Occupy Oakland Flares up again; 300 Arrested

If there is one city in America that has been home to the Occupy movement's most petulant miscreants, it's Oakland. Again, former Obama green jobs czar and Occupy organizer Van Jones is from Oakland. He has a rather cozy relationship with Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), whose district includes Oakland; Lee has a rather cozy relationship with Valerie Jarrett, Obama's closest adviser. Until Americans begin to connect these dots, little to no accountability will take place. The liberal media certainly isn't doing the job.

Nonetheless, Occupy Oakland has just flared up again and has given the movement something to cheer about. With 300 arrests in Oakland all on the same day, the Occupy movement is now officially well over 6000 arrests nationwide.

Guess what?

They're so proud of it that they're tracking it.

ABC News reports that three officers were injured:

Police spokesman Jeff Thomason says most of the arrests came around 8 p.m. That's when police took about 100 protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building.

About 20 demonstrators were arrested earlier in the afternoon, after police say they threw rocks, bottles and other objects at officers and tore down fencing.

Police say three officers were injured. Officers used tear gas and "flash" grenades on the protesters after they refused to leave.

Authorities were still tabulating the exact number of arrests late Saturday.

Again, these whackos like to portray themselves as victims. Do victims seek to add to their arrest totals while injuring police?

Here's a video of Oakland on January 28th via Breitbart:



h/t Weasel Zippers

Occupy Oakland Caught with Homemade Bomb

Shortly after the Occupy Wall Street movement began, it became apparent that Occupy Oakland was the most violent. A man was shot and killed there; the port was shut down in November; the damages have been extensive. It appears that these protesters are refusing to relinquish the title of being the most dangerous OWS'rs. They're now making homemade bombs.

Via the Mercury News:

Protesters were arrested on suspicion of assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and possession of explosives. Police said one person had a device that was the equivalent of a quarter stick of dynamite -- not an M-80 firecracker, Watson said, but a 6-inch-long explosive.

"I'd never seen anything like it before," she said. "That's not something that'll blow your thumb off; that's something that could easily kill you or take a body part off."

h/t Verum Serum

Video: Occupy Oakland Adjusting Tactics, OWS'er Calling for Outright Violence

Typical left-wing word games. How do you get people to buy what you're selling when you're on the left? Well, pick a word that the mindless lemmings have been conditioned to view as positive and attach it to something that's negative. In this case, the positive word is 'diversity,' which is attached to the word 'tactics.' Sounds good, right? Who doesn't like diversity? It's such a peaceful word.

What does 'diversity of tactics' mean? Well, it means everything (including violence) is on the table. It means you must use whatever tactics are necessary to 'tear down the system' of course.

Clear-thinking Americans should not get caught flat-footed with respect to OWS. The movement views this as a class war and many see President Barack Obama as the silent General who supports them by doing nothing to stop them.

The reasons OWS protests have died down are varied. Among them are that the miscreants:

• got tired
• needed someone else to clean up after them
• couldn't take the winter weather
• were losing public support
• weren't violent enough (as video below indicates)

We should not be under the illusion that these whackos are done facilitating the forces of entropy. Something tells me they'll be back and this video of OWS'er Sean O'Brien should reinforce that premise. He is calling for the 'De-colonization' of Oakland while encouraging protesters to use 'diversity of tactics.'

It's quite clear that O'Brien is calling for a ratcheting up of the violence in these protests because whatever they've done so far hasn't worked. It's almost as if the OWS crowd wasn't getting the real message of that 'wink, wink' that accompanied the first round of protests, which called for 'non-violence.' This message from O'Brien appears to be an attempt to be more clear with protesters about what is required.

To paraphrase O'Brien: "Psssst. Hey dummies. We only said to be 'non-violent' so we wouldn't be criminally liable as a movement. When we said 'non-violent,' we meant 'violent.' Got it?"

Beginning at the 3:00 mark, O'Brien tells his audience that 'diversity of tactics' means that 'all things are on the table' when it comes to the group getting what it wants. Uh, that would include violence, would it not? He then tells his listeners not to allow moral considerations to guide their decisions. There is no right or wrong.

Be sure to watch all the way to the end because beginning at the 6:38 mark, O'Brien's call for violence is quite obvious and specific.

OWS is entering very dangerous cult territory, folks.

h/t GWP

Video: Santa Cruz City Board RIPS Power Company Representative over Smart Meter

Yes, this video is over 20 minutes long but it is absolutely a must-watch. At issue here is power company named PG&E, which has shut off the power to a woman's home. Why? Because she had her PG&E approved smart meter replaced with an analog meter by a licensed electrician. She had it replaced because she didn't want the smart meter installed in the first place.

This video shows an exchange between the Santa Cruz City Board and PG&E representative Wendy Sarsfield, who gets grilled to a proverbial crisp over her company's decision to shut the woman's power off.

Sarsfield puts forth no cogent argument and the Board calls her on it each time. At several points, it looks like Sarsfield realizes the stupidity of her position but presses forward anyway. After all, she's part of a bureaucracy that demands she take these positions in order to receive a paycheck.

This is a big deal, though.



h/t GWP

OWS Planning to Shut Down all Major West Coast Ports Today

Back on December 1st, Van Jones tweeted an article that called on all OWS protesters to join in the attempt to shut down all major ports on the west coast on December 12th.

Last week, I contacted the office of House Judiciary Committee chairman, Lamar Smith (R-TX) to request that someone on his committee ask Attorney General Eric Holder what the latter was planning to do about the proposed shutdown scheduled to take place today. That question was never asked of Holder during the December 8th hearing.

Now, whether this planned shutdown amounts to anything has yet to be seen. In fact, OWS enthusiasm has actually been waning of late so it's quite possible that there will be no significant disruption. Then again, it's not like these plans have been unavailable for public consumption so there really should be no shutdown.

Besides, there's another interesting twist to the story. Apparently, the Longshoremen aren't all that interested in OWS shutting down their ports...or are they?

Here is an excerpt from the Workers World website via Michelle Malkin:

Battle lines have formed as the West Coast Occupy movements, from San Diego to Alaska, flex their collective muscle against the federally coordinated, brutal attacks targeting the pro-Occupy Wall Street movements across the country. They are organizing for blockades of West Coast ports on Dec. 12 in San Diego; Los Angeles/Long Beach; Port Hueneme, Calif. (central coast); Oakland; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Tacoma, Wash.; and possibly more. Solidarity actions have been called by OWS in New York and inland locations, as well. 

The pro-OWS movement is aligning itself with labor and the working class, as the West Coast Occupy movements organize to support the struggle of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in Longview, Wash. Longshore workers there are waging a ferocious battle against transnational EGT, controlled by Bunge Ltd., of the grain cartel that controls most of the world’s trade in food products. EGT is trying to break the ILWU in an attempt to drive down wages and destroy the union. (Read “Longshore workers call for anti-racist unity in their ranks” at www.workers.org/2011/us/ilwu_0922) 

The West Coast Occupy movements are also aligning with the struggle of port truckers, who are fighting for the right to organize for union representation. Twenty-six of them were fired in Los Angeles for wearing Teamster jackets to work. Occupy LA and Long Beach are targeting SSA, an anti-union port terminal operator, majority owned by Goldman Sachs, the notorious Wall Street investment bank. Teamster president, Jimmy Hoffa Jr., has publicly expressed support for the Occupy movement.

Today is the day. Stay tuned.

Much more HERE.

Van Jones Calling for Shutdown of Major Ports; isn't that a Serious Crime?

Someone on the House Judiciary committee that Eric Holder will be in front of on December 8th should ask him what the Justice Department plans to do about Van Jones calling for the shut down of all major ports on the west coast on December 12th. The former Green Jobs czar is now calling for collective criminal behavior that should put him and anyone leading such an effort under FBI investigation immediately.

Jones linked to this story via twitter:

Occupy movements plan to shut down major ports along the U.S. West Coast and Canada's Pacific seaboard in a day of action next month, they said Wednesday. 

In an announcement hours after a two-month-old anti-Wall Street protest camp was evicted in Los Angeles, they said they plan to strike back against the "nationally co-ordinated attack on the Occupy movement." 

Local Occupy movements in San Diego, L.A., Oakland - where protests shut down the port for 24 hours last month - Portland, Taco-ma and Seattle will support the Dec. 12 day of action, they said.

The story also quotes a woman who has become somewhat of a formal / informal spokesman for Occupy Oakland, Barucha Peller:

"We're shutting down these ports because of the union busting and attacks on the working class by the one per cent," said Barucha Peller of the West Coast Port Blockade Assembly, of Occupy Oakland, in a statement. 

"We are also striking back against the nationally co-ordinated attack on the Occupy movement. In response to the police violence and camp evictions against the Occupy movement, this is our co-ordinated response against the one per cent. 

"On Dec. 12th we will show are collective power through pinpointed economic blockade of the one per cent," she added.

Some might remember that Peller attempted to hold a makeshift news conference one day after the general strike in Oakland. It failed miserably and is worth the watch if you haven't seen it.

h/t Katie Pavlich at Townhall and GWP for this image:

Video: Occupy LA Protester Channels Cat

This gem comes from #Occupy Los Angeles. This trio appears to be combining Buddhism, Hinduism, and the channeling of cats.

Remember, the president supports these whackos:




h/t GWP

Is the Occupy Toothpaste out of the Tube?

The OWS protests have become a liability for the Democratic Party in general and the Barack Obama administration in particular. That might help explain why mayors across the country seemed to act in unison when shutting down the encampments. However, Occupy Oakland doesn't appear to be going quietly. On November 19th, they were at it again, marching through the streets and setting up tents. Then, when they came across a chain link fence with 'no trespassing' signs on it, they tore it down.

This is the result of taking paddling out of the schools.



If the Obama administration put out the order to shut these protests down due to political damage and protesters are not complying, the president has a serious problem on his hands. If the protests pick up again and he cracks down, Obama will be fighting the community organizing that's so near and dear to his heart. If he allows it to continue, public opposition to him is almost certain to grow. Here is a report from the local ABC affiliate:



 h/t The Blaze

Occupy Oakland Calling for Pacific Coast Port Shutdown on 12/12

On November 2nd, Occupy Oakland's 'General strike,' which was encouraged by none other than the city's mayor, Jean 'I don't know what's going on' Quan, shut down Oakland's port and caused millions of dollars in damages. Now the Occupy Oakland website is announcing that it will attempt to shut down all ports on the west coast of the United States on 12/12/11. The interesting part, is that the group claims to be ratcheting up its behavior because of 'coordinated attacks' on their movements across the country:

In response to coordinated attacks on the occupations and attacks on workers across the nation: Occupy Oakland calls for the blockade and disruption of the economic apparatus of the 1% with a coordinated shutdown of ports on the entire West Coast on December 12th. The 1% has disrupted the lives of longshoremen and port truckers and the workers who create their wealth, just as coordinated nationwide police attacks have turned our cities into battlegrounds in an effort to disrupt our Occupy movement. We call on each West Coast occupation to organize a mass mobilization to shut down its local port. Our eyes are on the continued union-busting and attacks on organized labor, in particular the rupture of Longshoremen jurisdiction in Longview Washington by the EGT. Already, Occupy Los Angeles has passed a resolution to carry out a port action on the Port Of Los Angeles on December 12th, to shut down SSA terminals, which are owned by Goldman Sachs.

This is indeed very interesting because the Obama administration has been in support of these derelicts. There are some who believe that these 'coordinated' shutdowns of Occupy protests all across the nation came at the behest of the administration because the protests are becoming a political liability and public relations disaster. According to Salem-News, these alleged 'coordinated' shutdowns served as the impetus for Occupy Oakland to call for a 'Re-Occupation' on November 19th:

(OAKLAND, Calif.) - Leading members of the Oakland Occupy movement are questioning the evictions of a dozen Occupy camps across the country, following news that they have been coordinated by conference call between mayors’ offices and police departments and a private law enforcement think tank named PERF (Police Executive Research Forum). According to a just-published report in The San Francisco Bay Guardian, PERF, an international non-governmental organization with ties to law enforcement and homeland security, has been coordinating the conference calls to advise major metropolitan mayors and police chiefs.

Why would mayors get together and coordinate shutdowns of these protests? Who would be responsible for initiating such a coordination? Also, who is in charge of homeland security? Uh, that would be DHS, right? Obama / Napolitano, right? To quote Van Jones, 'you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.' If mayors acted in response to members of the Obama administration and Occupy Oakland is calling for a 'General Strike' on steroids, they apparently didn't get the memo.

h/t Free Republic

Shooting Death at Occupy Oakland: Who has Blood on Their Hands?

I will be covering this in greater detail during tomorrow's program but in the wake of the shooting death near the Occupy Oakland encampment, it's important to revisit the Van Jones dynamic. Oakland has by far been the most consistently violent of all the #Occupy protests. The shooting death serves to underscore that reality; it trumps the critical head injury sustained by the left wing Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen. Perhaps some more pieces to this puzzle can start coming together.

First, as I wrote about HERE, Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oak) all support OWS. Van Jones is from Oakland and got his radical start there. He is also one of the main organizers of OWS. Here is Jones on September 29th on MSNBC, telling Lawrence O'Donnell that October will be the dawn of an 'American Autumn.' Fast forward to the 2:00 mark to see the relevant excerpt:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Catherine Evans at American Thinker brings a new character into the mix - and it is significant. His name is Jakada Imani and he took over for Jones at the Ella Baker Center before Jones took his Green Jobs Czar position at the White House in 2009. Imani, as Evans points out, was chosen to serve on the Board of Commissioners for an entity that was a flashpoint within the Oakland protests on the November 2nd General Strike:

A Van Jones protege, Jakada Imani, was sworn in as the newest member of the Oakland Port Board of Commissioners Tuesday October 20, a mere twelve days before Occupy Oakland protesters marched to the Port of Oakland and "effectively shut down" the fifth largest containerized port in the U.S.

Oakland's Port was shut down by Occupy Oakland protesters just two weeks later. Please read the entire piece by Evans; it does an excellent job of connecting Jones, Imani, and the Oakland Port.

However, I'd like to bring in another puzzle piece here. Back on November 3rd, the day after the strike, in a video posted at the San Francisco Chronicle, a woman the press in Oakland believed to be a spokesperson for the group - Barucha Peller - called the shut down of the Port historic and unsuccessfully tried to put a happy face on the protests but after she decided not to take any questions, a man named Shake Anderson began speaking to the press. Anderson said something quite significant but at the time, it seemed Peller was the only one to notice.

Shortly after introducing himself, Anderson said the following:

"Yes, we were here yesterday. I was in the media tent, working with Occupy Oakland, the same media tent that worked on this press release this morning."

This establishes the fact that Anderson had inside access to the inner workings of the movement. Then, Anderson makes a claim that causes Peller to interject herself back into the press conference. Anderson tells the media that when the violence started, Occupy Oakland called the mayor's office:

"We called the mayor's office the moment we understood what was going on over there."

Shortly after that, Anderson was interrupted by Peller:

"Just to be clear, Occupy Oakland does not... if individuals called the mayor's office, they do not represent Occupy Oakland... Occupy Oakland did not call the mayor's office. If individuals called the mayor's office, that's what individuals are doing... we do not negotiate with politicians, police, and we do not involve political parties."

Peller then adamantly stated that the press conference was over and managed to get a visibly perturbed Anderson to stop talking.

Clearly, Peller's problem was with Anderson's claim that Occupy Oakland called the mayor's office during the general strike. She also went out of her way to reject inferences that weren't made (negotiating with politicians). HERE is the video. Fast forward to the 3:00 mark to watch the relevant exchange:



So, the question that needs to be asked - based on Peller's reaction to Anderson's words - is: Why did she not want it known that Occupy Oakland was in communication with Mayor Jean Quan's office? Was it because they were in the process of coordinating, among other things, the shutting down of the port? After all, Van Jones protege Jakada Imani had only been on the Port Board for two weeks. Yet, that port was shut down by Occupy Oakland.

In much the same way that the Obama administration may have the blood of Border Agent Brian Terry on its hands in operation Fast and Furious, it might also have the blood of the shooting victim in Oakland on its hands.

More HERE.

Man Shot Dead Near Occupy Oakland

I think we can officially say that the Occupy protests have devolved to a new and despicable low. There have been assaults, rapes, robberies, and even tuberculosis in Atlanta. It appears that we can now add murder to the sordid laundry list. None other than Occupy Oakland gets that distinction. Remember, Oakland has been the most out-of-control Occupy location to date. The mayor there - Jean Quan - has been handling it terribly badly. She seems to be more interested in presiding over clashes between protesters and police than in making sure her city is safe.

Though the shooting happened just outside the Oakland encampment, protesters insist it had nothing to do with their movement. No one has identified a shooter and a woman claiming to be a spokesperson for the Occupy Oakland - Barucha Peller - is actually going into all out damage control by saying the only thing Occupy Oakland had to do with the entire incident was being responsible for providing assistance to the victim.

Via CBS:

A man has died after being shot just outside the Oakland encampment that anti-Wall Street protesters have occupied for the last month.

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan says the victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital Thursday evening, less than two hours after two groups of men got into a fight near the Occupy Oakland camp on a plaza near City Hall.

Jordan says no suspects have been identified. He asked members of the public participating in the protest who may have taken photographs or video that captured the shooting to contact authorities.

The chief says investigators do not yet know if the men in the fight were associated with Occupy Oakland. But protest organizers say they weren't.

The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. on the edge of the plaza outside Oakland City Hill. The Occupy Oakland encampment sits in the middle of the plaza.

Paramedics on the scene were tending the bleeding man, whose condition wasn't immediately known as it was earlier reported. Police were interviewing witnesses and trying to contain a crowd of protesters who had tried to prevent television cameramen from taking video.

A woman from the encampment, Barucha Peller, told CBS station KPIX San Francisco: "The only direct Occupy Oakland involvement was in order to provide emergency first-aid services."

Last week, millions of dollars of damage were done to the city. An Iraq war veteran suffered a critical head injury that's looking increasingly like it was sustained as a result of projectiles hurled by protesters. There have been countless arrests and we're to accept Peller's claim out of hand that these protests had NOTHING to do with this murder?!

The last sentence of the CBS report ends with this line:

Earlier Thursday, a man was shot and killed at the Occupy Burlington protest in Vermont. Fellow protesters indicated that the gunshot appeared to be self-inflicted.

One suicide and one homicide. There have also been people found dead in tents at various #Occupy protests.

h/t Hot Air

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:

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

Occupy Oakland Devolves into Bigger Cesspool; is Mayor Guilty?

Occupy Oakland has officially devolved into a much larger cesspool than it had been previously. Two weeks ago, Mayor Jean Quan issued a directive, ordering protesters to clear the area or they would be removed. On October 25, police began enforcing that directive. On October 26th, Quan allowed protesters to re-occupy the city. On Friday, October 28th, Quan issued a letter to all city employees and instructed them to take the day off and support the November 2nd protests in the city. Police were all ordered to report for duty.

Well, as you might guess, November 2nd was an ugly day for the City of Oakland and Mayor Quan is directly responsible for much of it. HERE is the letter from the OPOA, dated November 1st.

Store windows were broken, buildings and ATM's were defaced, and dozens of protesters were arrested. Yet, the Mercury News reports that the protests were 'largely peaceful.' No, seriously:

OAKLAND -- As many as 40 people were arrested in downtown Oakland early Thursday after what was mostly a peaceful day during the general strike Wednesday turned heated.

Late in the evening, protesters temporarily took over a vacant building, started fires in downtown and used homemade bomb launchers to fire M80s at police.

At 1 a.m. police had used tear-gas and flashbang grenades in attempts to clear the crowd from downtown streets. Some protesters tried to calm the situation by chanting "Don't throw (crap)" and yelling "Stand still the world is watching" but others continued to stand off with police and refused to leave despite police calling an "unlawful assembly" at midnight.

Shortly after 1:30 a.m. police were ready to move in on the Occupy Oakland camp at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and announced that arrests would be made. At least 100 tents are housing hundreds of people there.

Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said there are about 70 people "determined to cause trouble and instigate a confrontation with police." They plan to release their photos at some point. Jordan said officers intended to separate the troublemakers from the rest of the campers. He said around 2 a.m. that between 30 and 40 had been arrested, although he could not confirm the exact number.

They may have been some of the same vandals who trashed Whole Foods on Wednesday.

"We are aware of people bent on causing problems, and we're taking steps to address those problems," Jordan said.

Oh, and the Mercury News place one paragraph in bold type. Here is the paragraph it apparently wanted people to really read:

Police are reporting no injuries to officers, although some protesters were hurt. Witnesses said one man was hit in the leg with a projectile fired by police, and earlier Wednesday, two protesters were struck by a car on their way to a rally at the Port of Oakland. Early reports are false that one of those struck died; all injuries are believed to be nonfatal.

Maybe if these whackos would stay home and avoid situations that are increasingly becoming violent, they wouldn't get hurt.

Check out these 'largely peaceful' protesters:



I submit that Jean Quan is more responsible for any injuries at Occupy Oakland than are any police officers.

Big Government has photos.

Marine Injured at Occupy Oakland Likely Injured by Protesters

Remember that anti-Semitic, Marine-hating, Marine veteran and IVAW member who suffered a critical head injury on October 25th at the Occupy Oakland protests? His name is Scott Olsen and he became an instant vehicle for left wing exploitation. He provided the perfect opportunity, or so the lefties thought, to portray police as bloodthirsty villains who couldn't control their urge to whoop up on protesters, who refused to obey police orders to leave the area by the way. The narrative was set. Olsen was the victim of a nearly fatal attack from police, who shot him in the head with a projectile.

Uh, not so fast. It's looking increasingly like Olsen was hit in the hit with a projectile hurled by a supposed ally.

Via San Francisco Examiner:

Protesters identified the three deputies based on preraid video that showed them from a closer and less chaotic standpoint — near enough to make their nametags visible.

The head of the union that represents sheriff’s deputies said activists circulated one deputy’s home address online. The union has requested it be removed.

The Sheriff’s Department said an internal investigation unit is reviewing the incident, but it’s unlikely the identified deputies caused Olsen’s injury. Spokeswoman Eileen Hirst said 35 of the 37 Sheriff’s Department personnel on site for the raid were not carrying projectiles, and the two who were equipped with them did not fire.

Hirst also said the department has a policy against deputies using weapons for which they are not trained, or borrowing weapons from other law enforcement during a raid situation.

So, not only are the police likely innocent but some despicable left wing whacko decided to post the address of one of the officers' thought to have been involved, who is also, more than likely innocent.

I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, anyone of these protesters asked for something bad to happen to them when they decided not to obey police by leaving the area. For some reason, that seems to be lost on the mainstream media, which continues to push the narrative that the police overreacted.

Read more about this incident HERE.

We already know protesters were in fact, hurling projectiles:



h/t GWP

Oakland Mayor: All Police Report for Duty, all Other City Employees Join OWS Protests

I think it's safe to say that liberal Oakland mayor Jean Quan has either officially gone insane or the political pressure is so great, she's become utterly powerless while appearing as the person behind such an insane decision. After ordering the Oakland police to clear out protesters last week, Quan changed her mind and had police stand down and allow protesters to 're-occupy' the city. Now she seems to be presiding over the human equivalent of cock-fighting. We're talking Michael Vick territory on a human scale here. On Wednesday, November 2nd, she has ordered every police officer to report for work while encouraging every other city employee to take the day off and support OWS.

No, really.

Check out this open letter from the Oakland Police Officers' Association to the people of Oakland:

As your police officers, we are confused.

On Tuesday, October 25th, we were ordered by Mayor Quan to clear out the encampments at Frank Ogawa Plaza and to keep protesters out of the Plaza. We performed the job that the Mayor’s Administration asked us to do, being fully aware that past protests in Oakland have resulted in rioting, violence and destruction of property.

Then, on Wednesday, October 26th, the Mayor allowed protesters back in – to camp out at the very place they were evacuated from the day before.

To add to the confusion, the Administration issued a memo on Friday, October 28th to all City workers in support of the “Stop Work” strike scheduled for Wednesday, giving all employees, except for police officers, permission to take the day off.

That’s hundreds of City workers encouraged to take off work to participate in the protest against “the establishment.” But aren’t the Mayor and her Administration part of the establishment they are paying City employees to protest? Is it the City’s intention to have City employees on both sides of a skirmish line?

It is all very confusing to us.

Quan is likely a pawn in a much larger game that involves some key individuals. First, Van Jones got his start in Oakland years ago, protesting against police. He is also one of the key instigators of these protests. He warned people back in September that his 'Rebuild the Dream' effort would bring about an 'American autumn' similar to the 'Arab spring.' In many ways, this is likely a reason why Oakland has become a flashpoint for OWS.

Next, consider Rep. Barabara Lee (D-CA). Not only does she have an interesting history with Van Jones but Oakland is in her district. She was registered with the Democratic Socialists of America caucus as recently as 2009 and also supports OWS.

How about Obama's closest adviser, Valerie Jarrett? She sang Van Jones' praises back in 2009 and touted his work in Oakland as one of the reasons he was hired by the White House.

Then, of course, there is Barack Obama. He continues to express support for the OWS movement.

Oakland mayor Jean Quan is looking beyond foolish with this latest move but when it is put in the context of her likely doing the will of an extremely powerful political machine, it makes a bit more sense.

One thing is clear. By ordering all police to report for duty and all city employees to show up to protest, one is only left to conclude that someone wants confrontation, which is exactly the opposite of law and order.

Read more about this Oakland dynamic HERE. I also addressed this angle on my October 30th radio show.

h/t Hot Air

Video: Occupy Oakland Protester Admits Objects Hurled at Police

While being interviewed by Marxist MSNBC host, Lawrence O'Donnell, an Occupy Oakland protester singlehandedly blows the left wing narrative out of the water. That narrative is that police are brutalizing OWS protesters unnecessarily; the protesters are simply innocent victims of repression who are having their first amendment rights trampled. Lost on far too many people is that they are not law-abiding. When police tell law-abiding people to clear an area, law-abiding people do that. In this case, O'Donnell asks someone not entirely brushed up on all of the talking points, if protesters have been throwing objects at police. To the Obama administration's certain chagrin, she admits that they were.

Also, take note at the beginning of this clip, as MSNBC is running B-roll. Note the person in a wheelchair being pushed through the streets by a protester with a bandana over his face as the situation appears to be deteriorating. Why would a person in a wheelchair be smack dab in the middle of a violent situation? Uh, could it be so that any injury could be exploited like the one sustained by anti-war military veteran Scott Olsen?

Lawlessness is being championed. There's no other way to say it.



h/t GWP

Is Obama Administration Behind the Shameless Apology from Liberal Oakland Mayor?

Liberal mayor of Oakland Jean Quan (D) has apparently gotten her mind right. Late last week, her office issued a statement to protesters that said protests would not be allowed between the hours of 10pm - 6am. A few days later, police enforced that directive rather successfully. Mayor Quan then had the police stand down and allowed the protesters to 're-occupy' Oakland. Now, in the wake of the injury to Scott Olsen (the anti-Semitic, Marine-hating, Marine-veteran, IVAW member), Quan has apparently decided it's time to apologize and grovel to the protesters.

Is it time to ask if this groveling is the result of pressure from the Obama administration?

Remember, Oakland is the old stomping ground of former Obama appointee Van Jones, who is basically the force behind this movement. Though Jones resigned as Green Jobs czar back in 2009, he has been with Center for American Progress ever since, so he is still an integral part of the crafting of Obama administration policy directives. The CAP was identified by TIME Magazine as Obama's 'Idea Factory' and the Wall Street Journal reported that the administration took its cues from CAP when it came to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill back in 2010. Also, let us not forget that Obama's closest adviser - Valerie Jarrett - lauded the Jones' hiring in 2009 and even made reference to all the work he'd done in Oakland:



How about Rep. Barbara Lee (D), the congresswoman whose district includes Oakland? In addition to being a registered member with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) caucus, she has a rather interesting history with Van Jones that includes a mutual connection to the Committee of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS) according to 2009 article by Cliff Kincaid at Accuracy in Media. Kincaid also posted a portion of Lee's statement relative to the Jones appointment to the Obama administration:

“I am so very pleased that Van Jones, a constituent, friend and strong advocate for green jobs has been chosen to be a special advisor to the White House Council on Economic Quality…"

Like Obama and Jones, Lee continues to express support for the Occupy Oakland protesters. This week, she even admitted to talking with Oakland mayor Jean Quan to 'express her outrage.'

It was just this past September 29th that Jones warned everyone to 'hold on to your seats' because October was going to be America's equivalent to the Arab Spring. Apparently, in an effort to make that statement as literal as possible, one of the people behind Egypt's tech revolution - Ahmed Maher - was brought in as an adviser to Occupy Wall Street. He was even interviewed by Think Progress, which is basically the same organization at which Jones is a fellow (CAP). Jones is apparently even exploiting children for advantage. He tweeted an alleged witness account that rubber bullets were being fired at her while she walked a little girl away from the scene. Jones did not name this person and it smacks of a shameless attempt at exploitation of an incident based on hearsay, at best. This does nothing but enflame a volatile situation. Curiously, this is a tactic used consistently by Palestinians against Israelis. Anyone remember the case of Muhammad al-Dura, the boy whose death in 2000, was staged to make the Israelis look like villains?

Anyway, on Thursday, October 27th, Oakland mayor Jean Quan informed the public that the protesters would be allowed to re-occupy the city and on Friday, she doubled down by groveling to the protesters and issuing this shameless apology.

Question: What are the odds that Ms. Quan's mind was made right by Obama administration apparatchiks?



Via Breitbart

Videos: More from Occupy Oakland (Picking up from Previous Post)

In the previous post, I noted that protesters at Occupy Oakland vowed to return after being arrested and removed during a pre-dawn raid of their camp. Well, it appears they've decided to show up en masse, downtown and raise a bit of a ruckus. Again, there are a few very bad optics for these protesters. First, these flashmobs are creating the visible perception that cops are the underdogs based on sheer numbers. In the past, protesters weren't this big so the general public is likely willing to extend a bit more grace to law enforcement.

Second, the videos clearly show that police are bending over backwards to avoid being perceived as rougher than what is reasonable. Conversely, the protesters are coming across as deserving far more than what they're getting. Police are being cussed at and assaulted with paint bombs and tear gas (second video below).

Here are three videos courtesy of Verum Serum. The first is a view of the flashmob from several stories above. The second is an on-the-ground look at the same hodgepodge of miscreants who are being treated far too nicely. The third captures the moment when police have had enough and fire tear gas into a mass of humanity that had surrounded other officers. In essence, cops acted in self-defense. If these protesters are looking for sympathy, it increasingly looks like they could get much less of it. Remember, the mayor of Oakland is liberal Democrat, which brings an entirely new political angle into view. Liberal protesters being confronted by a liberal mayor in a very liberal city.

Lap it all up:







At some point, people should start finding Obama's silence deafening.

More at Verum Serum

Videos: Police Crack Down on Occupy Oakland, Following Orders of Liberal Mayor

The story of the Occupy Oakland protests is so wrought with irony, I can hardly stand it. This is Pelosi-country. Though OWS protests are happening all across the country, Oakland somehow became the most problematic for local government. Liberal Democrat Mayor Jean Quan issued orders last week that protesters had to vacate the premises by 10pm or they would be removed. Police didn't start carrying out the order until just before dawn on Tuesday, the 25th but carry it out they did. Oakland is also the place where none other than Van Jones got his start confronting police brutality as a communist sympathizer.

In the case of Occupy Oakland, Quan is supposed to be a sympathetic figure to the cause, right? Being a Democrat, it's going to be hard for the protesters to rationalize where to place the blame. Protesters lost this one for another reason as well. Since the 1960's, it's always been to the benefit of left wing whacko protesters to play the part of the victim when getting arrested. The optics always seemed to favor the miscreants and make the cops look like brutal minions of the state. That strategy doesn't seem to be working as well these days, nor should it. Law enforcement has actually been far too patient with these mental toddlers.

More good news? Protesters vowed to return and 're-claim' the park. Either way, that's a win for rational people. If they come back, Ms. Quan will continue to have to confront the manifestation of the liberalism she supports. If they don't return, Occupy Oakland dies.

HERE is a link to Quan's statement.

Via Breitbart:



h/t Hot Air

Here is more video from the Oakland Tribune: