Dude! Must See Video of Occupy Oakland Protesters

Please force yourself to suffer through this rather lengthy video. It's basically an Occupy Oakland press conference in the middle of the street - or at least next to one - and several members of the movement actually chime in. If ever there was a case study for Occupy Oakland, this should do it. It starts off with a woman named Barucha Peller. At first, she appears to be a spokesperson with a lip stud. If you can overlook that, you might be convinced that she's a reputable front-woman. Then she loses all credibility when she says she doesn't represent Occupy Oakland.

At that point, the media frenzy wants to talk with someone else; they settle on a guy named Shake Anderson but while Shake is giving his account, Barucha chastises him for speaking. As those two begin their version of conflict resolution, a guy named Michael Turner steps up to the mic. Try to overlook the gold chain hanging down from Turner's nose to his chin; he's got something to say.

As Turner is speaking, he apparently crosses a line with another protester, whose name is Khalid Shakur, who's wearing the hat with ear flaps. While Shakur is talking, some woman jumps in about something I still don't understand. Then, a guy named John Ryman chimes in. According to him, he is the guy responsible for Occupy Oakland. The media seems to lose interest in him when he starts blaming them for all the problems.

Seriously, I know it's 13 minutes but it's 13 minutes for a reason. It's a must-watch.

Via SF Chronicle:

Fast and Furious Documents Released by White House don't Do ATF Supervisor any favors

When the White House released over 600 pages of subpoenaed documents to congressional investigators this week, it was clearly an attempt to draw attention to an operation similar to that of Fast and Furious that was carried out during the Bush administration. Although operation Wide Receiver was an obvious precursor to Fast and Furious, it was nowhere near the scope. Nonetheless, any attempt to implicate the previous administration in similar practices is an attempt to deflect heat away from Fast and Furious.

However, a problem seems to arise when ATF Special Agent in Charge (SAC) at the time - William Newell - is brought into the picture. He apparently had involvement with both operations and his role in Wide Receiver is not likely to go unnoticed by congressional investigators. In 2006, a memo addressed to the US Attorney in Arizona by an ATF attorney expressed 'moral objections' to the proposed plan.

Via CBS News:

The memo asks then-U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton to weigh in on the gunwalking proposal. Charlton told CBS News he has no memory of the memo but "I don't believe I would have or ever did approve letting guns walk." He says his Assistant U.S. Attorney on the case at the time recently assured him the memo was disapproved.

"It's almost an I.Q. test," Charlton told CBS News, meaning nobody would approve the "preposterous" idea as outlined in the memo. But he notes, "Somebody did it (gunwalking) anyway, in disregard of what was disallowed, and repeated it again in Fast and Furious."

Phoenix ATF Special Agent in Charge Bill Newell oversaw both gunwalking operations. Newell was named to head the Phoenix office in June 2006. One month later came the memo seeking approval for the gunwalking. At a January press conference, Newell was asked if guns were allowed to walk in Fast and Furious, and he replied "hell, no." That answer was soon revealed as false, and Newell was transferred to ATF headquarters.

On its face, this doesn't look good for Newell at all. Whether the Justice Department wanted to or not, by pointing to Wide Receiver, they may have made life a whole lot more difficult for Newell.

h/t Sipsey Street

Video: Oakland Mayor Doubles Down on her own Embarrassment

Look, the buck stops with the mayor of any city when its own residents set the place on fire, cause millions of dollars in damage, and injure several police officers. That means the buck stops with mayor Jean Quan in Oakland, California. However, she seems to be doubling down on very bizarre behavior. Her last responsible act appears to have been on October 25th. That's when police cleared out the protesters. Since then, she's allowed protesters to 're-occupy' the city; she's apologized to them; and then she even gave all city employees except police, the day off in order to join the protests.

Now this. After a day of violence she helped create by giving those city employees the day off to join OWS, Quan praised the protesters who ransacked her city.

Via GWP:



At face value, Jean Quan's IQ must be in the single digits but this simply doesn't make sense. She ordered police to clear the area on October 25th and has done an about-face since then. Why?

Consider that the Barack Obama administration supports OWS and that none other than Van Jones, who is spearheading the movement with his 'Rebuild the Dream' campaign, is from Oakland. Also consider that Rep. Barbara Lee, whose district includes Oakland, has not only come out in support of OWS but has admitted to talking with mayor Quan.

I've got more on this HERE.

I don't think it's out of bounds to ask about the level of White House involvement when it comes to Oakland.

h/t GWP