Great photos and stories, folks. Thank you for posting them :-)

This is some of the most disturbing footage I've seen from the protests and a longer look at what happened to Scott Olsen. As they carried Olsen away and out of the line of fire, the brave protesters yelled back at the police, "Cowards."


http://abcnews.go.com/US/us-vets-suf...ry?id=14841972


http://www.timesunion.com/mediaManag...628&height=471

On FB from NY Occupy
 

Angela Davis in Philly
 

Fixed your links:

I think that pic was ripped from an old incident in Oakland that happened in 2003.

Let's flash forward to 2011
 

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/...19_634x440.jpg

Bruise: Occupy Oakland protester Shamus Collins claims he was shot with a rubber bullet as he went to the aid of injured Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen at a new encampment in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, California

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1cGar7n00

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/7541/433190207.jpg
Here's someone whose been shot in the face by a rubber bullet at Occupy Oakland:http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1...Rubber-Bullets

I'm just catching up on this thread but have been watching the news and sending emails all over the place.

I'm beyond grossed out at what happened in Oakland and Denver and other cities where it seems that the right to gather and protest has now become a criminal action.

Phillip Becerra, was shot in the face with pepper bullets.
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword...%20becerra.jpg
"They pepper sprayed me and I fell and then went to pour water on my face," says Becerra, "When I got back up, I was shot in the face. I had to go to the hospital to have the wound treated."
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword...ts_arrests.php

The arrests appeared to be a violation of First Amendment rights in the U.S. Constitution that allow for people to peacefully assemble, said attorney David Raybin, a former prosecutor.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/...46_634x411.jpg

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...=feeds-newsxml

Rudy Giuliani said the city should move the protesters out, citing public safety and health hazards.

"Enough is enough," the former mayor said. "We can't allow this to go on forever and ever. It sets a bad precedent ... [and] diverts police resources from public safety."


Yes, one could say police resources have become the antithesis of public safety.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n_Vtvu0pNA...-percent-d.jpg

"On Saturday over 1000 Americans laid their bodies down on a San Francisco beach to spell out “TAX THE 1%.” This protest was just the latest, and possibly most spectacular yet, in the wave of protests that have swept the nation since protesters occupied Wall Street, launching the “We are the 99%” movement." (Tipped by JMG reader Andrew)

This event has been going on for years......a different message each year. This year it is about the 1%

http://sfist.com/2011/10/28/tomorrow...ich_banner.php

if you search you can find all the human banners they have done....

There has been conversation around the word 'occupy' and some of the goals of the many affinity groups involved in this coalition.

One of the things I learned, in my years as an activist, is coalition building is messy....much like democracy. There are always things individuals and the various affinity groups disagree about. When you seek to organize around a commonality....in this case the unfair distribution of wealth and how to rememdy that problem...you always HAVE TO build coalition with those you may disagree with about other issues.

My years taught me that WAR (a berkeley based anarchy group) will always show up. They are generally the ones who break store windows, set fire to dumpsters, throw rocks and bottles at police, and generally try to provoke police. What makes me sad is the po po take the bait. They don't have to do that. The po po, in all their protective gear, can simply not react. Actually they should be there to direct traffic and provide assistance to those who are involved in protest march/rally/gatherings. The police should be my friend........my nephew is a cop.........I can't imagine him with riot gear, tear gas and rubber bulletts........

Actually they can NOT wear all that gear and show up in their regular uniforms to aid and assist protesters in their right to free assembly and the right to occupy the streets. This is actually what happened in San Francisco in the very early years of the GRID/AIDS/ HIV protests. The po po WALKED with us when we marched. They were there to protect and serve protesters. SF got a new police chief and that all stopped and the violence began. Diane Feinstein (the new mayor) ordered the police to allow the White Night riots, however she neglected to control those police who came into the Castro for revenge.

The Health Department can engage in constructive dialogue on the health and safety issues involved in long term tent encampments. The Health Department (and the police) are there to help and serve the community. They should be doing that. If there are health issues, then the Health Department should act in concert with the encampment to insure the health of those people. Work with them around sanitation and food safety. Figure out how to have clean toliets and handwashing stations. Figure out how the police will deal with any violence that might occur within the encampment.

It is encumbant on EVERYONE, government and citizens, to work together so the experiment of democracy in the US can continue. Government IS the people.

If we are to build solid useful coalitions that will bring about equality for everyone and equitable distribution of wealth that creates a solid middle class....we MUST take the good with the bad. Coalitions are never easy, but organizing around those things we share in common is the only way to change the system.

I gots lots o issues with anarchists, communists, tea party folks and others. However I am willing to work with them where we agree.

I'm rambling now and will stop

Aj..........you have done a good job of negative dissection of the socialist part of the coalition.

Do you have anything positive to say about the coalition? How about something constructive about how to build coalition in the face of serious differences within a common goal?

Oregon police arrest about 30.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world...t-1212991.html

Are there conversations with the police, health department, politicians, sanitation department, every other aspect of city/county government appropriate to tent encampments and the appropriate Occupy contact folks? All the Occupy encampments that I have visited or heard about, on KPFA free radio and other media, have contact people for all these areas. Are both sides reaching out to reach equitable agreements?

I have heard and read of both sides (across the country) reaching out to each other in the last few days. Perhaps Oakland will serve as a catalyst for useful partnerships that re-enforce democracy and our Constitution.

That would be nice. Isn't that the whole point of this? There is going to be shit happening and unfortunately people get hurt. They want us to give up and we won't, no matter what.

And I'm so sick of the excuses about sanitation and yadda yadda- You can set up massive tent cities using tax payer money. Now use our money and get to work.

I would remind folks that all those 'sit, lie' laws that are about homeless people and where they can be are being used against Occupy individuals and encampments.

Think about it the next time your local government wants to limit where, how and when homeless (and everyone) folks can be. It all sounds great when it comes to us not having to see homeless folks on the city streets, but not so great when applied to Occupy folks.

I like the idea of the government making the banks/raping mortgaging institutions, take all the foreclosures and creating homes for the homeless but people bitched about property values, the government bitched about taxes and no one is fucking happy. So they can shut the fuck up about where they land or create housing or jobs for them.

It just goes a round and a round, a big wheel of lies, deception and excuses. Don't listen to them. Move forward, raise hell, don't stop talking and whenever possible make life difficult for them.

At some point larger statements will be made and it will cost "something". What are you willing to pay? What do you think the government will do if we all collectively stopped paying taxes? Can they throw us all in jail? If we shut down even a few of the largest corporations by boycotting we'll make a strong statement.

the park in question is in The Pearl District which is a posh neighborhood. of course they don't want protesters there lol! gawd forbid should they have to look at protesters. kind of like the homeless......how distasteful. *sarcasm*

2 entirely different things going on here...

don't pay taxes then government stops.......what does that look like...no police, no fire, no sewer, no toll roads, no maintenance of roads, no SSI or SSDI or State Disability or medicare or medicaid or military pay, no one guarding jails and prisons, the list goes on and on .........not a good idea in my mind.......

Shutting down corporations is not the same thing as shutting down the government.

Occupy Update

And shutting down corporations and banks is exactly what is needed! The 1% are most likely sitting back and laughing about most of this. The idea that a few thousand citizens in the US are taking over public parks which is actually taking away the use of them from other 99%ers is probably quite funny to them. And the only way that that 1% will hear the 98% is through our political processes. We have an opportunity right in front of us- the 2012 general election. Isn't it time the TP and GOP support of Wall Street & banks is stopped? I love the OWS movement in spirit, but think that unless it gets focused on real solutions that the general public can rally behind and put into legislative action, it will not be an effective social movement. And these tactics have to be acceptable across the spectrum of the 99%. What can someone in their 20's have in common with a retirement aged person that has been screwed out of a pension, for example? How does OWS merge the needs across a very diverse 99% to effect change?

Excerpts from Article from Daily Kos - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1...via=siderecent

At the Occupy Denver rally, the Police decided to send out riot police to 'crack down' on the protesters and clear the square.
I filmed and photographed the people in attendance, people of all ages and walks of life - all there to peacefully protest and march. In fact as you can see in this video, the speakers spoke out forcefully about remaining non-violent. At the end of the video is a group of kids I included that were there to protest but also to have fun - expressing their freedom of speech and assembly -part of being a free American citizen.
I included them because, well, LMFAO is awesome, and these kids were near the front of the capitol where the Riot police were standing. I assume they were met with the same force. I hope they are OK.
And watch the people in the video, young and old, including mothers with infants and Vets - were these people deserving of this?



here was the police's reaction to the request to occupy the steps of the Capitol


Was that necessary for a lady wanting a job?
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/...10e2ca4387.jpg

A vet?
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6114/...cc1bc8404f.jpg

A mother and child?
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6043/...8e848f9f16.jpg

this dangerous mob of regular folks?
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6221/...e61d2e3193.jpg

This is the guy who was trying to explain to the police that their permit included the Capitol Steps.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6039/...ff945477a7.jpg

These regular cops were polite, and even when the first riot police arrived, it seemed innocuous.

I left the rally then, frankly because the speakers doing the Mic Checks were telling the people that there would be no march up the Steps and that everyone should keep protesting back at Veterans Park.
So what happened Denver Police - Tell me why these people deserved bully clubs, guns and riot gear?

Sorry if someone already posted this ?
I heard this guy, this morning on Mark Riley's Show, Radio 1600 AM or http://www.wwrl1600.com/ . ANd had to check out the Youtube. Perhaps what was even more speical, in the interview, he explains how many generations of his family have been in the Armed Forces, including the Police Department..So, unlike me..who grew up in a Liberal Pinko Anti - War , kind of Household.. He comes from a very different background . This is teh full version, well worth sitting through all of it...

I guess i don;t have the embedding "thing" down exactly but .. I think you can access the link : )

Sgt. Shamar Thomas has been on the thread, but it's worth a repost. He tells the police that 'this is not a combat zone and that there is no honor in hurting them (the protestors).' He's amazing. The link to the video works, but here it is again:

Take Five Minutes of Your Day to Keep Wall Street Occupied With This Amazing At-Home Activism Plan

Good videos and question. The more brutal and violent the police response, the more I realize how much we've lost en route to this place.

I’m not sure I agree that OWS needs to get focused on real solutions.

I think it’s important to bring attention to the issues. I think it might be the most important thing of all.

I don’t think things are going to get better any time soon.

I do think they will be getting significantly worse as time goes by.

Real solutions, legislative action…we can’t even occupy the Capital steps when we have a permit that allows us to do so. We can't even not get shot in the face with rubber bullets. We can't have peaceful protests without being tear gassed by the paramilitary police there to protect and serve the 1%.

I think the attention of the nation is being focused on the real problems courtesy of all the occupy movements. That is what is most necessary at this time.

None of this is going to go away because it can’t. And it can’t because of the degree of damage caused by the 1% and by their desire keep causing damage and their need to hoard their money and to continue to make tons more standing on our necks. Things have no other way to go.

There will be ample opportunity for real solutions.

I think the 99% or at least a large percentage of them, need help to recognize the depth of the problems. They need help to find a voice. Help to find the words to begin to articulate what they have understood intuitively. Something is very wrong. And it a part of the real solutions that people have the time and the help to figure out that their intuition is correct. There is something very wrong. And it's not caused by the poor. Or minorities. Or immigrants. Or queers. Or a lack of religious values. And then they need an outlet, a place to voice in their own words what they have discovered. That's OWS.

And I have no doubt whatsoever that plenty about the 99% is extremely funny to the 1%. I'm sure they laugh out loud and snicker amongst themselves at how hysterically funny it is that the 99% has believed giving more and more money and tax breaks to the 1% as well as passing laws to benefit the 1% and their corporations would somehow end well for the poor, and the working and middle class. I'm sure they are choking with laughter over that. But I seriously doubt OWS has been the source of many chuckles for the 1%.

If memory serves, it was a few thousand folks who were involved in all the civil rights protests and marches, a few thousand who protested Vietnam, a few thousand people can do many many things.

I also think it's more than a few thousand when you start adding all the people in Occupy camps across the country, plus those who turn out for the marches. Oakland has consistently turned out a thousand people marching around the streets at 11:00pm........with a couple of thousand for the beginning of the marches/rallys. It's bigger than a few thousand.....probably bigger than any of the 60's protests.

I'm not sure what you mean by taking away the use of public parks. Nobody is doing that. If you go to Occupy SF....it's at Justin Herman Plaza across from the Ferry Building.......there are bunches of vendors selling stuff everywhere on that Plaza and the tourists certainly have not stopped going. The last time I was down there folks were playing boccia ball (however you spell that game of rolling a ball and knocking other players balls out of the way...it's Italian I think) on one of two spaces for that. Lots of folks reading all the signs and talking with protestors.

In Oakland, Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, is directly in front of City Hall. Occupy folks are camped out on the grassy area and using the steps of City Hall for their General Assembly every day. You can still go down there and sit on the benches and enjoy your lunch just like you always could.....

Business owners around City Hall and downtown are saying they are losing business because people are afraid to go down there. Who made them afraid? Certainly not the Occupy folks although they are getting the blame for it. It's the police who caused the violence. There are tents set up and there is a childcare tent and a first aid tent and a cooking tent, folks playing hacky sack, playing musical instruments, drumming ....what the hell is so scary about those things?

This is GREAT!

I agree 100%. I also think that they are trying to use force to try to scare people into stopping protesting (because that always works :|) but instead I think it's pissing people off so I believe the riots are going to happen too.

I also get tired of hearing what Occupy should do. here's what I think...

There are so many agendas. It's not just about the financial companies but food safety, the way our so-called government programs operate, elections and countless other crimes that have happened against us. The real slap in the face is that we're paying for it with hard labor, blood, sweat and tears yet we are still treated like shit. We are no longer the priority but slaves to this 1%.

I think that everyone is "feeling" it and I'm hoping various groups start to spin off from this addressing the various problems and what the solutions might be. HOWEVER their backs are just not against the wall and if we want to see them listen, prompt change we need to force a hand. The only way is to show that we have the power to shut down banks and big business. This will mean sacrifices and it will cost jobs. But we can't expect to change the foundation if we don't rip down the old.

So what if they closed Walmart and the big box stores? Produce and supplies would cost more at local stores... for a while and demand couldn't possibly be met right away but it has a trickle effect. More local farming, more local business, etc you get the basic idea. We have been manipulated to believe this is the better way but as you can see it was a herding tactic and now we're paying for it.

Make a commitment to 'something". Write down your plan and how you plan to invest in this revolution. If you can't go sit and occupy spread the word and encourage others. Talk talk suggest suggest- today make a commitment to shop local and if it cost more, eat or do less. Stop using credit cards. Cash your checks and take your money out. Yea its a hassle, especially if you run a business. Start working on a plan now to sustain no matter how bad things get before they get better.

"the ordinary citizen would wake up"

~Theo~ :bouquet:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

I found this sentence to be very concerning, I think it says so much about the issues of divisiveness. Who Is ordinary? The middle class mostly white? Because poor and homeless white and poc have been under employed and subjected to daily violence. It is a huge valley to cross to see that the 1% is using the military and the police to support the criminalization of the poor. Pitting the middle class against the poor is a great tool of the majority. We have seen it over and over divide and conquer. I do not want to go back to how it was, that leaves to many people out and for me that is the real issue. Class war is happening within the OWS as it does in every other movement. the 99% have different needs that is why there is not one point, there is no universal narrative.

The first part about taxes is more of fantasy, however as it appears our taxes arent enough to keep all those things afloat anyhow. Wasn't it just a few months ago when all of that was at risk in the event of a government shut down? Let's face it Toughy a lot of that IS going to stop/end/ cease to exist anyhow. So I guess I we keep feeding the money pit and we're still fucked. lol

I know a lot of people post videos and dont get a chance to watch them all BUT this is fucking brilliant! I'm so inspired by doing this I'm going to send back my son's junk mail, my mom's, whatever I can get a hold of. My son gets at least 4 or more letters asking to get yet another credit card, another loan.

If you do nothing else, do this. Pass it around facebook, email it, get everyone doing this. Its great

Excellent point and post.