Tuesday, October 25, 2011
News Occupy Atlanta targets Koch brothers and other protest tidbits
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 10:42 AM
Occupy Atlanta, which in recent days has seen its relationship with Mayor Kasim Reed turn sour, says it's turning its attention this afternoon to David and Charles Koch, the two brothers who lead Koch Industries, a multi-national company with interests in everything from paper towels to oil pipelines — and are considered major patrons of conservative causes.
Georgia-Pacific is owned by Koch Industries and headquartered along Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. From an Occupy Atlanta press release detailing the Koch brothers' contributions to conservative groups and politicians, including Gov. Nathan Deal:
We demand that the Koch brothers withdraw all of their money from politics by 5:30pm on Tuesday October 25th. If they do not capitulate we will levitate the Georgia Pacific building where they do their business. Capitulation or levitation? The choice is theirs.
On the leaderless group's recent dispute with the mayor over this weekend's hip-hop festival in Woodruff Park, which the mayor says did not have proper security or permits:
Every town has its villains and Atlanta is certainly no exception. Over the last few news cycles it would appear that Occupy Atlanta’s archenemy is Mayor Kasim Reed. We never anticipated having such strong beef with Mayor Reed, as many of the Occupiers actually campaigned for the man.
The Koch brothers, the protest organizers say, are "two of [Atlanta's] real villains."
In other news, the Occupy Atlanta protest reach is being felt as far north as the bustling wonderland of Buckhead. The posh part of town's community improvement district said this morning that, since all Atlanta Police officers are now working 12-hour shifts, traffic control by off-duty officers along Piedmont Road and at the intersection of Roswell and Habersham roads is currently on hold. From a press release:
“We regret that BCID’s traffic officer program is impacted by the Occupy Atlanta demonstrations; however, we understand the safety of the greater community is more important at this time,” said Jim Durrett, executive director — BCID. “We caution Buckhead residents and commuters to exercise greater caution during the evening rush hour in the absence of our outstanding off-duty traffic officers.”
And yes, some tea partiers are wondering why Occupy Atlanta has been allowed to remain in the park without fees or permits — and they expect the same treatment. Jim Galloway has the details.
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