The occupy movement’s recent May Day demonstrations have been somewhat overshadowed by media reports from Seattle and San Francisco where protesters, dressed in black, vandalized banks, retail outlets and cars. Called “Black Bloc,” these protesters wear masks, carry shields and do not shy away from confrontations with police. Because of their battle-ready uniform, they...
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It is predicted that, on May 1, four winds coming from the north, south, east and west will collide in downtown Los Angeles leading to a mass uprising. But this is no apocalyptic weather report, it’s Occupy LA’s plans for a general strike. Called “The Four Winds,” occupiers are planning four separate caravans of...
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The death of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager who was killed late February by George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, has sparked demonstrations across the country by people who are demanding his arrest. In Los Angeles, far from Sanford, Fla. where Martin was killed, there have already been three solidarity demonstrations with more to follow. Justice...
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Inmate advocates plan to formally petition the United Nations this week to investigate what they say are human rights violations occurring within the California prison system. The action, which was organized by the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, was initiated last year after the treatment of inmates held in long-term solitary confinement...
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Occupy activists and immigration advocates joined forces today in a battle to keep a family together. On Feb. 22, Gerardo Quinones and Blanca Cardenas were removed from their North Hollywood home of eight years by the LAPD after Bank of America foreclosed on their mortgage. Because she refused to leave her house, Cardenas was...
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A group of homeless advocates held an educational meeting for occupy activists yesterday concerning Skid Row and the plight of the homeless. It ended in an appeal to occupy. Yesterday’s meeting, which was held on Towne Avenue south of Fourth Street, was a major step for this subset of Occupy LA, which brought together...
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An LAPD patrol car parks in the middle of Towne Avenue just south of Fourth Street in Skid Row. The empty street begins to fill with anticipation. From its loudspeaker, an officer in the patrol car barks orders at a cadre of occupy activists and homeless advocates who are in the process of staging...
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A contingent of Occupy the Hood activists held a meeting in Pershing Square yesterday to raise awareness over the treatment of California inmates and the state’s third prisoner hunger strike in less than a year. On Dec. 19, 2011, three prisoners sent a petition to the California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or CDCR,...
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While the U.S. government continues to its hard line stance against Iran’s nuclear program, others are calling for a softer approach that considers the fate of the average Iranian. Yesterday, roughly 100 demonstrators stood in front of the Westwood federal building and demanded no war, sanctions, assassinations or intervention on Iran. John Parker, the...
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An LA Activist investigation has revealed that an oft-cited justification for evicting Occupy Los Angeles, that of concerns over public health, doesn’t reflect documents obtained from the health department. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and multiple news media outlets repeatedly alluded to the issue as a necessity for ousting the two-month long sit-in demonstration at City...
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