Bill Payment
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When:
02/01/2012 at 23:45 am
Where:
sfdsaf,
Cambodia
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As the noon deadline neared, chanting protesters in McPherson Square dragged an enormous blue tarp emblazoned with “Tent of Dreams” over a statue of Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson at the park’s center. His head and shoulders poked nfl jerseys cheap through the apex, along with the ears of the horse he was astride. The tarp covered existing tents encircling the statue. “Some individuals will stay, and some will go, but those who decide to stay — which are a lot of people — we have the right to be here, ” said Michael Patterson, 21, of Anchorage. Despite the deadline, there was no immediate effort by the police to clamp down on the campers during daylight hours. Only a few patrol officers watched from the outskirts of the park, where the enforcement deadline had been posted in recent days. At a nearby encampment, Freedom Plaza, police kept a low profile as well. There were no confrontations during the day; instead, many demonstrators removed their camping equipment and unzipped their tents for police to inspect. The scene stood in marked contrast to a violent confrontation 3,000 miles away over the weekend when 400 Occupy protesters in Oakland, Calif., were arrested after tearing down construction barricades. As of Monday afternoon, about 100 protesters remained in custody, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, and 42 were set to be released by the end of the day. The other 58 protesters are being held on more serious misdemeanor or felony charges. Oakland nfl jerseys supply protesters and city officials blamed each other for the weekend’s violence, which left three officers and at least two protesters injured. Mayor Jean Quan referred to the vandalism at City Hall, where a case containing a model of Frank Ogawa Plaza was destroyed and a flag was burned outside, as “like a tantrum.” Members of the Occupy movement, in turn, denounced the actions of the police and said the focus on the damage to City Hall was misplaced. “I don’t think that Mayor Quan is weighing the big picture — the small amount of destruction caused by these autonomous people that may or may not be part of Occupy Oakland, versus the kind of destruction against the environment, working people and poor people,” said Wendy Kenin, 40, a spokeswoman for Occupy Oakland. Until recently, the park service has largely taken a hands-off approach to the Washington camps. There is a long-established right for protesters to hold vigils in federal parks, including long-term ones if there is no camping, which it defines as using wholesale nhl jerseys park land for sleeping and storing personal possessions. But the agency has increasingly come under criticism for allowing legal vigils to turn into permanent camp sites that are not permitted under the law. Pressure on the park service has increased as conditions have deteriorated, including a rat infestation in McPherson Square and the discovery of an apparently abandoned infant in a tent. On Jan. 12, Mayor Vincent C. Gray, a Democrat, wrote to the park service director, Jonathan B. Jarvis, conveying “serious concerns” about health and safety problems. Last week, a subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing at which Republicans questioned the park service over allowing camping to continue. “We were under the apparent misapprehension that camping was illegal in McPherson Square, and we look forward to hearing the National Park Service explain the different between camping and a 24-hour vigil, especially when that 24-hour vigil last several months,” said Representative Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican who is chairman of the subcommittee.
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