Tag Archives: Occupy movement

Occupy London Wins UBS Court Appeal, Fights St. Paul’s Eviction

Posted on by

Occupy London Wins UBS Court Appeal, Fights St. Paul’s Eviction – Businessweek.

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — Occupy London protesters who took over a vacant UBS AG office building in the city’s financial district won court permission to appeal their eviction after a judge ruled they weren’t given proper notice of a trial.

The bank’s notice to the protesters, in the form of a document posted on the building and a text message sent to a leader 45 minutes before a 10 p.m. hearing, was insufficient to give the group time to prepare or determine how to participate in the case, Court of Appeal Judge Timothy Lloyd ruled today.

There was “really no effective notice of the hearing at all — especially in circumstances like this, where a hearing took place late at night,” Lloyd said. “There is at least a compelling reason why permission to appeal should be granted.”

The court victory against Zurich-based UBS comes as the protesters, who seek global economic-equality and claim the bank behaves unethically, are in a separate trial to avoid being evicted from their primary encampment outside St. Paul’s Cathedral. More than 200 tents have clustered around the building since the middle of October, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protest that has since been broken up by police.

“This ruling is a vindication of the right of everyone in this country to due process,” Naomi Colvin, a spokeswoman for Occupy London, said after the ruling. “These people labor under the misconception that they can throw money at a problem; it’s emblematic of what the Occupy movement is trying to combat.”

UBS’s press office in London didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Possession Order

Lloyd said an appeal hearing should take place as soon as possible after Jan. 11. He suspended an injunction won by UBS last month and put on hold a so-called possession order that paved the way for eviction. The bank, whose building was occupied Nov. 18, said it would propose an interim injunction to address its concerns about health and safety in the building.

In the St. Paul’s trial, protesters are fighting a court push by the City of London Corporation, which oversees Britain’s main financial district, to evict them from the property over claims they are blocking a public passageway, impeding tourists from photographing the 17th century cathedral and forcing the continued closure of nearby Paternoster Square, where the London Stock Exchange is located.

The protesters claim the occupation is a human right and an effective way to raise awareness of wrongdoing by banks. Judge Keith Lindblom said today he may give an indication of his decision by the end of the week and that he would visit the protest site at the cathedral today.

‘Structural Flaws’

“Freedom of expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society,” the group’s lawyer, Michael Paget, said in his opening statement at the trial. The occupation is drawing attention to “the mismanagement of the U.K. and global economy and the structural flaws in the economy, including the inability to properly regulate the banking system.”

The four-day trial comes after the City’s negotiations with the protest movement last month failed to result in a deal for the protesters to leave the area after the New Year. Demonstrators have also occupied Finsbury Square and a nearby UBS AG building to protest inequality.

The City served an eviction notice on the St. Paul’s protesters on Nov. 16, a day after New York police in riot gear entered Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan to remove Occupy Wall Street protesters who had been camping there for more than eight weeks in a demonstration that triggered others around the world.

Related articles
About these ads

Occupy London’s anger over police ‘terrorism’ document

Posted on by

Occupy London’s anger over police ‘terrorism’ document | UK news | guardian.co.uk.

Police have angered Occupy London activists after listing the movement among terrorist groups in an advisory notice sent to the business community in the City.

The document issued by City of London police, headed “Terrorism/extremism update for the City of London business community”, included a detailed account of recent and upcoming Occupy London activities and was sent to “trusted partners” in the area.

The document, dated 2 December, which was passed on to Occupy London’s Finsbury square encampment over the weekend by a local business owner, gave an update on foreign terrorist activities including that of Farc in Columbia, al-Qaida in Pakistan and the outcome of a trial into the Minsk bombing in Belarus.

Below that, a section headed “Domestic” was dedicated wholly to the activities of the Occupy encampments and singled out anti-capitalists as a cause for concern.

“As the worldwide Occupy movement shows no sign of abating, it is likely that activists aspire to identify other locations to occupy, especially those they identify with capitalism.”

The document stated that police had “received a number of hostile reconnaissance reports concerning individuals who would fit the anti-capitalist profile”, and asked businesses to be vigilant for further sign of occupation activity.

It also said that the number of protesters present at the camp remained “fairly consistent” but that demonstrations originating from the camp had “decreased and lacked the support and momentum of earlier actions”.

The City of London police have as yet been unwilling to reveal how many businesses were included on the mailing but their list is thought to include large multinationals and banks.

A City of London police source admitted that the “title of the document was not helpful” and denied that it labelled or intended to label the Occupy movement as equivalent to al-Qaida.

An activist from the camp called the document “vulgar” and said Occupy London had met Church of England representatives many times in the past and were meeting the Financial Services Authority, which regulates banking activity in the UK, on Monday.

A statement from the Occupy London camp said: “The reference to ‘suspected activists’ seems to demonstrate a disturbing loss of perspective.

“Activism is not a crime and the desire to participate in democratic decision-making should not be a cause for concern for the police in any free society.

“An institution that confuses active citizens with criminals and equates al-Qaida with efforts to re-imagine the City is an institution in grave danger of losing its way.”

Asked about the document, the City of London police said their community policing methods had been praised.

A spokesman added: “City of London police works with the community to deter and detect terrorist activity and crime in the City in a way that has been identified nationally as good practice.

“We’ve seen crime linked to protests in recent weeks, notably around groups entering office buildings, and with that in mind we continue to brief key trusted partners on activity linked to protests.”

Occupy Wall Street protester now occupying a cubicle after getting a job at Wall Street bank

Posted on by

Occupy Wall Street protester now occupying a cubicle after getting a job at Wall Street bank | Mail Online.

Unlike many protesters who were not very clear in their demands, Tracy Postert went down to Zuccotti Square during the Occupy Wall Street protests with a specific goal in mind: to get a job.

In a serendipitous turn of events, she landed one, but in one of the very banks she had gone to protest against.

The biomedical scientist, who has her Ph.D. specializing in pharmacology, had been unemployed for quite some time so she decided to be creative with her job seeking process.

After spending 10 days protesting with anti-capitalist signs like everyone else, Ms Postert showed up on October 22 in a medical jacket holding a sign stating her intentions.

Her sign said ‘Ph.D Biomedical scientist seeking full time employment’ on the front and ‘Ask me for my resume’ on the back.

Luckily enough, one passer-by did.

Now, over a month later, she is working in an office on Wall Street – in one of the companies that she was protesting against not long ago.

Wayne Kaufman, chief marketing analyst from John Thomas Financial Brokerage, took her resume and promptly invited her for an interview.

‘I had been unemployed for so long, I thought why not?’ Ms Postert told The New York Post.

Shortly after the interview, in the company’s offices at 14 Wall Street, she was offered a job she couldn’t refuse.

At first, Ms Postert was hesitant to accept the position as a junior analyst specializing in the viability of medical companies as investments. Given her political sympathies and involvement in the Occupy Wall Street protests, it seemed like a hypocritical move.

But, considering she is in her 30s and has spent many months to no avail looking for a job in the academic arena- which would be her first choice- she decided that practicality had to trump political posturing.

‘I never thought I would be doing this,’ she told The Post.

Mr Kaufman said that the starting salary as a junior analyst is near minimum wage, but there is much room for growth and he expects her to be making a six-figure salary soon enough.

A job in the financial services sector did seem unlikely for the Upper West Sider, considering she had no financial background or any training in the field.

Needless to say, long gone are the ‘Reagan Sucks’ posters that she held up in Zuccotti Park.

Now, Ms Postert arrives to her desk in the Wall Street office by 8am every morning as she studies to take her financial analyst exams.

For Ms Postert, the job means that she has a steady pay check. For the company, they have one convert to the cause.

‘She was ranting about Wall Street, and now she’s working on Wall Street,’ said the CEO of John Thomas Financial Brokerage.

‘Banks are not so bad. I hope we have opened her eyes,’ Mr Belesis said.