bookmark_borderOccupy Philly Wells Fargo Trial: Not Guilty

PHILADELPHIA, PA — It has been over a year since 12 members of the Occupy Philadelphia movement were arrested inside a Wells Fargo bank in center city Philadelphia. This week they were put on trial in front of jury facing charges of criminal trespass and conspiracy.

The defendants put on a strong defense based on the 1st Amendment’s right to free assembly, as well as, “justification” due to imminent danger being caused by Wells Fargo. During the trial, character witnesses pointed out the contributions the defendants have been making since their arrests including: forming Inter-occupy, Occupy Sandy and organizing a new community center.

On March 5, 2013 the jury returned the verdict — not guilty of conspiracy and defiant trespass.

VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE WELLS FARGO PROTEST

bookmark_borderOccupy Philadelphia Events for the Week

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Occupy Philly movement posts their calender for November 2 – 9, 2012:

Sunday December 2nd, 3pm – Strike Debt Philly! Meeting – Wooden Shoe Books – 704 South St – Strike Debt Philly is a local chapter of a growing movement to confront and resist all forms of debt. For more information on Strike Debt and to download a copy of the Debt Resistors’ Operations Manual, visit: StrikeDebt.org You can join our email list at https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/strikedebtphilly-announce and our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StrikeDebtPhilly. Please join us at one of our weekly meetings, and be on the lookout for upcoming teach-ins, debtors assemblies and other street actions!

Please join us for our second, monthly Interfaith Working Group support group and potluck supper in West Philly (191434) from 6-8 PM. Contact Amy at aokietzman@aol.com for full details. Please bring some good, simple vegetarian food to share. We will be meeting regularly on the first Sunday of the month to share a simple meal, to share whats on our hearts, as well as any projects we are doing. Prayers, songs and short scripture readings may also be shared as the spirit moves. We remain open to the possibility that projects may arise in the future that we may all want to collaborate on.

Monday December 3rd, 6:30pm – Friends Center – 1501 Cherry St – Movie Mondays hosted by the Envision Peace Museum. Movies will the first Monday of Each month from October – December. The last film in the series will the short film “The Story of Stuff”, followed by the feature film “Affluenza”. This feature length documentary explores the high social costs of materialism and overconsumption

It’s on! The DEBATE is on! Mon., 12/3, 6 pm Temple University Gladfelter Hall (11th & Berks), Room 107. Free Admission to a debate between Dr. Anthony Monteiro and Attorney Michael Coard on the topics of “President Obama: Sell-Out, Savior, Neither, or Both?” and “Real Social Change: Through Revolution or Reform?” Check out the Radio Courtroom show on Wednesday AND Sunday at noon on WURD 900-AM for details. www.900amwurd.com. (Sponsored by ATAC 215-552-8751)

Tuesday, December 4th: Tools and Analytics for Understanding Usage of Your Website – As 2012 comes to a close, why not take stock of who’s visiting your website, and learn to track — and respond to — your website usage in 2013? Our next Philly Net Tuesday will focus on helping you do just that. We’ll gather at the Friends Center, 1501 Cherry Street, on Net Tuesday, December 4. Join us for light refreshments and networking at 6:00P, and the program will begin at 6:20. Can’t make it to downtown Philly? Watch the live Internet stream at http://phillynetsquared.org/live, and share your comments and questions via Twitter with the hashtag #phlnet2. Your website and Google are the first stop your stakeholders make to find out about, contribute to, or get involved with your organization or cause. Learn how to understand what drives visitors to your website, what keeps them there, how much you’re drawing from social media, and what inspires them to transform their involvement from “passive bystander” to volunteer, donor, or outspoken advocate.
Nathan Gasser and Andrew Sather will lead a discussion and hands-on demonstration of Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools — two free, complimentary services that help organizations learn more about their visitors, boost their online visibility, and gain insights about how they can improve the user experience. We’ll dig into what both tools have to offer your nonprofit, how you can start using them right away, and what to do with the data once you’ve collected it. (We’ll also touch upon some tools from non-Google sources.) This session will respond to the needs of the group. Whether you’re coming from a marketing/outreach angle or a technical perspective, and whether you’ve never heard of these tools before or have been using them for years. Important: We’re looking for websites for special attention. If you have a website with Google Analytics installed for more than a year, we want your help (and to help you!). We’re seeking a volunteer willing to open up their Google Analytics account to the crowd and to our presenters during Net Tuesday. We’ll analyze how visitors use your site and suggest ideas to improve usability, accomplish your online goals, and get to know your users a little better. If interested, please fill in this form. RSVP’s via Meetup or Facebook are appreciated for planning purposes, but not required. Thanks to the American Friends Service Committee for sponsorship.

Thursday December 6th, 7pm – Wooden Shoe Books – 704 South St – At its core, Spit and Passion is about the transformative moment when music crashes into a stifling adolescent bedroom and saves you. Suddenly, you belong. At twelve years old, Cristy C. Road is struggling to balance tradition in a Cuban Catholic family with her newfound queer identity, and begins a chronic obsession with the punk band Green Day. In this stunning graphic biography, Road renders the clash between her rich inner world of fantasy and the numbing suburban conformity she is surrounded by. She finds solace in the closet—where she lets her deep excitement about punk rock foment, and finds in that angst and euphoria a path to self-acceptance. -Cristy C. Road is a young Cuban American artist and writer from Miami; she currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. She has reached cult status for work that captures the beauty of the imperfect.

Friday December 7th, 7pm – Wooden Shoe Books – 704 South St – How do we develop and evaluate effective tactics and sound strategies? Effective tactics are essential to any organizing effort. As part of sound strategies, they make goals attainable. During this presentation, we’ll explore how effectics tactics and sound strategies are formed systematically. We’ll also explore the importance of context in forming theories and plans. The presentation will conclude with the introduction of a project that is likely to change the way organizing is done in Philly and perhaps beyond. Presented by local autonomist organizer Lucid Strike.

Events listed here include Occupy Philly related events as well as other social justice events. For more updates be sure to check the Occupy Philadelphia Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OccupyPhiladelphia. Your support is greatly appreciated!

bookmark_borderOccupy Philly Year Two – The Fight Continues

by Anonymous

Occupy Philadelphia Year 2
Occupy Philadelphia Year 2

PHILADELPHIA, PA — On September 17th, 2011, the first tents went up at Zuccotti Park in the financial district of New York City. What resulted was an international insurgency of activists committed enough to proclaiming the message of social and economic equality that they would: give up their lives to camp in a public park, educate the people about crimes being committed in their names from Oakland to Chicago to Kalamazoo, erect tent cities (reminiscent of the Hoovervilles of old) and serve as public reminders of Wall Street greed and corrupt government. The world had been occupied.

On October 6th of that same year, Philadelphia took up the call. In the past year, we have taken our message of economic justice, social equality, and a fair economy to the streets, to the the banks and to City Hall. From protests to sit-ins to National Gatherings, we shone a spotlight on the plight of everyday Philadelphians and beyond. We have experienced setbacks in the form of police aggression and political games, but rest assured that we have not been, nor will we be, silenced.

As year two begins, we call on our fellow Philadelphians to Fight the Power. Big bankers and political puppets still mold our city in their image even at the cost of our families and communities. We must not allow big money backed special interests to destroy our communities for their own profits. We must not let politicians sit idly by, pacified by their concern for campaign contributions and let it happen. It is time the people of Philadelphia rose up against corruption.

We invite you to join us on October 6th, 2012 at City Hall at noon. Together we will send a message all over the city of Philadelphia: that the people have come for their due, and we are not going anywhere until justice and equality run uninhibited through the streets.

Occupy Wall Street? Occupy Yourself
Occupy Philadelphia 2011
More Occupy Philadelphia