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Occupy San Diego Moves Online, Continues Mission

Protesters rally at an Occupy San Diego meeting in Civic Centre Plaza on Nov. 16, 2011.
Katie Orr
Protesters rally at an Occupy San Diego meeting in Civic Centre Plaza on Nov. 16, 2011.
Occupy Update
Occupy San Diego Moves Online, Continues Mission
"Two years ago, this place was filled with tents from the Occupy San Diego movement," Paris said. "Today, not a tent in sight.

The Census Bureau's annual poverty report didn't change much last year. According to its numbers, more than 46 million people across the country struggle to make ends meet.

The news comes on the second anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

New U.S. citizens Tuesday poured out of San Diego's community concourse Downtown to take pictures with a man dressed like Uncle Sam in red, white and blue.

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Many were encouraged to register to vote with their party of choice. The loosely-organized Occupy movement tried to register people here a couple of years ago, but had little success.

"Two years ago, this place was filled with tents from the Occupy San Diego movement," said Cristie Paris, who helps organize media coverage for Occupy San Diego. "Today, not a tent in sight. I would say the tactics have changed, we got tired of fighting the police state because that wasn't what we came here for initially."

Occupy's first protest drew about 1,500 people railing against what they said are greedy corporations and banks who have infiltrated the nation's political system.

The movement has now gone primarily online after support and donations dried up.

"We made our point known but Occupy 2.0 is about the next step, which is actually the physical going out and doing stuff and getting involved in our communities," Paris said.

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The local movement last week organized four rallies to protest U.S. military action in Syria.