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The sun sets at the Occupy Las Vegas camp between Paradise Road and Swenson Street south of East Naples Drive in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011.
Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 | 8:15 p.m.
Occupation site
Occupy Las Vegas today was given a 90-day extension on its use of a lot between Swenson Street and Paradise Road, according to a Clark County official.
The agreement legally allows the group to occupy the space until Feb. 20, 2012, said Dan Kulin, public information officer for the county.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said Johnathan Abbinett, a member of the Occupy Las Vegas group.
Abbinett said extending the lease on the site is part of a bigger plan to occupy the site until the next election season.
“I’m feeling positive about it,” he said. “It’s a big deal.”
So far, 30 people are staying at the camp full time, while other supporters of the movement visit regularly, Abbinett said.
Occupy Las Vegas is part of the national movement that started in New York City, called Occupy Wall Street, to protest corporate greed, corporate influence in politics and the distribution of wealth in the U.S.
Is OLV going through an identity crisis?
I viewed the OLV website three or four weeks ago and saw among other items the "Mission Statement." This statement had borrowed some of the most inflammatory language from the Declaration of Independence. (And let's be honest, the Declaration of Independence *was* inflammatory.) The website also had several blog entries and other articles.
Then, last week, I saw the site again and it basically had only one area that was accessible to the general public. The mission statement was nowhere to be seen. The front page carried an appeal for material for the campsite that indicated it was being built up into something more than just a temporary site. (Now we know why.)
This evening, the site has a forum area and many more blog entries as well as a specific list of complaints and desired actions to be taken. There is a forum area with at list some discussion areas open to public view. There is also a statement of support for Metro. But the mission statement from the original site, and which is seen printed on T-shirts, is not present.
The website's evolution seems perplexing given the statements in recent stories, and to some extent, contradictory with those statements. My question is this: why has the mission statement been taken down?
On a side-note, I am honestly surprised that there are only 30 full time residents at the campsite. I would think it would be overrun by the homeless by now.
Occupy Las Vegas is evolving, as a natural, organic, grass-roots organization with a growing number of supporters and groups collaberating - so, there's a lot of work to do to up-date the website and try to keep everyone up on what is needed and happening!
There are no permanent structures going in or up, and the Lease Extension keeps the initial policies and requirements in place regarding safety, security and sanitation (we have a zero tolerance policy and self-enforce the No Violence, No Drugs and No Alcohol on-site policies)!
We've done some wonderful Social Work too - saving one ladies life by ensuring she got the critically important medications she needed re-filled right away, as well as Food-Not-Bombs, and many other voluteer citizens, providing healthy food for the T.O.A. (Tent Occupiers Association)!
The Area 99 Camp Peace is all about the love and r-e-s-p-e-c-t we have one another and moving America, Nevada and Las Vegas forward in a positive and progressive manner!
Sebring Frehner remains on the Lease (now as an Executive of his newly established "Opportunites Las Vegas" 501c3) and Collin Williams and Brett Jungblutt - with a number of other organizers as "Agents" able to use their citizenry rights to trespass any trouble-makers that may attempt to infiltrate the group as provocatuers!
The Occupy Movement is not going away folks - there's also a long-term plan being discussed at the national level to keep it organized through the 2016 political cycle (as it will probably take that long to clean-up Congress)!
Oh great, encourage the socialists! Teach them be anarchists following in the next logical step as demonstrated by the other occupiers in other cities.
Occupy is made up of all sorts of people from the full political spectrum - and we are a non-violent group here in Occupy Las Vegas! We have had zero acts of violence - FACT!
United States of Tents...
Tents you can believe in...
That's all I got.
I got a video camera and a whole lot of time so might go down and see what they are about, check youtube... Not like it matters being as soon as the wealthy in this country get tired of them they release the hounds and that's the end of it. It's fun to pretend real change will come though, right?
We can't even put blatant criminals in prison.
@ Johnathan_Abbinett - "Ice Cream, now that is cheap. FACT!" lol, sorry couldn't resist. I'm referencing the Romney voice over video. I find it hilarious when people say fact! I love doing it to though. Up is down, FACT!
Yes, I want to be with a group like Occupy that strives to be average, goes after wealthy/successful people and wants government to do all the thinking and decision-making for all American citizens. where do I sign-up, at one of the tents?
This is an upgraded homeless camp, TY OWS for your efforts!
As detailed below, the media is failing you. Badly.
By far the majority of OCCUPY Las Vega members use the website at OCCUPYLV.org. If you are interested in the Las Vegas OCCUPY groups, that's where to go.
The website at "the other address" has a sordid history of appropriation.
Actually, despite the JLA missive above, the Area 99 Camp is operated by a surreptitiously formed non-profit corporation that co-opted the site from the original OCCUPY Las Vegas members. The original OCCUPY Las Vegas members have resumed meeting on the UNLV campus. See OCCUPYLV.org for dates and times.
AS JLA notes in his missive, the corporate "Opportunities Las Vegas," (formed October 20), indeed operates like a corporation and regularly discriminates against those who voice minority or opposing views by banning them from the property. From the missive:
"Sebring Frehner remains on the Lease (now as an Executive of his newly established "Opportunites Las Vegas" 501c3) and Collin Williams and Brett Jungblutt - with a number of other organizers as "Agents" able to use their citizenry rights to trespass any trouble-makers that may attempt to infiltrate the group as provocatuers!"
Curious to learn how others feel about Clark County leasing land to a group that discriminates so freely.
(Beware the excuses. Opportunities Las Vegas leadership will provide endless excuses. It is still discrimination... in their eyes.)
Now we learn according to Mr. A above, Sebring Frehner is "an Executive of his newly established "Opportunites Las Vegas" 501c3." Funny, for weeks the OCCUPY Las Vegas group was told it was the non-profit organization and no one, or group of people "controlled" it.
OCCUPY Las Vegas members who had the audacity to question Mr. Frehner and the leadership of Opportunities Las Vegas were misled, stonewalled, banned from the site (and the Facebook page) and ultimately left to resume meeting at UNLV. The deeper you get into it the more it smells.
Your media is failing you. If you believe you are capable of deciding for yourself, here are some links you may find interesting. The truth is out there.
http://occupylv.org/topics/emergency-sec...
http://occupylv.org/content/occupy-las-v...
http://occupylv.org/topics/bylaws-attemp...
http://occupylv.org/topics/history-split...
http://occupylv.org/topics/name-confusio...
http://occupylv.org/topics/so-sebring-fi...
http://occupylv.org/topics/i-m-tired-bul...
The Opportunities Las Vegas Facebook page is a must read: http://www.facebook.com/groups/occupylas...
This could get interesting. Your opinion would be most welcome.