Over the last week crackdowns have occurred at occupied spaces nationwide. On Nov. 10th eleven mayors participated in a conference call about "Occupy" protests in their cities. Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, CA confirmed the conference call during an interview on the BBC. Amy Ruiz, spokesman for Portland, Ore., Mayor Sam Adams denies the talk was a strategy session. "It was more like a therapy session," she said.
The fact remains; five of those eleven conference Mayor's have since launched military style police assaults against citizens occupying areas in their cities and all five mayors cited crime, poor sanitary conditions and local merchants’ complaints to justify the eviction of protesters and all insisted public safety concerns outweighed the demonstrator's free-speech and freedom to assemble rights.
It is not only mayors who were coordinated. Police departments also displayed a disturbing tactical union. Chuck Wexler, director of the Police Executive Research Forum, organized calls on Oct. 11 and Nov. 4. Such things were discussed in these meetings as the need to secrecy, rapid deployment to prevent reinforcement of numbers by occuption sympathizers, the use of overwhelming force (riot gear and assault weaponry like tear gas canisters and rubber bullets), and the prevention of media coverage.
More disturbing still is persitent rumor of homeland security and FBI participation in the coordinated assaults.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Hopes Slim For Continued Peaceful Occupation of Oscar Grant / Frank Ogawa Park in Oakland
OK. I admit it. I'm impressed.
I waited to see what would be the result of the hastily called General Assembly to convene at 6 PM on the steps of the Oakland Public Library. I wondered, "how many occupiers would attend? Would or could GA reach an action consensus?" I also mused, "what would a victory for the movement possibly look like considering the forceful eviction?"
Armed only with a well-read past and a vague concept, thinking a successful counter-attrition rate might be ten to one and knowing the arrests early morning were somewhere around eighty, I set my sights for a successful attendance at the evening's General Assembly at eight hundred or more and was waiting.
And things went quite well.
By six o'clock at least 800 supporters of OccupyOakland had convened in General Assembly at the Oakland Public Library steps. By 7:30 Assembly attendees had risen to 1,500 and a consensus had been reached. They would march to Oscar Grant Plaze and insist the police assembled there return it to them.
Oakland Police Critically Injure Iraq War Vet
During Occupy March
The attempt to retake Oscar Grant Park having been thwarted by police standing their ground and dispersing the protesters with teargas cannisters, rubber bullets and bean bags, a new General Assembly was called by the occupiers for the next day (Oct 26th), again at the steps of the public library.
Oct 26th. Mayor Jean Quan, who had been out of town for a meeting, returned to Oakland claiming she had known nothing about the police raid on the encampment in the early hours of the day before and insisted the police action had been arranged by City Administrator Deanna Santana on Oct. 19 with consultation from interim Police Chief Howard Jordan and oedered the night before.after campers repeatedly blocked paramedics and police from entering the camp despite reports of violence and injuries. She then ordered a minimum police presence at Frank Ogawa Park and instituted an investigation of police actions the 25th of October.
At 6:00 PM 3,000 protesters gathered for the General Assembly on the Library steps. Again consensus was reached. The 3,000 would March to Oscar Grant Plaza. The march was without incident and when they arrived at the Plaze the occupiers found it deserted and surrounded by chain link fence. The fence was dismantled, neatly stacked off to the side and the plaza was reoccupied.
An uneasy peace has held but support for Jean Quan's position for continuing peaceful negotiation with the occupiers has continued to deteriorate on the city council. It appears, after a man was shot and killed Thursday near the encampment site cries for law and order have prevailed. Eviction notices have been served on the Occupiers, one on Friday, one Saturday morning and another late Saturday night.
While some occupiers packed up and moved away, the majority still remain committed to the occupation and the eviction notices have been routinely burned.
video commentary on Oct 25th arrests
Last post I was waiting. The OPD along with seventeen law enforcement agencies from San Jose to Solano County* descended before sunrise on the OccupyOakland encampment at Oscar Grant Park (which the overlords continue to refer to as Frank Ogawa Plaza) and they had dutifully arrested some eighty occupiers who bravely held their ground and non-violently defended their lawful and constitutional right to peacefully assemble, and to petition for redress of grievances.I waited to see what would be the result of the hastily called General Assembly to convene at 6 PM on the steps of the Oakland Public Library. I wondered, "how many occupiers would attend? Would or could GA reach an action consensus?" I also mused, "what would a victory for the movement possibly look like considering the forceful eviction?"
Armed only with a well-read past and a vague concept, thinking a successful counter-attrition rate might be ten to one and knowing the arrests early morning were somewhere around eighty, I set my sights for a successful attendance at the evening's General Assembly at eight hundred or more and was waiting.
And things went quite well.
Oct 25th GA on library steps
By six o'clock at least 800 supporters of OccupyOakland had convened in General Assembly at the Oakland Public Library steps. By 7:30 Assembly attendees had risen to 1,500 and a consensus had been reached. They would march to Oscar Grant Plaze and insist the police assembled there return it to them.
During Occupy March
The attempt to retake Oscar Grant Park having been thwarted by police standing their ground and dispersing the protesters with teargas cannisters, rubber bullets and bean bags, a new General Assembly was called by the occupiers for the next day (Oct 26th), again at the steps of the public library.
Oct 26th. Mayor Jean Quan, who had been out of town for a meeting, returned to Oakland claiming she had known nothing about the police raid on the encampment in the early hours of the day before and insisted the police action had been arranged by City Administrator Deanna Santana on Oct. 19 with consultation from interim Police Chief Howard Jordan and oedered the night before.after campers repeatedly blocked paramedics and police from entering the camp despite reports of violence and injuries. She then ordered a minimum police presence at Frank Ogawa Park and instituted an investigation of police actions the 25th of October.
At 6:00 PM 3,000 protesters gathered for the General Assembly on the Library steps. Again consensus was reached. The 3,000 would March to Oscar Grant Plaza. The march was without incident and when they arrived at the Plaze the occupiers found it deserted and surrounded by chain link fence. The fence was dismantled, neatly stacked off to the side and the plaza was reoccupied.
An uneasy peace has held but support for Jean Quan's position for continuing peaceful negotiation with the occupiers has continued to deteriorate on the city council. It appears, after a man was shot and killed Thursday near the encampment site cries for law and order have prevailed. Eviction notices have been served on the Occupiers, one on Friday, one Saturday morning and another late Saturday night.
While some occupiers packed up and moved away, the majority still remain committed to the occupation and the eviction notices have been routinely burned.
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