Tag Archives: Oakland California

Jan 30 2012

Cops clash with Occupy Oakland while Occupy DC anticipating crackdown

Over the weekend Occupy Oakland protesters had a run in with the police. The Oakland branch of Occupy Wall Street was attempting to take a vacant building to make it the Occupy Oakland headquarters. Oakland police used rubber bullets and flash-grenades against unarmed protesters. Across the US, the Occupy DC movement has been the longest standing, but today the US Parks Police decided to start enforcing overnight camping ordinances.]

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Dec 19 2011

Occupy America!!! Help Us Change The Country, or Hide and Watch!

Have the Occupy Wall Street protests that sprung up across the country this fall already passed? Shot in NYC, Oakland, and Cincinnati, this short explores the state of the #OWS protests now that local governments have removed permanent encampments, and asks what the future will be for this still-young nationwide movement.

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Dec 2 2011

Jackson Browne and Dawes Perform ‘I Am A Patriot’ at Occupy Wall Street

On the afternoon of December 1st, 2011, Jackson Browne and Dawes played an acoustic set in solidarity with the occupiers at Liberty Square. Prior to his set, Browne announced that “We’re here to express our solidarity and stand with the occupiers.”

‘I Am A Patriot’ lyrics:

And the river opens for the righteous
Someday

I was walking with my brother
And he wondered what’s on my mind
I said what I believe in my soul
Ain’t what I see with my eyes
And we can’t turn our backs this time

I am a patriot
And I love my county
Because my country is all I know
I want to be with my family
The people who understand me
I’ve got nowhere else to go

And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
Someday

And I was talking with my sister
She looked so fine
I said, “Baby, what’s on your mind?”
She said, “I want to run like the lion
Released from the cages
Released from the rages
Burning in my heart tonight.”

And I ain’t no communist
And I ain’t no capitalist
And I ain’t no socialist
And I ain’t no imperialist
And I ain’t no democrat
And I ain’t no republican
I only know one party
And it is freedom

I am, I am, I am
I am a patriot
And I love my country
Because my county is all I know

And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
Someday

And the river opens for the righteous . . .

— By Steven Van Zandt

Dec 1 2011

Breaking News: Inside Occupy Wall Street’s (#OWS) New York Office (updated)

Occupy Wall Street protestors were cleared out of Zuccotti Park, but Now they are working in an office right next to Wall Street.  The Movement hasn’t changed, it has just gained a clearer focus. Help us grow, or hide and watch!

 Vodpod videos no longer available.

Nov 29 2011

Scott Olsen’s first interview: The Iraq war veteran was injured by Police during Occupy Oakland

Scott Olsen gives his first interview since being injured with a Police projectile during an Occupy Oakland event.

The interview reveals the tragic effects of his injury, but we are all thankful that he survived and is recovering.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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Nov 25 2011

Police harass Occupy Oakland, arrest Thanksgiving celebration protesters

Occupy Oakland was celebrating Thanksgiving by sharing a meal and having a space that all could present their talents when a truck arrived to drop off portable toilets for the community. Officers were immediately on the scene and after about ten minutes the police asked the driver to leave with the portable toilets. The crowd was upset that on a day of celebration basic needs were not allowed to be delivered. Shortly afterwards an officer is seen tackling a citizen and another police officer helps push the citizen to the ground.

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Nov 22 2011

#OWS Weekend Wrap-up

In Oakland, cops cleared an encampment located at 19th and Telegraph Avenue this morning. Despite the fact that police showed up in riot gear, barring protesters from their camp, no arrests or injuries were reported. In San Francisco, six demonstrators were arrested and many still fear that the main Occupy camp at Justin Herman Plaza, will suffer the same fate as the one that was raided in front of the Federal Reserve building. Occupy Boston has been labeled one of the best established locations throughout the country. A temporary court order has prevented police from breaking down the Dewey Square encampment within Boston’s financial district.

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Nov 14 2011

Many Arrested at ‘Occupy’ Encampments as Cities try to dismantle #OWS

Police drove hundreds of Anti-Wall Street demonstrators from weeks-old encampments in Portland and arrested more than 50 of them, as authorities in Oakland, Calif., warned Occupy campers that a similar crackdown was coming. (Nov. 14)

Nov 10 2011

Confirmed:Oakland Police Officers infiltrate Occupy Oakland (Updated)

With the success of the Occupy Wall Street, it was only a matter of time until various groups would try to infiltrate the movement.  At the Occupy Oakland protest, not only do we have concrete proof of this infiltration…  The actual Police officer has come forward to respond to these allegations.

Are the Oakland Police members or infiltrators of OWS Oakland

This is Oakland Police Officer Fred Shavies responding to a recent Copwatch video produced about police infiltration at Occupy Oakland. The Copwatch video was produced by Jacob Crawford with assistance from Ali Winston and Josh Wolf. Justin Warren interviewed Officer Fred Shavies separate and independently

Nov 5 2011

Will The “Black Bloc” hijack the otherwise peaceful Occupy Movement?

The "Black Bloc"

by Richard Emanuel

(Occupy Cyberspace/Reclaim America from The Lunatic Fringe!)

The “Black Bloc” is sometimes confused with an actual anarchist movement, but in reality it is a tactic long in use by protesters around the world, having it’s origins in Germany after the 1977  Brokdorf demonstration. The “Black Bloc” tactic, was developed in direct response to the police brutality experienced during these demonstrations, similar to what many Occupy Movement protesters are experiencing in various cities, most notably Oakland California.

Tactics of a black bloc can include vandalism, rioting and street fighting, demonstrating without a permit, misleading the authorities, assisting in the escape of people arrested by the police, administering first aid to persons affected by tear gas in areas where protesters are barred from entering, building barricades, and resisting the police. Property destruction carried out by black blocs tends to have symbolic significance: common targets include banks, institutional buildings, outlets for multinational corporations, gasoline stations, and video-surveillance cameras.

There may be several black blocs within a particular protest, with different aims and tactics. As an ad hoc group, they share no universally common set of principles or beliefs  apart from an adherence to–usually–radical left or autonomist values. A few radical right-wing groups, like some of the “autonomous nationalists” of Europe  or the Australian National-Anarchists have adopted “black bloc” tactics and dress.

But it seems that the tactic so widely in use by protesters around the world, might soon serve to derail the burgeoning peaceful Occupy Movement.  An example of this was seen during the Occupy Oakland  protests this week.  The message and goals of the main Occupy objectives have been overshadowed by the actions of a few “Black Bloc” protesters, almost as if their actions were scripted by Fox News or the very institutions and policies that we are protesting against. Perhaps the “Black Bloc” participants are really agents of the authorities.Regardless of who they may be working for or against, their tactics are giving the police yet another reason to suppress the demonstrations around the country, responding with even more brutal force than has already been encountered.

The question we should be asking ourselves is, does this tactic really further our cause, or just demonstrate to our opposition, that they were right all along?

Watch this Canadian Tv report, showing Undercover Police dressed as “Black Bloc” protesters.

Want more information about “Black Bloc”?

Try “Black Bloc” for Dummies FAQ here

http://www.infoshop.org/page/Blackbloc-Faq