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Occupy Des Moines protesters arrested at home foreclosure auction

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Category: News
Written by Jessica Mazour
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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120503/NEWS/120503016/1001

 

Police arrested four protesters attempting to shut down a foreclosure auction Thursday morning.

More than 20 Occupy Des Moines members entered the room in the Polk County River Place building, which holds several county services, shortly before the auction was to begin at 10 a.m.

As an official tried to start the process, they began singing. One official ran to get authorities. Another asked them to take their case to the courthouse.

Protesters just stood, clapped and became louder as authorities entered the room.

And they didn’t stop for more than an hour.

It was the first time the local Occupy movement had launched an action aimed at stopping foreclosures, though several related groups around the country have done so.

Protesters said they didn’t target Thursday’s event because of any particular case on that day’s agenda but were there to make a more general statement.

“The system is corrupt, so why should the individual suffer?” said member Frank Cordaro, who was not arrested Thursday. “We care about all the people. We were against the 50 auctions before this.”

It’s unclear what the charges will be against those arrested. Two argued they had been trying to leave the room when they were handcuffed. Police already had given them warnings to leave.

The auction was delayed about 1-½ hours before resuming.

 

 

***OccupyDSM New Location***

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Category: News
Written by Jessica Mazour
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Until further notice, all meetings and GA's will be held at People's Park (The Capitol Grounds @ E. 7th and E. Locust).  The schedule will remain the same. For last minute changes please subscribe to our text alert service posted below.

To Subscribe to Text Alerts:

Text '@odsmalerts' to '23559'

Initial Statement from the Des Moines General Assembly

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Category: DSM GA Statements
Written by Stephen Toothman
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OccupyDSM Official Statement of Intent

We are Occupy Des Moines, a local, community-based movement in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the global Occupy movement. We are everyday people from all walks of life. We are all races, religions, and socioeconomic statuses. We are citizens who seek to make an honest and fruitful living doing work that expresses our values and passions. We are wage earners, business owners, salaried professionals, students, retirees, the working poor and the unemployed. We are your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. We are the 99%. 
 
We seek to build the land of possibilities we were promised during our youths: a place where opportunity means more than the pursuit of material wealth at the expense of others. By the power of our presence, our earnestness, and our resolve, we will stand as an effective counter to the greed, manipulation and insincerity that have infiltrated the corporate, financial, and political infrastructure of our nation and our world. 
 
We define the 1% as those individuals who engage in unethical and destructive behaviors that diminish our democracy. The 1% perpetuate a broken system which furthers their own ends with no regard for fellow people. The 1% possess a staggeringly disproportionate amount of the nation’s wealth and their actions accelerate the disparity between themselves and the 99%. The 1% now own and control the mass media, fund thousands of lobbyists, and serve as the heads of many corporations and financial institutions. With such power and influence, the 1% have reduced Congress, the Presidency and the Judiciary to servants of a narrow and exclusive agenda. 
 
Thus, we occupy with the resolute purpose of establishing a democratic and egalitarian community in which every person is treated with respect, dignity and honor. We will challenge economic, social and political injustice by liberating the collective consciousness and vast creative resources of the people. We will launch a multifaceted strategy against the current power structure through direct action, nonviolent confrontation, education, community interaction, participation in government, and the creation of alternative institutions. We will loosen the controlling grip the 1% has over our society and begin to build a politically and economically just future.
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Occupy Des Moines stands in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement to organize, fight, and win a more just and democratic society that puts communities before corporations and people before profits. Strength lies in unity, hope lies in resistance. Join us.

Join us for the Des Moines General Assembly

2:00 PM on Sundays

6:00 PM Tuesday - New Proposals only

7:00 PM Thursday

 

Follow updates on OccupyDSM's Facebook Group and #occupydsm on Twitter. You can also watch General Assemblies and Events live on Occupy DSM Live Stream

 If you would like to receive breaking news and text alerts about Occupy Des Moines on your cell phone, please send a text message to 23559, with "@ODSMalerts" in the body of the message.

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