Occupy Wall Street Celebrates A Successful Year and Talks About New Goals ( Live Updates )

Good Morning Wall Street

9:45AM
Even with the massive amount of NYPD checkpoints and the scare tactics used to deter turn out, there are thousands marching on the financial district this morning. For those who watched the movement struggle many times in the last year. It's good to see that some of the Occupiers still have hope and enthusiasm that this can make a difference. 

OWS has just taken an intersection. Arrests probably imminent. 

Tim @ http://www.ustream.tv/timcast

Luke @ http://www.ustream.tv/wearechange

http://www.ustream.tv/occupyeye

As we approach the 10 o'clock hour Occupy Wall Street is planning to converge on a planned location. As the time gets closer some Occupiers run to evade being bothered by police. As the Occupiers enter the first every meeting place of the movement it seems that the NYPD is trying to limit access and deter the protesters. The shear numbers mean that the NYPD is only trying to handle actual provocateurs at the moment. It seems as long as you comply with the "keep it moving" rule you can avoid arrest. The enthusiasm today is a refreshing change. This is one of the first livestreams I have watched that doesn't seem in some way anticlimactic. 

10:00AM
The livestreamers and protestors comment on how many people text them and tweet them wanting to know how many people are at the marches. They have no way of guessing especially with all the different routes that usually divert protesters around traffic and police how many people are around them. They don't want to take a space and risk massive arrests by the NYPD circling around the protesters. The protesters are ,marching on Nassau Street heading towards Broadway to try and take the intersection. But the white shirts and the vans are always imminent nearby. There is a delicate give and take between those who want to provoke police and those who just want to avoid arrest. 

10:10AM
The Occupiers are receiving a megaphone order that if they do not keep moving along they face imminent arrest. If they leave the sidewalk voluntarily they will avoid arrest for disorderly conduct. They are being kettled into the street as if that will save them from arrest. They have dismantled the march once again as I have seen in the past. The NYPD uses its divide and conquer technique to separate the Occupiers and confuse them. Hopefully there will be enough of them that they can continue strong throughout the day. 

Live viewers between the most popular livestreams has been hovering around 2,500 people.  The total count of viewers is approaching 20,000. The numbers are climbing steadily so there is no exact count at the moment. 

10:26AM
There are reports that there have been about 50 arrests today. More have happened since though. It is hard for those on the ground at the protests to know what is really happening around them. The police try and cause as much divide and confusion as possible. The Occupiers discuss the fear and you can see the fear tactics used by the NYPD that are intended to deter average people from attending protests. Multiple journalists have been arrested. We need more pirate media. We need a media revolution in the homes of average Americans. When we turn off our TVs and rely on live coverage of events, bloggers, and social networking. Only then will we have the truth in media we are looking for. The livestreamers try to stay separated so those of us watching at home can see more of what's happening. It is much appreciated guys. 

11:18AM
The protesters are on the move again, this time to Battery Park. I have noticed that there are so many people on the street in NYC usually that sometimes it is hard to make out who is a protester and who is not. I find the red shirts of the Chicago Teachers Union make the crowds more unified and easily identifiable to the photographers. This is the most organized and successful I have seen the Occupiers. It has been a learning year. But there are probably still better ways still we will find to organize massive amounts of people in unity. 

11:28AM
More and more protesters are filing into Battery Park. It seems the groups have stayed together to reconvene as one large group, probably much to the disappointment of the police and their divisive kettling techniques. 

11:56AM 
National Lawyers Guild is confirming 104 arrests so far today. 

1:08Pm 
A large group has now gathered at Zuccotti Park.

1:30PM
At least 7 more arrests made of protesters surrounded by police and swept into a fan. The crowd still grows in numbers as this beautiful day continues. It seems as if the arrests are public displays of force to intimidate those who might not want to face arrest without cause. It seems as though most of the protesters find the benefits of showing solidarity far out way the risks. They have faith in the NLG and know who to call. The twitter feed and facebook have been alive all day with photos, videos, and blogs of the Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. The camp that brought hope to so many is gone but not forgotten.

1:59PM
World Financial Center is reportedly shut down. A march was supposed to take place leaving from Zuccotti Communication is hard with so many protesters and so many police checkpoints. One stream seems as though everyone has stopped marching. On the other side of the group a march has started to leave Zuccotti. It's impossible to know how many protesters there are with so many smaller factions traveling around the city. 

2:08PM 
The groups are trying to figure out if their arrestable or not. There are 1000  in Zuccotti park but they aren't letting more people in and out easily. 

2:18PM
Protesters willing to get arrested are staging a protest at Goldman Sachs. Resisting police warning to get up.  

2:27PM
One of the independent journalist livestreamers was violently arrested by the NYPD. Deliberate scare tactics are being used by the NYPD to intimidate the many protesters who remain. All arrests being photographed and streamed live. The blatant use of force is obvious and intentional. They disregard that none of these charges will stick or be prosecuted because the goal is intimidation and control, and officers face no repercussions for that kind of behavior unless permanent irrefutable damage is done, and then usually a slap on the wrist compared to the penalty an average citizen would face.

The brutality always backfires on the police because instead of intimidated people are passionate about what they have just seen.

Some of the people being singled out and pulled out of the crowd are not actually being arrested.

3:16PM
As the activities of the day continue there is still a ton of enthusiasm. Many protesters repeat the same story. They all hear from their family and friends, isn't Occupy over? Didn't it die last winter? What do you think. Did the movement die or has it only just begun?

I enjoy that the Code Pink girls are wearing wigs that are the same color as my hair. I think I would fit in well with the Code Pink girls.  

 3:43PM 
Clear the sidewalk for pedestrians? huh? Or face arrest. Crowd chants, "we are pedestrians". Not allowing marching on the sidewalk or in the streets. White shirts still using megaphone to announce need for pedestrian sidewalk. At a crowd of walking pedestrians. 

The Lunacy Continues as over a thousand people still protest in NYC. The NYPD humiliates themselves yet again with scare tactics and demands that can not reasonably be met. Making arrests without cause while the shear number of protesters is still controlling the flow of the people. 

I am glad I am doing this today for me. Because I have sat here and watched protests so many times before. And I always forget the details. Today has been such an eventful day but repressed by the police and the media. That is why social media is so necessary. These people on twitter and at the march, and livestreaming today deserve an audience for their hard work in doing what most of us are afraid to do.  Thousands have risked being arrested for no cause at all. The crowd now is swelling out of the NYPDs control. You can feel the excitement. The Occupiers finally got the perfect marching weather. 

Reports over an hour ago of 150 arrests. 4:00PM
The men in White shirts still shout at the crowd that they are blocking pedestrian traffic. 

They are threatening a silent marching crowd with disorderly conduct arrest for being on the sidewalk. Often times when in a crosswalk with a walk sign protesters have been grabbed. 

3000 people still watching live on just the 3 livestreams I have open, and there are many others.  With over 57,000 homes having tuned in today to see the protests streamed live. 

The NYPD are attempting yet again to divide and kettle the crowd.

 5:15PM 
I think that in a lot of ways, fear is winning. We haven't protested even when we've seen injustice. We stay home out of responsibility and fear. Many people warned me of what could happen if I went. That shows that money is winning. People aren't doing enough of the things they can do to help. They just don't think it matters what they have to say. And I think with so many people in the world most of us feel powerless. We can't let them win by following every social norm. In your life, think about where you shop. Think about where you spend your money and what kind of organizations you support. Figure out where your taxes go and figure out what legislation passes in your local government. Find the corruption all around you, it permeates the system.

Over 66,000 people have tuned into the livestreams at this point. Things seemed to have calmed down by now. The oppressive presence of the NYPD has diminished the numbers to only those who are determined to stand firm and risk arrest later on this evening. Separate marches continue around the city and continue to converge on Zuccotti Park. 

7:30PM 
Occupy Wall Street Continues. Surrounded by the NYPD at this point. No one who is still there has any intention of leaving until they are forced. And as soon as it's dark and numbers are at their smallest that is when they will strike and arrest more Occupiers. It is a formula that has been repeated since the night they evicted the occupation from Zuccotti Park

8:43PM 
Livestreamers have predicted that police are getting ready to announce the park is closed despite it being a public park open 24 hours and will forcibly remove the Occupiers from the park. It is a formula that they have seen many time before. 

8:55Pm 
The police have moved into position 2 spotlights the likes of which haven't been seen since the raid of Zuccotti Park.  

A fifth set of spotlights is being erected. It appears they may just keep the Occupiers kettled inside the park and try and arrest them all. It will be a nearly impossible feat since there are still hundreds of protesters inside. The experienced Occupy journalists assume the police will go for the drum circle that has not stopped all day long at OWS. Brookdale Security Guards surround the fences which are still zip tied together. The NYPD may make arrests while causing mass hysteria and threatening arrests for all those who remain. Occupiers agree that there is a way this could be resolved peacefully by the NYPD but that is unlikely to happen. The current scenario will result in a stand off. But how things will progress is still a mystery at this point. 

10:02PM 
A large number of police have filed into the park. 

The police presence alone has cleared a large portion of the park. 

But many remain just outside the fence. And plenty intend to stay until removed by force. This is a 24 hour park that should not be closed. It's an arbitrary rule enforced for the convenience of the corporate owners of the park. 

The police have effectively removed many of the remaining protesters without force. Could the NYPD be learning?


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