Occupy Movement News Update of the Day: Lisa Simeone, host of NPR’s World of Opera, has not been fired from her job as a result of her involvement with Occupy D.C. despite earlier reports claiming otherwise.
Instead, Simeone was dismissed from Soundprint, a documentary program that is not produced or distributed by NPR, but is carried by some of its affiliates.
Simeone has been speaking on behalf of the Occupy Wall Street offshoot for at least the past two weeks, with her role being identified as both “spokesperson” and “organizer.”
Lisa Gray, director of marketing at the North Carolina radio station that produces World of Opera confirmed that Simeone will stay on as host for the time being, although NPR’s continued distribution of the show is being discussed.
NPR is asking Simeone for clarification concerning her role in the movement, but says it did not ask for her termination from Soundprint. Speaking with the Sun’s David Zurawik, Simeone took issue with NPR’s objections, calling them “puzzling.”
“I’m not an NPR employee, she said, “I’m a freelancer. NPR doesn’t pay me. I’m also not a news reporter. I don’t cover politics. I’ve never brought a whiff of my political activities into the work I’ve done for NPR World of Opera. What is NPR afraid I’ll do — insert a seditious comment into a synopsis of Madame Butterfly?”
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Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, who came under fire for pepper spraying a group of kettled women during an Occupy Wall Street demonstration near Union Square in September, was fined two weeks pay — about $6,000 — for violating department standards.
According to sources familiar with his testimony before internal affairs, Bologna claims he was trying to stop “three young men on the ground” from grabbing officers’ legs, but “missed his mark,” spraying the women instead.
Bologna reportedly said the incident left him “tortured,” but added that he “would do things the same way” again if he had to. “I did not intend to spray the women,” the 1st Precinct’s former commander said according to sources, “[but I] acted with the best intentions.”
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Occupy Wall Street organizers are inviting kids for a sleepover in Zuccotti Park this Friday.
Billed as community-strengthening event, the Family Sleepover will start tomorrow at 4PM, and conclude the following day at 11AM. Cordoned off in a special “Child and Family Only area,” the kids will be kept occupied with “arts and crafts, a children’s music sing along, a pizza party, and a bed time story.”
On the opposite end of the community-building spectrum, a special 24-hour hotline has been set up for local residents and business owners who are being inconvenienced by the ongoing protests.
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The occupy movement’s next target: Museums?
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Further Reading:
— Learn about the Glass–Steagall Act, and then sign the petition to reenact it; the United States’ “misery index” is at its highest level since 1983; probably related: Outstanding student loans top $1 trillion for first time, as student loan requests reach record heights; meet the 147 “super companies” that run the world — the overwhelming majority of which are from the financial sector.
— Kim Kardashian’s reaction to Occupy Wall Street: “That cake looks so good”; Occupy Wall Street’s latest celebrity supports: Jersey Shore’s Vinny Guadagnino; New York’s Hottest Club Right Now is Occupy Wall Street; Occupy the Internet with F.A.T.’s Occupy Plugin.
[image: chrispiascik via unlikelywords.]