative feelings toward those you love? What every American needs right now is to occupy himself or herself, which means honestly facing the conflicts roiling inside and finding a way to heal them. As long as voters complain about Washington's inability to compromise while in the next breath supporting candidates who are rigidly tied to an ideology, conflict will continue because it exists inside the voter, first and foremost. President Obama has been a beacon of reasonableness, and his call for a balanced approach to the deficit, along with almost all his other proposals, carri...

By Adam Zyglis

Early Monday afternoon, a group of faculty and student organizers unveiled the Occupy Student Debt campaign from the southeast corner of lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park. As part of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the national Occupy Student Debt campaign asks that borrowers default on their student loan payments after one million individuals have similarly signed the debtors' pledge. "Since the first days of the Occupy movement, the agony of student debt has been a constant refrain," announced Andrew Ross, a professor at New York University, to a crowd of more than 100 assembled in Zuccotti Park. "We've heard the harrowing personal testimony about the suffering and humiliation of people who believe their debts will be unpayable in their lifetime." Ross, who teaches social and cultural analysis at NYU, helped to unveil the campaign on Monday. He is also an active member of the Occupy Wall Street education and empowerment working group, which is spearhea...

Towleroad reports : Artist Shepard Fairey has designed a new poster for the 99 Percent Movement featuring a protester in a Guy Fawkes mask, based on his iconic image of Obama.

Photo caption: Occupy Wall Street activists Jonathan Lopez, 19, Ivan Cabrera, 18, right got married in an unofficial ceremony at Zuccotti Park in Manhattan. The Advocate reports : Protesters returned to Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan on Saturday for an afternoon of events that included the first same-sex wedding to take place at Occupy Wall Street. The New York Daily News reports that activists Jonathan Lopez, 19, and Ivan Cabrera, 18, were married in “an unofficial ceremony" in the park that became synonymous with the global protests against economic inequality. Same-sex marriages have been available in New York since the marriage equality law took effect in July, but Gothamist reports that the wedding was the first such ceremony at the park. As many as 200 protesters came to Zuccotti Park on Saturday for the first time since police raided the area early last Tuesday morning, arrested about 140, and brought the two-month encampment to an end. Tents, tarps and other sleeping g...