Occupy Northern California

[ellipsis]

30 folks camping in front of the federal reserve bank on Market, daily general assemblies.

http://occupysf.com/

Planned Berkeley Occupation outside Bank of America 10/8

http://www.occupyberkeley.org/

Just letting folks know.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Whoa! This really is spreading like wildfire! :cool:

[tir1944]

I'd like to see Occupy Las Vegas protests...

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ That too!

[ellipsis]

occupy oakland has a facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003010185115&sk=wall

[Rusty Shackleford]

Occupy Sacramento
(http://www.facebook.com/#%21/event.php?eid=165400553546063)
for all you people in the region.

[Le Socialiste]

^ I'll have to pay closer attention to this. Hopefully I'll be able to go.

[o well this is ok I guess]

It seems that every city now has an "occupy" set up for it.

[Iraultzaile Ezkerreko]

Meh...in Atlanta they voted to make one of their demands a "FairTax"...I'm skeptical...

[Tablo]

Even Birmingham is planning one.
http://occupybirmingham.org/

[ellipsis]

Occupy SF-
Friday Night 25-30 campers
Sunday Night 75 campers

I went down to the camp twice today, including to the general assembly. A lot of the local anti-cap/radical scene is showing up, constituency seems to have fairly radical politics; we all rejected the idea of petitioning congress (in contrast to the demands of Occupy Wall st.) or using the current systems at all to address our grievances.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Even my little state of Maine has protest planned...

http://www.mpbn.net/News/MPBNNewsforVillageSoup/tabid/1144/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3695/ItemId/18307/Default.aspx

[agnixie]

I'd like to see Occupy Las Vegas protests...

An anarchist comrade is setting things up in Reno. Apparently he got some surprising turnout.

[Rusty Shackleford]

An anarchist comrade is setting things up in Reno. Apparently he got some surprising turnout.
i was JUST in Reno. damn...

[KurtFF8]

Meh...in Atlanta they voted to make one of their demands a "FairTax"...I'm skeptical...

It depends on where it is and who is organizing of course. I can see a lot of these having some confused politics.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Has anyone gotten any wind of anyone occupying Atlanta?

[ellipsis]

It depends on where it is and who is organizing of course. I can see a lot of these having some confused politics.

That they will. The fact that folks are in the streets and it is only growing as a "movement" is good. it is up to experienced and politically educated comrades to show up, become involved and help steer this things in radical directions.

[Ocean Seal]

http://occupyboston.com/

There's an occupy in my area. But the fuckers are coming to ruin it by taking the politics away.


Occupy Boston is good because the insanity needs to stop. This is beyond left and right, this about the middle class coming together. We need to stop letting the ruling class divide and conquer us, using wedge issues to keep us apart. We need to unite and take our country back.
http://southend.patch.com/articles/occupy-boston-beyond-left-and-right


We need to get in on these protests and stop bullshit about this being beyond left and right. Get in there, promote the anti-Obama anti-Tea Party, anti-Republican sentiment. The people want an answer. I think that they might be turning to us next. We can't fuck this up, like we did the first bailout.

[ellipsis]

We need to get in on these protests and stop bullshit about this being beyond left and right. Get in there, promote the anti-Obama anti-Tea Party, anti-Republican sentiment. The people want an answer. I think that they might be turning to us next. We can't fuck this up, like we did the first bailout.

I would suggest going down there then. I look forward to your report back.

[Tablo]

Wow, now Alabama is going to have four of these events. One in Birmingham, Auburn, Mobile, and Tuscaloosa. I don't think there will be much actual occupying going on, but there will certainly be some protests.

When people in Alabama are getting involved then you know this is definitely picking up steam.

[the last donut of the night]

lol at a quick glance i thought this was entitled "occupy north carolina"

i wish things were that good lol. but wow, this is pretty exciting. good work bois

rep tha west

[socialistjustin]

I'd like to see Occupy Las Vegas protests...

You're in luck as they are having one on Thursday. It's in front of the New York, New York.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

You're in luck as they are having one on Thursday. It's in front of the New York, New York.

I've got to know, did they pick the spot to occupy be NY, NY because the original started in NY or what?

[socialistjustin]

It's actually the starting point for a march. It makes sense that it would start there I guess. Not sure about the thinking behind it though.

[KurtFF8]

lol at a quick glance i thought this was entitled "occupy north carolina"

i wish things were that good lol. but wow, this is pretty exciting. good work bois

rep tha west

Well they have been started in over 200 cities, I'm sure at least one or two in NC http://www.meetup.com/occupytogether/

I would assume the Ashville or Durham areas have folks trying to start one at least.

[ellipsis]

occupy oakland held a general assembly, agreed to occupy.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/305427_104087486368257_100003010185115_33302_12232 21817_n.jpg

[ellipsis]

Also edited title to reflect the direction of thread.

[CAleftist]

Thanks for the thread. Will follow developments.

[Le Socialiste]

Occupy SF-
Friday Night 25-30 campers
Sunday Night 75 campers

I went down to the camp twice today, including to the general assembly. A lot of the local anti-cap/radical scene is showing up, constituency seems to have fairly radical politics; we all rejected the idea of petitioning congress (in contrast to the demands of Occupy Wall st.) or using the current systems at all to address our grievances.

That's pretty encouraging. Anything else happen since then?

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

On occupy SF website


Watch Now: www.livestream.com/globalrevolution (http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution)


John Avalos, member of the Board of Supervisors, is on his way.

The police have said that they will move in at 12:00 AM.

Call all city officials: http://sfpl.org/pdf/main/gic/sfpl_903_contact_legislator.pdf

MOBILIZE MOBILIZE MOBILIZE! THEY HAVE AGITATED THE BEAST! WE NEED PEOPLE HERE NOW, TOMORROW, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! WE MUST GROW! THE OCCUPATION MUST CONTINUE!


Five Department of Public Work's Trucks, Five Police vans, many police cruisers and over Fifty Police. Come now. Call media! We need legal observers now!


We just received this notice from the City police. Please come to the camp immediately. We need everyone we can. Please call Mayor Ed Lee, Board of Supervisors, and the District Attorney's office immediately. There is no date on the letter, there is no author. The letter is not official. Call them and leave a message NOW!

The Police chief has just spoken to us again. Although we have complied with removing shelters, he is still planning to arrest people.http://www.occupysf.com/

[ellipsis]

shit went down in SF; from bay of rage (http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/night-of-the-barricades/)


On the night of October 6th San Francisco Police attacked the Occupy SF (http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/night-of-the-barricades/occupysf.com)encampment at the Federal Building on Market and Drum. After a day in which 800 people marched (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/05/BA121LDU5B.DTL&tsp=1)through downtown San Francisco in solidarity with the occupation of Wall Street in New York and elsewhere around the country, hundreds gathered at the site of the occupation. However by evening the police had administered an eviction notice to the occupiers (http://occupysf.com/blog/19-city-of-san-francisco-notification)claiming that the police would move in at midnight alongside the Department of Public Works to clear the plaza. Roughly around 10pm the police began to gather a block away from the occupation. Word circulated quickly and as both the occupiers and the police prepared roughly 150 people assembled at the occupation. After a few hours of waiting, debate, and nervous conversations within the occupation the police finally made their first move. Marching down the street, adorned with helmets and batons, the police escorted a line of Department of Public Works Vehicles. Standing between the occupiers and the living spaces that had been created since the occupations’ beginning, Department of Public Works workers were then forced to begin eradicating the space of any materials related to the occupation. The trucks were quickly filled with the same rapidity as the mood in the air began to intensify. Almost spontaneously a large wooden pallet that the vehicles had not yet managed to collect was brought in front of one of the trucks. Immediately others began to follow bringing bodies and all material left behind in the encampment and surrounded the police and Department of Public Works vehicles. People grabbed anything they could find – garbage cans, street signs, cones and even the police’s own metal barricades to prevent the trucks from leaving as well as corner the police. While the police had tried to encircle and intimidate the occupation those there quickly used the opportunity to encircle and intimidate the police. As the SFPD closed in on the trucks standing off with what was now hundreds of people on market street and beautifully constructed barricades, they began to make way for the vehicles to leave. This created a series of small scuffles. Eventually the vehicles left and the barricades stood proudly on market street between the starry twilight of 230am and the confused fright of the SFPD.

The night was an incredibly powerful reflection of not only what is possible but the emergent potential of the Occupy movement. After the police announced that the occupation was going to be raided the occupiers began to decide what to do. The conversation was disparate, timid and unstable. This was directly caused by a few dominant voices controlling a decision making process in a situation that needed immediate attention. As the police came in this timidity, instability and disparity disappeared as all collectively participated in activity that reflected the needs of the immediate situation. No longer was the conversation dominated, but all voices flourished in the streets. People also held together and refused to be the targets of police violence. Instead people collectively resisted the attacks by the police by directly interfering with their ability to function as police by constructing barricades. Their antagonism towards the police was a direct reflection of the immediate goal of responding to a police raid. This act of self-defense was also an offensive direct action and strengthened both the solidarity amongst the participants and the potential for antagonistic expansion.

If these occupations are to both survive and continue they must be protected from the police by any means necessary.

As the barricades multiply almost everywhere, though within a limited perimeter, the security forces receive reinforcements from units that had until then been positioned outside the Latin Quarter and close down the area, which with each passing minute takes on an insurrectional air. - Le Monde, May 12-13, 1968

[Rusty Shackleford]

Occupy Sacramento begins in little more than an hour. not gonna unfurl the red banners right away :lol:

[Welshy]

Just out of curiosity, has then been any attempts at building solidarity towards the hunger strikes going on in the Californian prisons with in the occupy X movement in the state?

EDIT: changed 'and' to 'with in'

[ellipsis]

occupy x movement? TBH I have only been visiting, so I am not sure what they have been up to. but there is a hunger strike solidarity movement in SF.

[ellipsis]

ANSWER Coalition ended their 500 person march for the 10th anniversary of the afghan war at the OccupySF camp last night, joining the 100-200 people already in camp.

Folks from prison/pelican bay solidarity movement were present at the answer rally and therefor occupy sf, to answer welshy's question.

[Rusty Shackleford]

our ANSWER demo in Sacramento was modified into an anti-war (at the fed) then anti-bank (BofA) march and protest. A large number of Occupy Sacramento people joined in. Was militant as fuck. First time i heard a crowd of people sing "Solidarity forever" while marching, and people cheered to "Victory to the afghanis, victory to the iraqis, victory to the palestinians' though not all of them lol.


Also, Occupy Sac is fucking annoying sometimes. the non-leader leaders are dicks to say the least. the most vocal people keep talking about loving the police, and the arrests on Thursday night happened for nothing. no program was adopted by Occupy Sacto before the arrests happened. and the organizers were all about talking with the police and ended up giving names over, even for people who were not going to be arrested. plus, the donate money went to get food. but get this. the fucking organizers ordered GOURMET PIZZA with donated money. The places is called the "Hot Italian (http://www.hotitalian.net/)" and literally is a hipster's pizzeria. Then, the organizers are buying food for themselves too. They tried to get a vote going on whether to rent port-a-potty's when the park has 24 hr facilities! fucking dolts.




mother fuckers. This shit just makes me rage at privileged 'anarchists(*who are running the show, most of whom are from a ritzy part of town)' who for the most part do not show up to ANYTHING else in the last year are suddenly the fucking leaders of a local section of a nation wide movement? these fuckers dont even run it democratically..



oh and those Hot Italian pizzas average out to a minimum of $10 a pop http://www.hotitalian.net/eat/menu

[coda]

<<The fact that folks are in the streets and it is only growing as a "movement" is good. it is up to experienced and politically educated comrades to show up, become involved and help steer this things in radical directions.>>

I totally agree!!! People are frustrated and going to be very receptive to ideas that will help them out of their situation. Radical perspective needs to be drifting out there in amongst the crowds. I totally love that this is localized and decentralized.

[Le Socialiste]

our ANSWER demo in Sacramento was modified into an anti-war (at the fed) then anti-bank (BofA) march and protest. A large number of Occupy Sacramento people joined in. Was militant as fuck. First time i heard a crowd of people sing "Solidarity forever" while marching, and people cheered to "Victory to the afghanis, victory to the iraqis, victory to the palestinians' though not all of them lol.


Also, Occupy Sac is fucking annoying sometimes. the non-leader leaders are dicks to say the least. the most vocal people keep talking about loving the police, and the arrests on Thursday night happened for nothing. no program was adopted by Occupy Sacto before the arrests happened. and the organizers were all about talking with the police and ended up giving names over, even for people who were not going to be arrested. plus, the donate money went to get food. but get this. the fucking organizers ordered GOURMET PIZZA with donated money. The places is called the "Hot Italian (http://www.hotitalian.net/)" and literally is a hipster's pizzeria. Then, the organizers are buying food for themselves too. They tried to get a vote going on whether to rent port-a-potty's when the park has 24 hr facilities! fucking dolts.




mother fuckers. This shit just makes me rage at privileged 'anarchists(*who are running the show, most of whom are from a ritzy part of town)' who for the most part do not show up to ANYTHING else in the last year are suddenly the fucking leaders of a local section of a nation wide movement? these fuckers dont even run it democratically..



oh and those Hot Italian pizzas average out to a minimum of $10 a pop http://www.hotitalian.net/eat/menu

Fuck, that pisses me off. I haven't be able to make it yet, but hopefully I'll be able to in the near future.


This shit just makes me rage at privileged 'anarchists(*who are running the show, most of whom are from a ritzy part of town)' who for the most part do not show up to ANYTHING else in the last year are suddenly the fucking leaders of a local section of a nation wide movement? these fuckers dont even run it democratically..

Well then, they're not exactly anarchists are they? :D

[eric922]

Occupy Knoxville in TN, had a good turnout for our first march last night. Over 400+ people showed up. The movement was fixed between mostly social-democrat types and true socialists. We had one member of the Socialist Worker there handing out his party's newspaper. I got the the last copy of the paper so people must have been open to the idea of an alternative. The two of us talked about organizing a chapter of the party in Knoxville.

We had our general assembly today and there were 6 socialists there. At the march a few of my friends from the University were there, two of whom I know to be Marxists.

Just thought I"d share my experiences.

[agnixie]

Just out of curiosity, has then been any attempts at building solidarity towards the hunger strikes going on in the Californian prisons with in the occupy X movement in the state?

EDIT: changed 'and' to 'with in'

It was mentioned, I'm pretty sure we transmitted some of the messages but there's a lot of stuff where it's been hard to keep track, so bringing it up again might be good and important.

[wunderbar]

I second everything Rusty Shackleford said, Occupy Sacramento is turning to shit. They keep emphasizing that this is a leaderless movement/event, while it's always the same 3 or 4 people who are leading the general assembly and monopolizing the megaphones. One idiot "leader" who was preaching the gold standard on day one has been really irritating, since he gives a variation of the same fucking almost-no-substance speech any time he has the opportunity to grab the megaphone. Besides that, the "leaders" have tried keep some people from speaking, especially when they have criticisms of their leadership, and have been downright rude to dissenting opinions. One of them in particular yelled at someone to "shut their piehole" when they asked why we were going to even bother trying to appeal to elected officials. I got a cold reception yesterday when I suggested that we elect a couple people as leaders with the ability to recall them.

For a group that keeps complaining about negative news coverage from local media, they sure as hell aren't helping things by their hostility toward media. Someone yesterday ordered others to block news cameras because he didn't want to be filmed, and someone else tried to forcibly turn off another channel's camera. This same leaderless group also proclaimed that there would be no more interviews given to local news.

The whole consensus method has so far just been a way to waste time. It took over half an hour for the assembly to decide that anyone who wanted to could go take part in a pro-medical marijuana demonstration held a couple blocks away. Other important decisions that have been made include changing the system of voting from "raised hand = yes" to "wiggling your hands in the air = yes".

I hope occupations in other cities are going well, but the Sacramento one so far is awash in lifestyle politics (many solutions I've heard have amounted to TURN OFF YOUR TV and GROW YOUR OWN FOOD) and total avoidance of politics except for the general FUCK WALL STREET and MONEY OUT OF POLITICS lines. I was so fed up with the general assembly bullshit yesterday that I couldn't even be bothered to turn up today. I probably won't show up tomorrow either. If it weren't for the ANSWER antiwar protest/bank march last night, yesterday would have been a total waste.

Don't even get me started on the total cop asskissing that's been happening.

/rant

[ellipsis]

Rusty- I am not sure I see why buying quality pizza instead of say domino's is such an issue. Or buying food for the organizers with the camps money. Isn't the money there to support the camp with food and such?

Also, I know you work, etc. but if you don't like what you see, then I would recommend you attempt to steer things through your participation, at least in discussion if not other areas. That is the beauty of this type of organizing. People I organize with as well as myself have been doing this in SF, e.g. during the discussion of non-violence the day after the clash with police

[ellipsis]

I second everything Rusty Shackleford said, Occupy Sacramento is turning to shit. They keep emphasizing that this is a leaderless movement/event, while it's always the same 3 or 4 people who are leading the general assembly and monopolizing the megaphones. One idiot "leader" who was preaching the gold standard on day one has been really irritating, since he gives a variation of the same fucking almost-no-substance speech any time he has the opportunity to grab the megaphone. Besides that, the "leaders" have tried keep some people from speaking, especially when they have criticisms of their leadership, and have been downright rude to dissenting opinions. One of them in particular yelled at someone to "shut their piehole" when they asked why we were going to even bother trying to appeal to elected officials. I got a cold reception yesterday when I suggested that we elect a couple people as leaders with the ability to recall them.

For a group that keeps complaining about negative news coverage from local media, they sure as hell aren't helping things by their hostility toward media. Someone yesterday ordered others to block news cameras because he didn't want to be filmed, and someone else tried to forcibly turn off another channel's camera. This same leaderless group also proclaimed that there would be no more interviews given to local news.

The whole consensus method has so far just been a way to waste time. It took over half an hour for the assembly to decide that anyone who wanted to could go take part in a pro-medical marijuana demonstration held a couple blocks away. Other important decisions that have been made include changing the system of voting from "raised hand = yes" to "wiggling your hands in the air = yes".

I hope occupations in other cities are going well, but the Sacramento one so far is awash in lifestyle politics (many solutions I've heard have amounted to TURN OFF YOUR TV and GROW YOUR OWN FOOD) and total avoidance of politics except for the general FUCK WALL STREET and MONEY OUT OF POLITICS lines. I was so fed up with the general assembly bullshit yesterday that I couldn't even be bothered to turn up today. I probably won't show up tomorrow either. If it weren't for the ANSWER antiwar protest/bank march last night, yesterday would have been a total waste.

Don't even get me started on the total cop asskissing that's been happening.

/rant

Haha that does sound kinda horrible... OccupySF is definitely structured less hierarchically than you make OccupySac sound. But I would agree that the general assembly format is pretty slow and ridiculous, most of these people have no organizing experience so I think lots of patience is warranted.

I guess I'll hold judgement until I see how many OccupySF folks show up for monday's homes not jails action.:D

[wunderbar]

Also, I know you work, etc. but if you don't like what you see, then I would recommend you attempt to steer things through your participation, at least in discussion if not other areas. That is the beauty of this type of organizing. People I organize with as well as myself have been doing this in SF, e.g. during the discussion of non-violence the day after the clash with police

Myself and other radicals have attempted to steer things and voice our perspectives. It either falls on deaf ears, the unelected leaders tell us why we're wrong and they're right, or it's well received by the crowd but they promptly forget it the next time some bullshit happens.

[Tablo]

Hearing about the occupation in Sacramento makes me a bit uneasy. The protests in Alabama are starting soon and I'm scared about what kind of people will be involved and I really don't want the event to be co-opted by lolbertarians and I am concerned about the potential 'leadership'. Any thoughts on how I should make sure no idiots become leadership figures? Any ideas how I can steer the events in my state towards more left wing and more anti-police in leaning?

[wunderbar]

Speak out, emphasize why electing leaders is important (because otherwise others will take on the job themselves with NO election). Also, warn people about the risks of groupthink with consensus decision making, and the importance of an environment open to dissenting views and where people don't feel like they need to walk on eggshells if they think they have an unpopular opinion.

[ellipsis]

Hearing about the occupation in Sacramento makes me a bit uneasy. The protests in Alabama are starting soon and I'm scared about what kind of people will be involved and I really don't want the event to be co-opted by lolbertarians and I am concerned about the potential 'leadership'. Any thoughts on how I should make sure no idiots become leadership figures? Any ideas how I can steer the events in my state towards more left wing and more anti-police in leaning?

Camp and participate. Ideally, each assembly elects a facilitator, stack person, and minute taker, rotating leadership of committees, etc. Cross your fingers.

Also use the opportunity to talk to people, flier for your group or cause of choice. Even if the occupation itself will be shit, you can still take advantage of both the literal and figurative "space" created by the action. If you are a part of a group, get a contact/email list sign up going, etc.

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

Watch out for the infowars weirdos, those fuckers are craaazy.

[Tablo]

Camp and participate. Ideally, each assembly elects a facilitator, stack person, and minute taker, rotating leadership of committees, etc. Cross your fingers.

Also use the opportunity to talk to people, flier for your group or cause of choice. Even if the occupation itself will be shit, you can still take advantage of both the literal and figurative "space" created by the action. If you are a part of a group, get a contact/email list sign up going, etc.
Alright. I don't have a group or cause to represent so much. I just want to inject some anti-capitalism into this. I want to give some real solutions before the liberals take total control.

It sucks that my optimism has drained away, but I really want to get something good out of this new movement.

[ellipsis]

Alright. I don't have a group or cause to represent so much.

Some know your rights/don't talk to the cops literature would probably be useful.

Also, 2000th post!

[Rusty Shackleford]

Rusty- I am not sure I see why buying quality pizza instead of say domino's is such an issue. Or buying food for the organizers with the camps money. Isn't the money there to support the camp with food and such?

Also, I know you work, etc. but if you don't like what you see, then I would recommend you attempt to steer things through your participation, at least in discussion if not other areas. That is the beauty of this type of organizing. People I organize with as well as myself have been doing this in SF, e.g. during the discussion of non-violence the day after the clash with police
ill let you in on what the "Hot Italian" pizza is like.


no substance. it was all thin crusted non filling 16 at most inch pizzas (circumference)
they could have doubled the volume and bought a shit ton of little caesars(which is more filling per slice than that decadent crap). i didnt hear of a single vote on 'what to buy.'

ill probably stop by for monday to see what is going on. ill probably also be taking part in any volunteer positions to try to steer it. Being affiliated with an organization though makes it so i cannot just go up and rail against anything though. im mostly venting my frustrations but it seems there is some bullshit going on.

[ellipsis]

an encouraging sample of literature available at occupysf

http://www.revleft.com/vb/picture.php?albumid=324&pictureid=8615

[socialistjustin]

There is another action planned for the 15th in Vegas. I will be sure to let everybody know about this action when they decide where the action will take place. Sounds like downtown. I will distribute NHIA's leaflet if I go.

[ellipsis]

An OccupySF contingent joined with homes not jails last night to occupy 3 buildings totaling 700 housing units.

[Magón]

an encouraging sample of literature available at occupysf

http://www.revleft.com/vb/picture.php?albumid=324&pictureid=8615

Are those your kicks?

[ellipsis]

Are those your kicks?

Those are my freegan kicks.

If my toes aren't in the picture, how will you know if I took it?:D

[Magón]

Those are my freegan kicks.

If my toes aren't in the picture, how will you know if I took it?:D

We have the same shoe. And my laces aren't laced at the front like that either. :lol:

[ellipsis]

We have the same shoe. And my laces aren't laced at the front like that either. :lol:

Mine just have an elastic at the top, by design. Shoe laces are the nooses of the proletariat.

[ellipsis]

This morning/right now, Occupy SF marched to Wells Fargo headquarters and encircled the building with sit in. 12 arrested for blocking entrances so far. They are still there.

[socialistjustin]

Occupy Las Vegas will have a march starting on the Fremont Street Experience on Saturday starting at 4. Great starting point for the march as there is a lot of government buildings and such downtown.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Occupy Oakland has had a "be-in" vibe with music and dancing open pot smoking etc. People are really open to talking politics and in general it has been very exciting. There are some elephants in the plaza so to speak because the local political establishment has been trying to stay ahead of the protest and there is even a city council member sleeping in the camp:confused:. On Friday the mayor wants to march and speak... there's no emoticon for my reaction to that. Anyway, so I think that means we need to argue to keep on pushing it forward to the point that the establishment (who support gang-injunctions, the spiritual and political opposite of the 'be-in') exposes themselves... let's have occupy the plaza and the big street next to it with a nice big East Bay sideshow... ghostride the mayor's office!

[ellipsis]

open pot smoking etc.

At occupysf, you are supposed to leave camp/"cross a street" to smoke pot or tobacco, which makes this "liberated zone" the ONLY place in SF where you CAN'T smoke weed on the street.:laugh: I pick my battles so I haven't taken issue with this policy yet.

Also apparently a protester at occupysf waved some weed in front of a cop, taunting the fact that he was a legal medical weed patient and the cop couldn't do anything. so the cop tackled him, detained him for hours and then released him without charges.

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/193018/slide_193018_399367_large.jpg

/sidenoteonweed

[Rusty Shackleford]

At occupy sac, you cant smoke in Cesar Chavez park. even though it is against the law to do so, only once have i been stopped by police for smoking inside. other times, ive done it right in front of them. the argument from the organizers is that it helps 'make the police's job easier.' now, if it were for 'dont smoke near kids' i would be fine. and i usually move away from kids when i smoke. but yeah. its kind of funny.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Even under normal circumstances, I get hella paranoid when people around me smoke weed in the open (if they are passing it to me or not) for that exact tackling issue. I've been harassed by cops for more leagaler things like handing out fliers or standing by a 7-11, so I think it's the best policy not to push your luck when there are times when you may want to get arrested for a protest or direct action or civil disobedience or whatnot - pick your battles. But anyway, I was just reporting what the atmosphere was like. It seems like different locations are taking on different atmospheres depending on what the conditions are like. At some point, Oakland is going to have to come up with some BS reason - like "sanitation concerns" - to reverse their support of the occupation, then we will see how people respond to that challenge.

[Rusty Shackleford]

the sanitation card was played in NY and failed. people are pretty aware of that one.

also, just for the record, i wasnt talking about weed, but tobacco.

[socialistjustin]

Occupy Las Vegas will have a factually correct name on the 21st as they are going to occupy something. The march tomorrow will end with meetings so I will try my hardest to stay throughout the entire thing to find out everything.


Just realized that if they occupy stuff I can finally find an excuse to dump all of the books I don't read. Awesome.

[A Marxist Historian]

At occupysf, you are supposed to leave camp/"cross a street" to smoke pot or tobacco, which makes this "liberated zone" the ONLY place in SF where you CAN'T smoke weed on the street.:laugh: I pick my battles so I haven't taken issue with this policy yet.

Also apparently a protester at occupysf waved some weed in front of a cop, taunting the fact that he was a legal medical weed patient and the cop couldn't do anything. so the cop tackled him, detained him for hours and then released him without charges.

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/193018/slide_193018_399367_large.jpg

/sidenoteonweed

Very sensible for once on the part of the organizers. I can just see the SF police busting the whole thing on the grounds that horrors, tobacco is being smoked, creating a second hand smoke health hazard.

Yes, if possible pot and tobacco smoking should be banned by the occupiers, and everywhere else in SF and Oakland is where people should be free to do whatever they like. Well, maybe not pot in Oakland, being as much of the Oakland bourgeoisie are invested in the marijuana business now, so you are more likely to be busted for tobacco than pot.

Those are the kind of bare minimal microsacrifices that any radical movement should take in stride.

-M.H.-

[ellipsis]

from bay of rage

The first excursion out of Occupy Oakland – An Anticapitalist March (http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/the-first-excursion-out-of-occupy-oakland-an-anticapitalist-march/)

Posted by OaklandCommune (http://www.bayofrage.com/author/oaklandcommune/) on October 15, 2011


http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/anticapitalist_march.jpg

This Friday, Oct 14th, the 5th day of Occupy Oakland, an anti-capitalist bloc led the first march out of Oscar Grant Plaza (Frank Ogawa Plaza). A diverse crowd of at least 200 chanted “Fuck the police, we don’t need ‘em. All we want is total freedom”, “Burn the Banks”, and “ 1, 2, 3, 4 – organize for social war” throughout the demonstration. The march started from 14th and Broadway where we circled around the plaza, stopping at the State Building briefly, and then proceeded to the Oakland city jail by going down Telegraph and then snaking our way through Old Oakland. At the jail, bullhorns, air horns, more chants and announcements of support echoed through the cages inside the stark narrow building. Prisoners inside responded with noise and wild gestures barely visible through the slit windows of the north facing cells. Someone made an announcement about the ongoing hunger strike of over 12,000 prisoners taking place in California prisons and that some of their demands consist of better living conditions, medical care, and an end to solitary confinement.

Joining the march was a significant contingent of members of the local Muslim community who held their Friday prayers shortly before the march set off. An Imam who participated in the march later offered his full support of the Occupation and stressed the importance of solidarity and self-organization. Confrontational rhetoric is too often feared as being alienating to hypothetical communities but, in moments of crisis and revolt, many people are immediately interested in identifying with the radical spirit of the moment. People recognize themselves in the struggles of others and often go beyond what they might deem to be politically acceptable in the normal sense. The once “alienating” slogans of past years, “Occupy Everything” et al, have now become standard and the least controversial of chants.

As the march returned to the occupation, so did the police. They lined themselves along the corner of 14th and Broadway. But it was all in vein. Within minutes, the crowd retreated from the steps of city hall, where they were rallying, and forced the police off the sidewalk and into the street through chants such as “Cops get out!” and “Pigs go home!” They eventually got back into their cruisers and left the occupation.

Amidst the recent resignation of Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts, the police appeared as if they were receiving mixed messages through their line of command and to be in disarray as they escorted the march through downtown. In full riot gear, their attempt to appear as peacekeepers and public servants was transparently deceptive. This made it easy for those in the march to maintain a contentious presence – confident and without fear of police intervention, even when the police attempted to block our route to the jail and intimidate people once the march returned to the occupation.

Rather than “mic-checks” (which in our opinion, and apparently in many others’ who are participating in Occupy Oakland, create a space for loud leader-types that falsely alludes to consensus) Occupy Oakland’s general assemblies are facilitated and participated in through an amplified sound system. This is done in defiance of the city’s request that we do not use amplified sound (unlike other occupiers in other cities who have conceded to the demands of local government and police). We mention this to demonstrate the success of having a non-compliance position with those who seek to control and co-opt our efforts. We hope others participating in occupations around North America do the same. Several days earlier, Lupe Fiasco was asked if he would like to say anything after delivering much needed supplies to Occupy Oakland. While he did end up getting coaxed into speaking to the crowd, he initially responded, “Nah. Actions speak louder than words.” This phrase, however vague and over-used, narrates well the overall tone of Occupy Oakland. The ferocity of this first action and the rejection of the use of “mic-checks” demonstrates this perfectly.
A combination of the radical, collective history of Oakland and a consistent agitational force is greatly responsible for the high spirits and confrontational nature of this occupation. Today’s march is inspired by this history as well as young people with fresh ideas informed by their absent future. While the police are forced to adapt to their current circumstance, we have staged an environment that requires its participants to constantly recreate themselves. If not to keep the police on their toes, then to ensure that we are always interacting with one another in reverence to the Town’s history while engaging with the ever-decaying present.

Expect a full analysis and report back of the first week of Occupy Oakland this coming Monday.

With love,
An affinity group within Occupy Oakland

[ellipsis]

Folks interested in keeping up with the anti-cap presence at occupy oakland, in the bay area in general should read Bay of Rage (http://www.bayofrage.com/)

[ellipsis]

Even under normal circumstances, I get hella paranoid when people around me smoke weed in the open (if they are passing it to me or not) for that exact tackling issue. I've been harassed by cops for more leagaler things like handing out fliers or standing by a 7-11, so I think it's the best policy not to push your luck when there are times when you may want to get arrested for a protest or direct action or civil disobedience or whatnot - pick your battles. But anyway, I was just reporting what the atmosphere was like. It seems like different locations are taking on different atmospheres depending on what the conditions are like. At some point, Oakland is going to have to come up with some BS reason - like "sanitation concerns" - to reverse their support of the occupation, then we will see how people respond to that challenge.

On that note, i was smoking a spliff with some comrades at the rally after this years mayday march, and this cop started walking up and staring us down, so we hid the spliff and we kept staring eachother down, then a gust of wind blew a sign over, really loud, thus creating the perfect diversion.

[ellipsis]

Danny Glover at Occupy Oakland, who knew he was such an orator?

50IXNRiIuWg

[ellipsis]

My blog post, a tactical analysis of occupy sf's first confrontation with the police


http://www.bayofrage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/barricades_sf_1.jpg


Recently, I received a call of solidarity and to action via social media around midnight. The OccupySF encampment was facing eviction by police. Comrades were in trouble so I raced to downtown San Francisco to show the members of the encampment, many of whom are from out of town, some real SF solidarity and how we handle the cops. Bay of Rage had this fantastic account of what went down (http://www.bayofrage.com/from-the-bay/night-of-the-barricades/), posted in less than 4 hours, which was impressive.

On the night of October 6th San Francisco Police attacked the Occupy SF encampment at the Federal Building on Market and Drum. After a day in which 800 people marched (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/05/BA121LDU5B.DTL&tsp=1)through downtown San Francisco in solidarity with the occupation of Wall Street in New York and elsewhere around the country, hundreds gathered at the site of the occupation. However by evening the police had administered an eviction notice to the occupiers (http://occupysf.com/blog/19-city-of-san-francisco-notification)claiming that the police would move in at midnight alongside the Department of Public Works to clear the plaza. Roughly around 10pm the police began to gather a block away from the occupation. Word circulated quickly and as both the occupiers and the police prepared roughly 150 people assembled at the occupation. After a few hours of waiting, debate, and nervous conversations within the occupation the police finally made their first move. Marching down the street, adorned with helmets and batons, the police escorted a line of Department of Public Works Vehicles. Standing between the occupiers and the living spaces that had been created since the occupations’ beginning, Department of Public Works workers were then forced to begin eradicating the space of any materials related to the occupation. The trucks were quickly filled with the same rapidity as the mood in the air began to intensify.




Almost spontaneously a large wooden pallet that the vehicles had not yet managed to collect was brought in front of one of the trucks. Immediately others began to follow bringing bodies and all material left behind in the encampment and surrounded the police and Department of Public Works vehicles. People grabbed anything they could find – garbage cans, street signs, cones and even the police’s own metal barricades to prevent the trucks from leaving as well as corner the police. While the police had tried to encircle and intimidate the occupation those there quickly used the opportunity to encircle and intimidate the police. As the SFPD closed in on the trucks standing off with what was now hundreds of people on market street and beautifully constructed barricades, they began to make way for the vehicles to leave. This created a series of small scuffles. Eventually the vehicles left and the barricades stood proudly on market street between the starry twilight of 2:30am and the confused fright of the SFPD.
Having bore witness to these events, I wanted to share my tactical assessment the confrontation between the police and the occupiers.

The first thing that stands out in my mind is how quickly things escalated. At first I stood in disgust as people literally sat down, chanted ohm, and sang "We Shall Overcome" while the police were robbing their entire encampment. But soon people started to talk about blocking the trucks from leaving and encouraging others to do so. People, myself included hesitated but then one by one we all took to the street to block the DPW trucks.

Soon after, one person began to drag pallets out into the streets, then dozens followed his lead. I can not emphasize enough the spontaneity of the moment, these were not local anarchists who had marched together in the past, TOTAL STRANGERS were organically acting in unison to completely encircle the police and city trucks. The pallets soon formed a solid barrier; a comrade had the great ideas of lashing the elements of the barricade together with rope and bungee cords.

The cops, despite their best efforts at encirclement faced multiple rings of resistance, first people laying and sitting in the streets immediately in front of the police, then the barricades, then all the other protesters. They clearly were not expecting this level of resistance and only deployed one battalion (40 cops) and back up was a long time coming; in other words the police were outnumbered by protesters, almost 5:1. The protesters controlled the front line and had complete operational freedom in the other 300 degrees of the intersection, which allowed people to gather debris from up to a block away and deposit it in the street without fear of arrest. Because of the late/early hour, there were no pedestrians or business owners to get in the way or further complicate things, which further added to our tactical advantage.

It was an inspiring and beautiful moment to be a part of.

[wunderbar]

http://i.imgur.com/bPa2E.jpg

I'm looking forward to this, some IWW members from elsewhere will likely be coming to Sacramento tomorrow for this march.

[Rusty Shackleford]

unfortunately my broke ass cant make it

[ellipsis]

Campus police at UC berkeley tried to stop a camp from becoming established earlier today. I was in the area on unrelated business and could have sworn there was a predator drone that did a couple of passes. No joke.

One student and one professor are in urgent care after police beat them. Five arrests.

buovLQ9qyWQ

[Le Socialiste]

Campus police at UC berkeley tried to stop a camp from becoming established earlier today. I was in the area on unrelated business and could have sworn there was a predator drone that did a couple of passes. No joke.

One student and one professor are in urgent care after police beat them. Five arrests.

I heard about the plans to occupy Cal while attending orientation (CalSO) last friday, and couldn't help but wonder how it went today. You say UC Berkeley police tried to stop a camp from being established...does this mean the students were successful? Hope the student and professor are okay.

[ellipsis]

I heard about the plans to occupy Cal while attending orientation (CalSO) last friday, and couldn't help but wonder how it went today. You say UC Berkeley police tried to stop a camp from being established...does this mean the students were successful? Hope the student and professor are okay.

When I was there they still had a handful of tents up and were holding a GA. I just got word riot cops moved in and are tearing up tents, no arrests yet.

[Le Socialiste]

When I was there they still had a handful of tents up and were holding a GA. I just got word riot cops moved in and are tearing up tents, no arrests yet.

Thanks. I haven't heard anything at all about any possible "Occupy Berkeley" demonstrations - does the city not have one? You hear about San Francisco and Oakland, but I haven't head a thing about Berkeley. Which leads me to my next question: the Bay Area has always struck me as a hotbed for leftist activty, but I don't see much activity coming Berkeley (as opposed to Oakland and SF). Is the former less active than its counterparts?

[ellipsis]

Thanks. I haven't heard anything at all about any possible "Occupy Berkeley" demonstrations - does the city not have one? You hear about San Francisco and Oakland, but I haven't head a thing about Berkeley. Which leads me to my next question: the Bay Area has always struck me as a hotbed for leftist activty, but I don't see much activity coming Berkeley (as opposed to Oakland and SF). Is the former less active than its counterparts?

I drove by the Occupy Berkeley camp today, it was very small and relatively deserted, a ghost town. I haven't heard a thing about it.

Berkeley has a lot going on, mostly centered around the student movement at UC, in my estimation.

I am in the city and not that connected the east bay, so im not the person to ask, but you are right almost all of my east bay comrades are in oakland. better squatting in oakland.

[ellipsis]

Police did come back, faced with 2000 protester, apparently have retreated. Above video going viral.

[ellipsis]

Now they are talking about a strike at the school.

[A Marxist Historian]

I drove by the Occupy Berkeley camp today, it was very small and relatively deserted, a ghost town. I haven't heard a thing about it.

Berkeley has a lot going on, mostly centered around the student movement at UC, in my estimation.

I am in the city and not that connected the east bay, so im not the person to ask, but you are right almost all of my east bay comrades are in oakland. better squatting in oakland.

I've been to Occupy Berkeley. The polar opposite of Occupy Oakland, ultraliberal, ultrapacifist, cultist obsession with hand wiggling, friendly relations with the liberal Berkeley city government, small and utterly unimportant. A zombie affair.

What's interesting is absolutely *no* attempts to revive Peoples Park, which still exists on paper, sort of, but was a total failure, and is totally ignored by everybody even Occupy Berkeley. Being as Peoples Park is exactly what most Occupy Wall Street activists have been trying to recreate, whether they realize it or not. Those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it...

Now however Occupy *UC Berkeley* and things like it would be *exactly* the right way to carry the movement forward to a new stage. Much better than occupying an abandoned building to keep warm!

Better yet, if the longshoremen could occupy the Port of Oakland, like auto workers occupied auto plants in the 1930s... But you have to learn to walk before you can crawl, and the labor movement is unfortunately a long way from that.

Which is why the State comes down on Occupy UC so heavily and immediately. This is exactly the kind of thing they fear.

-M.H.-

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Regarding what happened at UC Berkeley in the video posted earlier in the thread.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/11/MNH21LTC4D.DTL


"The individuals who linked arms and actively resisted, that in itself is an act of violence," UC police Capt. Margo Bennett said. "I understand that many students may not think that, but linking arms in a human chain when ordered to step aside is not a nonviolent protest."Standing around is an act of violence, now.


I've been to Occupy Berkeley. The polar opposite of Occupy Oakland, ultraliberal, ultrapacifist, cultist obsession with hand wiggling, friendly relations with the liberal Berkeley city government, small and utterly unimportant. A zombie affair.

[snip]
Sounds like Occupy Atlanta now. They seem to have moved the majority of their focus to pay traffic lanes on I-85. They continually go to 're-occupy' Woodruff / Troy Davis park, then back down and leave when the police show up (a few will stick around and get arrested, most just leave). Tim Franzen appears to enjoy speaking on camera a little too much. News stories have been fabricated about tuberculosis outbreaks in the homeless shelter they're staying in, but news stories about TB in homeless shelters show up every few months when somebody decides they want to try and close them. So the smear campaign is in full effect. I see Occupy Atlanta's defeat imminent.

[Os Cangaceiros]

lol standing and linking arms is violence? :lol::lol::lol:

"Y'know, we asked them very nicely to leave those lunch counters, but unfortunately they just kept sitting there! The very definition of violence, if ya ask me."

[Os Cangaceiros]

One of the things OWS has definitely accomplished is illustrating how much of a pathetic joke the notion of American "rights" are, as they're portrayed as somehow transcending economic and political orders.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

If standing to block passage is violence ...

Peace Police are being violent towards the rest of the demonstrators!

[ellipsis]

Occupy SF just got hit with a surprise raid, but only a small portion of total encampment. Folks are waiting to see if more is to follow.

[ellipsis]

http://www.ustream.tv/occupysf#utm_campaign=t.co&utm_source=316210&utm_medium=social

stream of raid in progress.