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29 Jan 2012 10:58

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U.S.: Occupy Oakland protests: Arrests, tear gas, tough statements from officials

  • Whenever journalists are arrested/detained for reporting the news, everyone’s freedom is at risk.
  • KGO Radio reporter Kristin Hanes • Discussing her arrest late Saturday as the Occupy Oakland protests flared up. She and Gavin Aronson of Mother Jones were among the over 200 people placed into custody Saturday night, as the Oakland protests reached a new breaking point — including the burning of an American flag. Both mayor Jean Quan and the police were quick to pin negative attention on the protesters: “The Bay Area Occupy Movement has got to stop using Oakland as their playground,” Quan said in a statement. However, it’s important to keep in mind the nature of the police actions — including violence towards protesters and the use of tear gas grenades. An OpenSalon writer has a pretty informative first-person piece worth reading, which describes both the nature of the protesters (not as bad as reported) and why things flared up Saturday. source

16 Nov 2011 10:55

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U.S.: Bay Area Occupy movement starts anew with Berkeley encampment

  • This despite threats by officials to shut it down. In what might be a good example for the New York movement as it attempts to regroup, members of Occupy Oakland have joined with the Occupy Cal movement to start a fresh encampment. This isn’t without controversy, however: Occupy Cal had its camp torn down November 9, and the university isn’t exactly taking so kindly to having a new one. “We will not allow encampments equivalent to what has occurred in Oakland and San Francisco,” said Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. The move could potentially lead to a conflict with police. Meanwhile, the San Francisco encampment is staying strong, and plans to meet with Mayor Ed Lee today. source

14 Nov 2011 11:19

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U.S.: Occupy Oakland: Oakland mayor’s legal advister quits in protest

  • No longer Mayor Quan’s legal adviser. Resigned at 2 am. Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1% and its government facilitators.
  • Attorney Dan Siegel • Revealing that he resigned as Oakland mayor Jean Quan’s legal counsel, in protest of the treatment of Occupy protesters. In an early-morning raid of the camp, 32 people were arrested, including many clergy members. As we previously reported, the Occupy Oakland group received eviction notices Friday night, a day after a shooting death brought fresh negative focus onto the movement. source

03 Nov 2011 21:51

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U.S.: Oakland demonstrator questions violence and vandalism

  • I didn’t destroy any property yesterday, but destruction of property is not violent.
  • Derek Winslow • A demonstrator with the “Occupy Oakland” movement who was arrested early Thursday morning after overtaking a building in downtown Oakland. Winslow admitted that the occupation of the building, along with the ensuing fires that were set around the property to deter police, “wasn’t the best reaction, but we are frustrated.” More than 80 people were arrested after police deployed tear gas in the area.  source

03 Nov 2011 14:28

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Politics: Occupy Oakland to discuss chaos from last night’s protests

  • It’s not us, it’s a bunch of guys who wear black masks. It’s messing with our movement. They leech off our numbers — they only show up when there’s a rally.
  • Oakland Occupier Michael Porter • Talking about the chaotic elements of last night’s protests, which culminated in the early morning break-in of a vacant building, eliciting teargas and flash grenades from the OPD. Porter’s comment on this is interesting — there have been reports of graffiti sprayed throughout the city bearing conflicting messages, such as “kill cops” versus “non-violence works better.” The protest’s General Assembly is expected to address this today. source

03 Nov 2011 10:16

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U.S.: Occupy Oakland devolves into chaos after successful protests

  • We put together an ideological principle that the mainstream media wouldn’t talk about two months ago.
  • The Coup’s Boots Riley • Discussing Occupy Oakland’s big day yesterday, in which thousands of people showed up and made their voices heard, stopping the operations of Oakland’s major port in the process. It didn’t remain non-violent however, with riot police showing up to arrest dozens of people as windows were shattered and buildings were broken into. It was something Riley himself, prior to the incident, didn’t want to think about. “If they do that after all this …” he said with a pause, “They’re smarter than that.” (Edit: As Boots Riley himself says below, the quote was taken out of context. More info here.) source

27 Oct 2011 15:36

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Politics: Occupy Oakland calls for general strike

  • We mean nobody goes to work, nobody goes to school, we shut the city down. The only thing they seem to care about is money and they don’t understand that it’s our money they need. We don’t need them, they need us.
  • Occupy Oakland organizer Carl Brooks • Very much obeying the will of the Occupy Oakland protesters, as reports indicate the general assembly last night voted 96.9% in favor of the idea. What effect this will have is yet unclear — it depends on a lot of things, such as how many protesters there actually are, what percentage of them are employed, and whether non-participants will get on board with the idea. That said, this was the primary issue on the tongues of nearly everyone we heard from last night (Editor’s note: The author of this piece, Chris Tognotti, was at Frank Ogawa Plaza to see the protests in action), even moreso than any reflection on the brutal police crackdown the night before. For those who criticize the Occupy movement for lacking coherent plans or goals, this is pretty demonstrative action. source
 

26 Oct 2011 20:12

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Politics: Scott Olsen, Iraq war vet and Oakland occupier, in critical condition

  • last night Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old Marine and Iraq war veteran, attended Occupy Oakland. The OPD battled that crowd with, among other things, rubber projectiles. One such projectile hit Olsen in the head, sending him to the hospital.
  • tonight Olsen is in critical condition, suffering from brain swelling as a result of the impact. This is a lesson in “non-lethal” weapons; things like tasers and rubber bullets can, in fact, end lives. Our thoughts are with Olsen tonight. source

26 Oct 2011 14:27

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U.S.: Occupy Oakland, after a chaotic night, expected to return tonight

 

  • There were trash cans on fire. Some people got knocked unconscious from the flash-bangs and tear gas. I saw one girl being carried over a guy’s shoulder, and he was trying to find a paramedic, but there just weren’t any around.
  • Oakland resident Tony Santiago • Giving his first-hand account of the scene in downtown Oakland last night, as the Oakland Police Department (as you probably already know) raided and dispersed some 1,000 protesters in the Occupy movement. The police had denied using such things as flash-bang grenades and rubber munitions, but thanks to eyewitness accounts, amateur video, and work by professional journalists, such denials have been shown to be untrue. Occupy Oakland is expected to return for protests at 6:00 PM tonight, and with last night’s grisly scenes still fresh in their memory it’s anybody’s guess how they’ll react — especially if/when the OPD descends on them once again. (Editor’s note: The source story was written by Seth Millstein, a SFB writer who also writes for The Daily.) source

26 Oct 2011 10:41

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U.S.: Occupy Oakland: Protesters arrested en masse, tear gassed

  • We weren’t there but a minute before they started giving the dispersal order. The first time they said five minutes, this time they said ‘now.’ They shot off the flash grenades and people scattered.
  • Occupy Oakland activist Kat Brooks • Discussing the method in which the police booted them out of Frank Ogawa Plaza last night, arresting over 100 people and destroying their camp in the process. It was the second time in two days such an order was offered. “From the way they came into the camp [Tuesday] morning to the way they acted tonight, they have gone beyond what was necessary,” Brooks said. For their part, Oakland police claim that the tear gas was partly defensive in nature. “We were in a position where we had to deploy gas in order to stop the crowd and people from pelting us with bottles and rocks,” said interim police chief, Howard Jordan. Officers on the ground reported getting hit with paint, beer and eggs. source