Occupation camps evicted in Portland, Denver, Chapel Hill
Several hundred protesters, some wearing goggles and gas masks, marched through downtown Portland, Ore., late Nov. 13, after riot police forced Occupy Portland demonstrators out of two encampments in nearby parks. Mayor Sam Adams had ordered the camps shut, citing unhealthy conditions and thir supposed attraction of drug users and thieves. More than 50 protesters were arrested in the eviction. (AP, Nov. 13) Denver police in riot gear one day earlier cleared protesters out of Civic Center park, tearing down tents and arresting 17. (Denver Post, Nov. 12) In Chapel Hill, NC, riot police wielding assault rifles stormed an abandoned downtown commercial property that had been occupied by protesters. Eight were arrested in the Nov. 13 raid. The Chapel Hill Transit bus used to take away the arrestees had a Wells Fargo ad, prompting the chant, "Who do they serve? Wells Fargo! Who do they protect? Wells Fargo!" (ThinkProgress, Nov. 13)
In Oakland, Calif., city officials held a closed-door meeting Nov. 12 before announcing a decision to evict Occupy Oakland from Frank Ogawa Plaza (renamed by protesters Oscar Grant Plaza). Protesters, who have maintained the camp for a month, pledge to resist removal. The eviction has been approved by a vote of the City Council, with the concurrence of Mayor Jean Quan. (SF Chronicle, Nov. 12)
In one of many such scenes around the world, over 90 were arrested and over two dozen injured as mounted police in Melbourne, Australia, charged the occupation camp in the city's central square on Oct. 21. (PalTalk News Network, Nov. 13)
See our last post on the global econo-protests.
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Occupy Oakland mobilizes after eviction
Occupy Oakland activists are preparing for a 4 PM march through downtown following the eviction of their encampment for a second time this morning. From the San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 19:
So nice of Mayor Quan to tell us what the protests are "about." Maybe the protesters aren't capable of speaking for themselves? And has it ever been established that the killing near the park had anything to do with the protests?
Police moving on NYC OWS encampment?
Widespread reports suddenly indicate a large build-up of police in riot gear at Zuccotti Park. This comes the Monday night after weekend evictions in Portland and Denver. It also comes two days before OWS activists have called for a big civil disobedience action to shut down Wall Street. This blogger is headed down there now...
Occupy Oakland marches on Berkeley
Hundreds of protesters from the Occupy Oakland movement marching five miles along Telegraph Ave. to the UC Berkeley campus, chanting "Here comes Oakland" in a show of solidarity with University of California students who were holding their own protest against cuts to higher education. (Sacramento Bee, Nov. 15)
Francisco "Pancho" Ramos Stierle, who became an icon of the Occupy Oakland movement when he meditated in a yoga pose throughout this week's eviction form Oscar Grant Plaza until police dragged him away, may be deported back to his native Mexico. Federal agents put an immigration hold on the 36-year-old activist as he was detained in an Alameda County jail. (Oakland Tribune, Nov. 15)
Protest deportation of Pancho Ramos Stierle
The Marin-based Metta Center for Nonviolence was also arrested in a civil disobedience action in Arizona last year protesting Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's anti-immigrant sweeps. His supporters are calling for pressure on senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to intervene against his intervention. Find out more at his Facebook page.
As if we weren't already paranoid enough...
A New York Times blog picked up by PoliceOne.com Nov. 15 shows a video produced by Berkeley Copwatch purporting to "out" a police infiltrator in the Occupy Oakland movement. And..
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the police aren't really infiltrating your group...
Fusion Centers coordinate OWS crackdown?
A post on the slightly paranoid website This Can't Be Happening speculates on federal coordination in the crackdown on the Occupation movement in several cities across the country in recent days—and particularly the ominous "Fusion Intelligence Centers":