Occupy San Francisco / Oakland

Civic Center, San Francisco

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_Center,_San_Francisco

The Civic Center in San Francisco, California, is an area of a few blocks north of the intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue that contains many of the city's largest government and cultural institutions. It has two large plazas (Civic Center Plaza and United Nations Plaza) and a number of buildings in classical architectural style. The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (formerly the Exposition Auditorium) is one of the few remaining buildings from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.[2] The United Nations Charter was signed in the War Memorial Veterans Building's Herbst Theatre in 1945, leading to the creation of the United Nations. It is also where the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco (the peace treaty that officially ended the Pacific War with the Empire of Japan, which had surrendered in 1945) was signed. The San Francisco Civic Center was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987.[3]

BERKELEY, Calif. — UC police in riot gear moved on several Occupy protesters gathered outside of Sproul Hall on the Berkeley campus Wednesday night, taking down tents the protesters had set up in a tense confrontation.
Approximately 50 UC police officers in riot helmet with visors approached the group of protesters at around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night, prodding the students and activists who had formed a human chain with batons as the gathered crowd chanted "Stop beating students!" "Peaceful protest!" and "The whole world is watching!"

OAKLAND, Calif. — A man was shot to death on Thursday near a downtown Oakland plaza where hundreds of anti-Wall Street activists have camped out for a month, stoking renewed calls by some city officials to evict the protesters.

A preliminary investigation into the gunfire suggests it resulted from a fight between two groups of men at or near the Occupy Oakland camp on a plaza in front of City Hall, police Chief Howard Jordan said.

Investigators do not yet know if the men in the fight were associated with Occupy Oakland, but they are looking into reports that some protest participants tried to break up the altercation, Jordan added. It was the city's 101st homicide this year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45252610/ns/us_news-life/

Join us in solidarity with the 99% all over the world.

Join us marching in solidarity with the Egyptian activists who sparked our movement with their bravery.
The Egyptian military is repressing activists with military tribunals where they have no right to call witnesses and limited access to lawyers., while our government gives the Egyptian military over $1 billion every year.
We demand an end to military trials in Egypt
We demand that charges be dropped against all those arrested in occupy protests in the US; Dissent is not a crime!

Int'l Day In Solidarity with the Egyptian People:
http://en.nomiltrials.com/p/international-day-of-solidarity.html

Download flyer here:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/11/08/18698338.php

Facebook Event (Invite your friends!!!):
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215709538499545&context=create

Mayor continues to urge removal of Occupy Oakland encampment downtown; raid expected

Mayor Quan has been issuing almost daily statements and status reports regarding the Occupy Oakland camp downtown. The latest came out this morning and is published below. At this point, it seems clear that an eviction is likely, with the question being not if, but when. Emails are buzzing around town, anticipating a raid in the next few days.

http://oaklandlocal.com/posts/2011/11/mayor-continues-urge-removal-occupy-oakland-encampment-downtown-raid-expected

There is no doubt we all understand the aims of the Occupy Movement: a progressive tax structure, reigning in the K St/Wall St/Government hijacking, eliminating socialism for financial markets while everyone else bears the brunt of bailouts are ALL things we can AGREE on.

http://oaklandlocal.com/posts/2011/11/we-are-oo-old-oakland-community-voices

ShantyTownie RT @CalFireNews: #OWS ALERT: Support Needed @ #OccupyOakland Tonight! Labor Picket Line Around Oscar Grant Plaza Will Start at 10PM, and Continue To 6AM.

http://oaklandlocal.com/occupy

Scott Olsen makes first public statement since Occupy Oakland injury
Iraq veteran feeling better but has 'long road' in front of him after being knocked into coma during clashes with police

Scott Olsen, the ex-marine whose injury during clashes between Oakland police and demonstrators gave impetus to anti-Wall Street protests, said on Sunday he is "feeling a lot better" in his first public statement since his injury.

In a message posted on social networking site Google+, 24-year-old Olsen thanked those who had been tracking his progress for their outpouring of support.

"I'm feeling a lot better, with a long road in front of me," Olsen wrote. "After my freedom of speech was quite literally taken from me, my speech is coming back but I've got a lot of work to do with rehab."

The post is accompanied by a photo of Olsen, smiling with a neck brace on and a scar on his forehead.

"Thank you for all of your support, it has meant the world to me," he wrote. "You'll be hearing more from me in the near future and soon enough we'll see you in our streets!"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/14/scott-olsen-first-statement-occupy-oakland?CMP=twt_fd

Actions beginning at Occupy Oakland camp
Published on Monday, November 14, 2011
Last updated on 05:35AM, Monday, November 14, 2011

At 4:15 am, as roughly 300 people danced and chanted, a huge force of police from around the Bay area began moving into the Occupy Oakland camp at 14th and Broadway in downtown Oakland. As protesters chanted "We are occupy, we are not gonna die/every time you kick us out, we are gonna multiply," police from San Mateo, Burlingame, Oakland, Alameda, South San Francisco, Fremont, Richmond and San eandro and other areas massed on the plaza, cordoning off a perimeter and preparing to enfoce the Notice to Vacate issued lt night.

At the encampment, participans in the Interfaith tent sit surrounded by candles, while on the Plaza, more than 100 people dance and chant to the beat of a hooded drummer.

The City of Oakland has told staffers to delay arrival at work until 10 am, suggesting loca businesses might wish to do the same.

http://oaklandlocal.com/article/actions-beginning-occupy-oakland-camp

shoeshine There is an #occupyoakland wedding going on outside the barricades while police are moving into the camp.
15 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

48 new tweets

trapdinawrpool RT @brit_newsman: #US Cops have arrested #OccupyOakland members of the interfaith community and are carting them off to jail. POLICE STATE #Shame
10 seconds ago · reply · retweet ·

atywaitt RT @seasonothebitch: "Tell me what you want, what you really want!" "Justice!" as the sun comes up on #occupyoakland http://t.co/IQsaGQ0s
16 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

23 new tweets

markcassello RT @sendbee: RT @LucyKafanov: Crowd chanting "shame on you" as riot police moves in to #OccupyOakland camp
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occupytku RT @GlobalRevLive: Massive Police suppression of #occupyoakland underway Live Video: http://t.co/ZS6RrSlT #ows #anonops #occupytogether

cryptx007 RT @AnonyOps: Cops arrested the religious vigil before the media get to #occupyOakland to cover the event

onetiana RT @abc7kristensze: #breaking Dan Siegel, Mayor Jean Quan's legal advisor, resigned over this "tragically unnecessary" raid of #OccupyOakland #OO

lagentestamale RT @occupyoakland: 100 ppl at police line still. Cops seen tearing up, crying. Good morning. #Occupyoakland
17 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

ILikeMusicToo RT @blogdiva: SHAME ON @BarackObama and JANET NAPOLITANO for treating #OccupyOakland as terrorists thru local PDs & encouraging BADGE COVERING #OWS
6 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite

mobrock @OakFoSho A grateful nation thanks you. #OccupyOakland
13 seconds ago · reply · retweet · favorite


18 new tweets

_Orwell RT @xeni: The horror -> “@northoaklandnow: #OccupyOakland medic going around asking if anyone has rose pettles to throw at the police

sistertoldjah #fail MT @davidcolburn: Ppl are camping out for the next 5 days for tix to Twilight premiere. WHERE ARE THE RIOT POLICE? #occupyoakland

7:30 p.m. Another member of mayoral team resigns

Deputy Mayor Sharon Cornu has resigned, effective immediately, the second member of the mayor's team to submit her resignation just today. Mayor Jean Quan's legal adviser and longtime friend, Dan Siegel, also resigned today over the mayor's handling of the Occupy encampment.

In a statement, Mayor Jean Quan wrote, "Sharon has been a tremendous asset to my administration.

We wish her well and I'm grateful for her contributions. I will be restructuring my administration and making additional personnel announcements in the coming days."

Asked for more details, Quan's spokeswoman Sue Piper said in an email, "It's a personnel issue."

Here's more about Cornu from her biography on the city website:

"Sharon Cornu is a long-time political strategist, community organizer and former elected labor leader. She returned to Oakland after serving as national field director for the AFL-CIO in 2010. A magna cum laude graduate of Brown University, she holds a master's degree in human services from the University of Massachusetts. She serves on the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee and the East Bay Economic Development Alliance. She was recognized by East Bay Housing Organizations for her leadership on affordable housing in 2009 and was Assemblymember Sandre Swanson's Woman of the Year in 2007. Cornu first met Mayor Quan as a PTA activist at Laurel School, where her sons participated in our schools' award-winning music program."

http://www.mercurynews.com/occupy-oakland/ci_19331752

Occupy teach-ins under way on UC Berkeley campus

BERKELEY, Calif. — Anti-Wall Street activists began converging Tuesday on the University of California, Berkeley for a day of protests and another attempt to establish an Occupy Cal camp after a failed attempt last week led to dozens of arrests.
ReFund California, a coalition of student group and university employee unions, called for a campus strike, and protesters planned a rally and march to protest banks and budget cuts to higher education.

Dozens of students and faculty took part in morning teach-ins at an outdoor plaza with banners reading "stop the cuts" and "educate the state."

"If the only people who can come here in the future are those who have money, it's going to hurt everyone's educational experience," said Daniel Rodriguez, 28, a graduate student who was conducting an introductory Spanish language class outside.

The Berkeley protesters will be joined by Occupy Oakland activists who said they would march to the campus in the afternoon. Police cleared a tent city Monday outside Oakland City Hall and arrested more than 50 people amid complaints about safety, sanitation and drug use.

Occupy Cal activists said they will try again to establish an encampment Tuesday night, when UC Berkeley professor and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich is scheduled to deliver a speech on class warfare on the steps of Sproul Hall.

Last Wednesday, baton-wielding police clashed with protesters who tried to set up tents and arrested 40 people as the university sought to uphold a campus ban on camping.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau launched an investigation into allegations that campus police used excessive force. He said videos of the protests were disturbing, and he plans to grant amnesty to all students who were arrested and cited for attempting to block police from removing the tents.

"The events of last Wednesday are unworthy of us as a university community," Birgeneau wrote in a campus letter Monday.
UC Berkeley officials were determined Tuesday to avoid a repeat of last week's violence, said campus spokesman Dan Mogulof.

MORE: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/occupy-teach-ins-under-way-uc-berkeley-campus/nFdr9/

Campus shooting doesn't deter Occupy Cal protest

BERKELEY, Calif. — Anti-Wall Street activists began rebuilding their tent encampment on the steps of the University of California, Berkeley student plaza Tuesday night after a day of demonstrations that were disrupted by a campus shooting.

The shooting occurred inside the Haas School of Business as thousands of protesters gathered on campus for a general strike and demonstrations against big banks and education cuts.

Officials did not know if the suspect was part of the Occupy Cal movement, said Ute Frey, a spokeswoman for the university.
"I just hope it wasn't from the protest or the movement, because that's not what the movement is about," said Sadia Saif, a 19-year-old UC Berkeley sophomore.

The shooting didn't prevent some 2,000 students and demonstrators from gathering at the university's Sproul Hall to vote on a list of demands and await a speech about class warfare by UC Berkeley professor and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/campus-shooting-doesnt-deter-occupy-cal-protest/nFfGJ/

Police arrest Occupy SF protesters demonstrating at B of A

SAN FRANCISCO —


Police have arrested dozens of protesters who stormed a Bank of America branch in downtown San Francisco Wednesday afternoon and refused to leave while dozens more remain inside the bank.

A protester who gave his name as "Blondie" said 30 people had been arrested as of 4:45 p.m. and about 60 remained in the branch at 50 California St., near Davis Street.

A sheriff's bus had pulled up near the bank, and police were loading protesters in plastic handcuffs into the bus. The crowd outside cheered as they brought the protesters out one by one.

At about 2:15 p.m., at least 100 protesters rushed into the branch, taking it over. They stood inside chanting, "We are the 99 percent."

At about 2:40 p.m., police ordered the protesters to disperse.

Police in riot gear scuffled with protesters, shoving them out of the way to access the building's doorway. Some people had been trying to exit the bank and others were blocking the officers' path as they tried to enter.

Many of the protesters left the bank, but dozens of them remained inside as of 3 p.m. and had erected a tent in the middle of the floor.

Some wore bandanas and some stood on desks. Shortly before 4 p.m., police began making arrests.

Police Chief Greg Suhr showed up at the scene Wednesday afternoon.

He said he had been on his way to his weekly meeting with the mayor and decided to stop by after he "heard there might have been some officers in trouble," referring to the skirmish in the doorway.

The protesters were participating in the "ReFund Public Education March," organized in part to protest the cancellation of the UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco this week.

The meeting was canceled because of fears that violent protests would occur, according to the regents.

"The 1 percent on the Board of Regents cancelled their meeting because we demanded they do the people's business," read a statement posted on the Occupy SF website about the march.

"So now we're going to where they do Wall Street's business," the statement read.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/hundreds-occupy-sf-protesters-march-through-downto/nFfn7/

djackrocks: San Jose mercury news is a piece of worthless crap! Shamelessly pro-quan and anti-Occupy

Updated: 12:31 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 | Posted: 10:37 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012

By TERRY COLLINS

The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. —

About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center.

Dozens of police officers remained on guard outside City Hall around midnight following the most turbulent day of protests since November, when Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment. An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."

"People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior," Quan said.

Protesters clashed with police throughout the day, at times throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at officers. And police responded by deploying smoke, tear gas and bean bag rounds, City Administrator Deanna Santanta said.

"These demonstrators stated their intention was to provoke officers and engage in illegal activity and that's exactly what has occurred today," Santana said.

Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said about 300 arrests were made.

The group assembled outside City Hall late Saturday morning and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center.

The protesters walked to the vacant convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" shortly before 3 p.m., police said.

Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.

The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.

A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, said Sgt. Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman.

Around the same time police were taking people into custody near the YMCA, about dozens of officers surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building looking for protesters who had broken into the building, then ran out of the building with American flags before officers arrived.

The protest group issued an email criticizing police, saying "Occupy Oakland's building occupation, an act of constitutionally protected civil disobedience was disrupted by a brutal police response today."

Michael Davis, 32, who is originally from Ohio and was in the Occupy movement in Cincinnati, said Saturday was a very hectic day that originally started off calm but escalated when police began using "flash bangs, tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bags."

"It was very emotional. I thought it was a very good day for the movement because it brought us back together," Davis said. "We all were here in spirit and everybody actually helped everyone today.

"What could've been handled differently is the way the Oakland police came at us," Davis said. "We were peaceful."

http://www.ktvu.com/news/ap/crime/300-arrested-in-daylong-occupy-oakland-protests/nHKKK/