Videographer Luke Rudkowski (#OWS) got yet another chance to question the current chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke. The last time the two met, Bernanke was not in a talkative mood and since Luke only had one chance to ask one question he decided it had to be an important one. Luke asked Bernanke about the 2007 - 2010 secret trillion dollar Federal Reserve bailouts, that only recently came to light from a partial audit of the Federal Reserve. Barnanke was not happy with the question but since no one in the main stream media ever questioned Bernanke on the biggest bailout in world history, Luke had to seize the opportunity. During the inpromptu interview, Bernanke actually grabbed Luke's microphone and tried to snatch it away from him, but sadly the video did not capture his hands on the microphone.
Occupy Wall Street activists gather inside Saks Fifth Avenue to oppose CEO Carlos Slim, who protesters say made his fortune on the backs of poor Mexicans. You can hear the undercover private security guard in the background telling videographer Allison to stop filming. Allison explains she's a reporter to which the guard replies, "That doesn't matter in here."
The founder of TimcastTV, Pool is a live-stream and social-media journalist who has garnered attention for his coverage of Occupy Wall Street and the Million Hoodie March, which honored Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teen who was shot and killed in Florida in February.
From Reuter's photographer's blog, photojournalist Andrew Burton decided that he wanted to get a look at Occupy Wall Street's everyday activities rather than the sensationalist activities that are covered by the mainstream media. So he ended up following a friend of mine, Austin Guest, to take photos and talk with him.
As a journalist, Guest helped re-shape my own notions of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Like many people, I thought the OWS movement seemed unorganized and unwilling to state clear political desires. On the contrary, Guest demonstrated that the movement does have organization and leadership, though at times they focus so extensively on each person having a voice, it can be hard to reach consensus and mobilize. Regarding political goals, Guest explained that Occupy Wall Street is a social movement, not a political one.
Austin Guest was one of the occupiers who "moved in" to the lobby of a Bank of America branch office, and you can see that video here.
These short videos are a brief look at the kind of film "#whilewewatch" - premiering Thursday, April 26th at 8pm ET/5pm PT - will be. The screening will be on Snag Film's website, where it will be livestreamed, and viewers will be able to ask questions of the participants, some of whom are featured in these brief video clips. I'll be there, and hope to see you all there, too.
Now, the first video. Tim Pool is a journalist whose unique style of interactive broadcast journalism exists at the intersection of social and mainstream media. His live coverage has been featured by news outlets such as Reuters, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera English. Pool engages viewers as participants by combining first hand reporting and commentary via live video stream and chat, allowing the viewing public to join in the action by directly asking questions, which he responds to while reporting live.
Occupy Peeps Street
The Occupy Wall Street movement can't be stopped - not even in Peepville!
Protesters Re-Occupy Minneapolis: At least a dozen Occupy Minnesota protesters were arrested as their return to Minneapolis became heated overnight.
Much more here, including a lot of video footage and photographs.
This just in: A newly uploaded video from Occupy Minneapolis last night. This one shows Minneapolis police police attacking journalists and flipping a commercial news videographer and his camera at about 1:22 and another independent journalist arrested:
And then this video shows that videographer being actually flipped over by a police officer in slow motion:
Occupy Salt Lake activists who maintained a round-the-clock presence in Salt Lake City’s Gallivan Center this past winter on Friday packed up their tents and moved a few blocks south to Library Square, a grass-and-gravel area east of the Salt Lake City Library at 210 E. 400 South.
Since Oct. 6, the Salt Lake contingency has stood in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, a grass-roots movement decrying corporate greed and its influence on society and the political process.
'Wall Street' merger: DC's 2 Occupy groups to merge at McPherson Square: Washington's two ongoing Occupy protests plan to merge with one group moving out of Freedom Plaza and joining protesters at McPherson Square. On Friday evening, the Freedom Plaza protesters voted unanimously to approve the move.
Afghan youth in U.S. protest war: Some 150 people from Fremont and Occupy Oakland demonstrated outside a U.S. military recruiting center in Fremont on March 30 at a protest organized by Afghan youth. They were also joined by a number of San Francisco Bay Area Iraq Veterans Against the War activists. Fremont has the highest concentration of Afghans in the U.S.
And via Treehugger, the coal industry mocks Occupy Wall Street. The message?
It's time to put aside silly things like idealism, or discontentment with pollution, and get back to reality. Hard, dirty, coal-stained reality. So listen up, Americans:
The coal lobby thinks “reality” is a world dependent on their dangerous product. Coal-fired power plants kill at least 13,000 people a year by spewing over 386,000 tons of pollutants, including mercury, into the air. Coal is also the most significant driver of carbon emissions, making the industry responsible for global warming that will cause more extreme weather, droughts, famine, crop failures, mass extinction of various species, as well as flooding. Coal is hardly even a source of middle class jobs given efforts by major coal companies to bust their respective unions.
Last but not least, from Open Secrets: Let there be no doubt where Wall Street's political loyalties lie: Of all the money the securities and investment industry has poured into the 2012 presidential contest so far -- to the candidates and the super PACs behind them -- an unambiguous 92 percent has gone to the GOP, according to a new Center for Responsive Politics analysis.
Here I thought the police brutality in New York was reserved for just Occupy Wall Street activists. But here a group of New York City police officers were so busy kicking and beating a man with their batons that it took them a little while to realize they were being recorded.
They had the man on his back, ordering him to put his hands behind his back while continually beating him with their batons, and stomping him with their feet making it impossible to actually comply with their orders as he was trying to dodge the blows.
Once they finally noticed the videographer, one of them pulls out a pepper spray canister, shakes it and walks toward the videographer with the canister pointing towards him.
“Move back, Move Back! Move Back!"
This took place in the Bronx and the video was uploaded on January 30, 2012.
