Reports from across the nation of "Occupy" people being routed by the cops.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Police-Occupy-protesters-clash-in-Oakland-2249816.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/05/occupy-wall-street-protest-courthouse_n_1078133.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/23/chicago-police-arrest-occupy-protesters

Oakland has not seen a Republican mayor since 1977. 

Chicago hasn't seen a Republican mayor since Big Bill Thompson in 1931.

Now as to New York, Bloomberg identifies as Democrat but he might be considered a DINO.  ;D

Portland Oregon has also been routing OWS-ers, and their Mayor is about as Democrat as you can get.

Mostly, those aren't OWSers. They're Black-Bloc anarchists. They've been infiltrating movements of this kind since Seattle in 1999, if not before then.

But I wouldn't worry, LB. Your cops have now severely wounded, what is it now, three Iraq war vets? And they've taken to allowing drivers to run over OWS protesters basically with impunity. if this keeps up, the legitimate protesters may either go home (meaning you won't have anything but black bloc agitators left) or they may decide nonviolence isn't working in the face of police provocation and go into full riot mode. This is a real rebellion, dude, not some media circus picnic sponsored by a major cable network the way the Tea Party was.

anyway, the reason the Tea Party never saw anything like this is because they were Fox-sponsored establishment dupes. Why would the hired strongarms of the rich harass teabaggers when the teabaggers are being useful idiots for them?

Mostly, those aren't OWSers. They're Black-Bloc anarchists. They've been infiltrating movements of this kind since Seattle in 1999, if not before then.

But I wouldn't worry, LB. Your cops have now severely wounded, what is it now, three Iraq war vets? And they've taken to allowing drivers to run over OWS protesters basically with impunity. if this keeps up, the legitimate protesters may either go home (meaning you won't have anything but black bloc agitators left) or they may decide nonviolence isn't working in the face of police provocation and go into full riot mode. This is a real rebellion, dude, not some media circus picnic sponsored by a major cable network the way the Tea Party was.

anyway, the reason the Tea Party never saw anything like this is because they were Fox-sponsored establishment dupes. Why would the hired strongarms of the rich harass teabaggers when the teabaggers are being useful idiots for them?


Ah yes... the bad boys only infiltrate the leftist protests.  Yep, continue to believe that.

And while I respect veterans, they do not get a free pass to violate the law when they come back. 

By the way as I recall, the protests in Chicago of 1968 were also suppressed by... SURPRISE! A democrat mayor.  ;D

Ah yes... the bad boys only infiltrate the leftist protests.  Yep, continue to believe that.

And while I respect veterans, they do not get a free pass to violate the law when they come back. 

exactly what laws did the wounded vets violate?

By the way as I recall, the protests in Chicago of 1968 were also suppressed by... SURPRISE! A democrat mayor.   ;D
well, there is an actual known history of provocateurs infiltrating liberal movements that simply is not paralleled on the right. look up cointelpro, after the church committee hearings revealed that nixon literally made it the government's business to plant provocateurs in leftist political movements, and the paperwork's there to prove it. if you have any evidence that it cuts the other way, that for instance the vile behavior on the tea party side -- you know, humiliating a guy with parkinson's by tossing dollar bills at him and telling him to get a job, yelling at a woman in a wheelchair, or stomping on a young, unarmed woman lying on the ground -- if you have evidence those people were leftist plants, i'd love to see it.

you're thinking too much in terms of party. the anti-war protests in '68 were waged against LBJ and the democratic establishment by liberals. just like the liberal occupy movement is demonstrating while the white house and the senate are run by the putative liberal party. liberals then didn't think the democrats were representing them, and today, they also don't think the democrats are representing them. if you think the republicans are representing your conservative views, that's great, but i don't think of the democrats as automatically equaling liberal values, not by a long shot, and the occupy movement, as well as the 68 protesters, seemed to feel the same.

exactly what laws did the wounded vets violate?


Whatever laws the rest of the protestors were violating.  I don't imagine the cops went in their unprovoked... especially when they work under the direction of Mayors who claim to stand up for the little guy.  You know, Democrats!

I don't imagine the cops went in their unprovoked... ;D

Whatever laws the rest of the protestors were violating.  I don't imagine the cops went in their unprovoked... especially when they work under the direction of Mayors who claim to stand up for the little guy.  You know, Democrats!


Right, unprovoked police brutality - unthinkable.  could never happen.  not in these United State of Americe

I don't imagine the cops went in their unprovoked...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pX9LeE-g8&feature=share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pX9LeE-g8


I thought that video would come up.  I'm not the only person who thinks the shooting of Scott Campbell (not Scott Olsen, this is another guy named Scott getting shot) was excessive force.  I'd like to see who was behind the victim before making a final judgement.  I expect typical police procedure here: if it was a clean shoot, the cops will have footage and will release it, but if it wasn't a clean shoot, any footage the cops took will mysteriously disappear, and you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not they were telling the truth when they claim "he was comin' right for us!".

Single-framing forward/backward through the relevant part of the video, all I can tell is that he was shot with a less-than-lethal round.  I can't tell whether it was aimed directly at his legs (extremely poor form on the part of OPD), or at the ground immediately in front of his legs (still poor form, but probably within the rules of engagement, assuming that OPD has rules of engagement).  The round was undoubtedly aimed in his direction.

In defense of OPD, I would very much like to hear what happened in the 5-10 seconds before the video started.  If he was instructed to go behind a certain line and he failed to do so, it might have been a fair shot.  

It's also unclear whether or not the person taunting the police from 0:15-0:33 is the videographer. The taunter sounds a bit different from the videographer, who's voice is clearly audible at 0:00 through 0:08, but not entirely different from "Ow! You shot me!"  If I had to bet, I'd bet that the videographer isn't the person taunting (there are two voices at 0:38, and both sound a bit like the guy doing the taunting), but I wouldn't bet my life on it.

I don't mean to defend the cop in the scene: shooting a videographer solely for videotaping them is way over the line in my books.  But my books don't matter; typical procedure is to seize the camera and beat the crap out of the videographer, and to hope that the video wasn't automatically uploaded to a server beyond police control before the camera was "accidentally" destroyed in the scuffle. 

(Shooting someone merely for mouthing off is also be over the line, but given that these are Oakland cops, the victim probably should have known what was coming, or at least known to stay the hell out of the line of fire if someone directly behind him was taunting the cops.)

All I can say is you can start to see why it was popular to call the police "pigs" in the 60s and 70s. A lot of them really just seem to be violent thugs. Sorry if that offends people but after a while these cases of brutality just start to add up.

All I can say is you can start to see why it was popular to call the police "pigs" in the 60s and 70s. A lot of them really just seem to be violent thugs. Sorry if that offends people but after a while these cases of brutality just start to add up.


I have a state cop for a neighbor.  I wonder if he offended whenever he's driving down the street and somebidy says "hmmm... I think I smell pork"  ;D

I have a state cop for a neighbor.  I wonder if he offended whenever he's driving down the street and somebidy says "hmmm... I think I smell pork"   ;D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJb3JiLFgTg

Whatever laws the rest of the protestors were violating.  I don't imagine the cops went in their unprovoked... especially when they work under the direction of Mayors who claim to stand up for the little guy.  You know, Democrats!




;D




NO SHEESHE      ;D ;D

NO SHEESHE      ;D ;D
here's another one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=buovLQ9qyWQ

not only do these thugs attack without provocation, it seems to pretty much be their modus operandi. Long as they're hitting unarmed college girls, of course. the second someone their size stands up to them, they fold like the cowards they are. this stuff really makes my blood boil.

I have a state cop for a neighbor.  I wonder if he offended whenever he's driving down the street and somebidy says "hmmm... I think I smell pork"   ;D


That depends on what kind of cop he is.  If a good cop turns in a bad cop, the next time he calls for backup, his brother officers might not be there in a potentially-dangerous situation.  He might be decent enough not instigate anything, but if your neighbor witnessed corruption or abuse by other members of the force, would he report it up the chain of command, or would he help cover it up behind the Blue Wall of Silence, you know, like that other incident involving a close-knit team of "boys in blue"?

(Do not ask him that question. The question itself is a pretty strong (and IMO unfair, since he can't counter it) personal accusation.  And he probably can't give you an honest answer because he's probably never had to deal with the issue; he probably doesn't know himself what he'd do if he were forced to choose between the the law and his fellow officers.  The Blue Wall is to policing what "Stop Snitchin'" is in gang-ridden neighborhoods.  Both codes of silence need to end if there's to be justice, but to speak out is to put one's life and/or livelihood in jeopardy.  He's just a guy doing his job; I'd like to see higher standards, but even I acknowledge that to expect every cop to be Frank Serpico is unrealistic.)


here's another one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buovLQ9qyWQ

not only do these thugs attack without provocation, it seems to pretty much be their modus operandi. Long as they're hitting unarmed college girls, of course. the second someone their size stands up to them, they fold like the cowards they are. this stuff really makes my blood boil.


Actually, that one shows pretty reasonable conduct on the part of the cops.  Much like the Oakland camera guy getting shot, we don't see what preceded the incident, but we hear an order to "move forward" at 0:04 (and a protestor saying "here they come").  I'm not sure what prompts the first blow (at 0:06, clearly struck by the cops), but it's consistent with a limited use of physical force, and most of the ass-kicking is centered (from 0:25 onwards) around a small cluster of three protestors who were close to finding themselves behind the police line.  When the guy on the left goes down (around 0:40), it's because the cop on the extreme left was still trying to shove the small cluster of three protestors back into the crowd.  Furthermore, grey-jacket at center-stage doesn't get whacked (0:53) until he reaches towards the cops.  As soon as he's pushed back into the crowd, the whacking stops.  At around 1:00 I think I see the reasoning; the cops wanted the crowd contained behind that hedge, in order to maintain their line.  See all the cops going between the hedge and the wall?  Having the crowd in the space between the two hedges would have given the crowd the ability to get around the line.

It's still not very pretty, but that one, IMHO, doesn't rise to the level of excessive force; it's just basic crowd control.  Force is escalated to the minimum required to hold the line and push the protestors back, but no further.

(not Scott Olsen, this is another guy named Scott getting shot)

..they must have thought they were in York (England), where it's legal* to shoot Scots with a bow and arrow**


*in that, it's part of the ordnances of the City of York, but I don't think it's legal as far as our national law goes
** it seems kind of ambiguous whether the Scotsman has to have the bow & arrow or you do the shooting with a bow & arrow to make it legal.  I'm guessing the latter, as Scottish raiding parties didn't really use bows.

Actually, that one shows pretty reasonable conduct on the part of the cops.  Much like the Oakland camera guy getting shot, we don't see what preceded the incident, but we hear an order to "move forward" at 0:04 (and a protestor saying "here they come").  I'm not sure what prompts the first blow (at 0:06, clearly struck by the cops), but it's consistent with a limited use of physical force, and most of the ass-kicking is centered (from 0:25 onwards) around a small cluster of three protestors who were close to finding themselves behind the police line.  When the guy on the left goes down (around 0:40), it's because the cop on the extreme left was still trying to shove the small cluster of three protestors back into the crowd.  Furthermore, grey-jacket at center-stage doesn't get whacked (0:53) until he reaches towards the cops.  As soon as he's pushed back into the crowd, the whacking stops.  At around 1:00 I think I see the reasoning; the cops wanted the crowd contained behind that hedge, in order to maintain their line.  See all the cops going between the hedge and the wall?  Having the crowd in the space between the two hedges would have given the crowd the ability to get around the line.

It's still not very pretty, but that one, IMHO, doesn't rise to the level of excessive force; it's just basic crowd control.  Force is escalated to the minimum required to hold the line and push the protestors back, but no further.
one of the protesters wound up with a broken hand, so the use of force wasn't THAT limited.

there might be a way to rationalize it but that one scumbag who came at that girl with a fudgeing baton... i hope he loses sleep nights thinking about what a sickening coward he is.

one of the protesters wound up with a broken hand, so the use of force wasn't THAT limited.

there might be a way to rationalize it but that one scumbag who came at that girl with a fudgeing baton... i hope he loses sleep nights thinking about what a sickening coward he is.


Not likely

there might be a way to rationalize it but that one scumbag who came at that girl with a fudgeing baton... i hope he loses sleep nights thinking about what a sickening coward he is.


Listen to the tape: He's obeying a command to move forward.  He sleeps well at night, because (as the old saying goes), orders are orders.


It's still not very pretty, but that one, IMHO, doesn't rise to the level of excessive force; it's just basic crowd control.  Force is escalated to the minimum required to hold the line and push the protestors back, but no further.


<voice=Foghorn_Leghorn>
Of course, I could, I say, I could be wrong... :)
</voice>

Stay tuned to Oakland next week, and keep a bowl of popcorn at the ready.  Coded warnings from the Mayor suggest that OPD's going to make another attempt to clear out Oscar Grant Plaza next week.  (I'm placing 23 quatloos on Sunday night/Monday morning, and another 11 and a half on Monday night/Tuesday morning.)

Listen to the tape: He's obeying a command to move forward.  He sleeps well at night, because (as the old saying goes), orders are orders.

<voice=Foghorn_Leghorn>
Of course, I could, I say, I could be wrong... :)
</voice>

Stay tuned to Oakland next week, and keep a bowl of popcorn at the ready.  Coded warnings from the Mayor suggest that OPD's going to make another attempt to clear out Oscar Grant Plaza next week.  (I'm placing 23 quatloos on Sunday night/Monday morning, and another 11 and a half on Monday night/Tuesday morning.)


Quatlloos?  Foo Bar's geeking out again.  Get the smelling salts!
:P

Listen to the tape: He's obeying a command to move forward.  He sleeps well at night, because (as the old saying goes), orders are orders.

well, of course, a lot of very unsavory characters throughout history have excused away inhuman conduct with the same rationalization. he might have been ordered to move forward but beating the 20-year-old girl with a club seems to have been a bit of an ad lib.

I've worked around too many cops, and had too many conversations with them to ever trust any of them again.  My own cousin, a cop, said the same.

I've worked around too many cops, and had too many conversations with them to ever trust any of them again.  My own cousin, a cop, said the same.


Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Add to that the "mob mentality" of a bunch of cops acting together and you have a recipe for one hell of a lot of pain

Quatlloos?  Foo Bar's geeking out again.  Get the smelling salts!
:P


So I lost my bet, it was Denver and Portland that went first :)

The cops will arrest people for convenience and then let them go with no charges.  That way they can get you out of the way when they're trying to clear the street, and then you'll feel vindicated when they let you go. 

The cops will arrest people for convenience and then let them go with no charges.  That way they can get you out of the way when they're trying to clear the street, and then you'll feel vindicated when they let you go.  


Do I get my 23 quatloos back for correctly calling the timing of the Oakland raid on Monday morning?

Probably not, because I was also expecting a riot.  Instead, I got something better: a belly laugh out of watching the local media breathlessly (they were also expecting another riot and stayed up all night for it) showing live footage of bored-looking cops cautiously and peacefully dismantling dozens of abandoned tents.  It was like Masada, but with moar lulz.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo6ject1la1qmga68o1_100.gif

Hat tip to those who saw police activity at the nearby Oakland Coliseum and who got the word out ahead of time, and to the protestors who decided that maybe it would be smarter to keep things peaceful (and not get arrested) so they could come back a few hours later.  Lulz.

So many links, so little time.
8)

So many links, so little time.
8)


Only one that matters: Is Oakland Burning?

Current status: NOPE.

Only one that matters: Is Oakland Burning?

Current status: NOPE.


I didn't think Oakland was burning, just that the cops were over there pushing around white folks for a change!
:-X

Only one that matters: Is Oakland Burning?

Current status: NOPE.

I'm glad you had the link like that.. I might have read it as "I soak land burning" and thought "that's an appropriate reaction"