NY Church which serves as Occupy Sandy hub suffers “suspicious” fire
Firefighters outside church early Sunday morning. Credit Ellen Moynihan.
A two alarm fire broke out in the historic Brooklyn, New York church, the Church of St Luke and St Matthew, yesterday morning. The church, which is 124 years old, made of stone and terra cotta, is designated a city landmark. One hundred firefighters fought the blaze for over 90 minutes, according to the Wall St Journal. The fire started in the entrance way of the Episcopal church. The Rev. Christopher Ballard, the church’s curate, said the flames had caused “significant damage,” burning the wooden doors of two entrances and charring the foyer. The sanctuary, he said, remained largely unscathed. Two historic chairs that were in the lobby were destroyed. No one was injured.
The church had been operating as a hub storing supplies for Hurricane Sandy relief for “Occupy Sandy”, a relief effort associated with Occupy Wall Street. Though the police said the cause remained under investigation, they were on scene investigating, and labelled it “suspicious”, according to local ABC News. Rev. Ballard said the fire had been fueled by a pair of gasoline containers donated to Occupy Sandy volunteers. He said he was told by police that it “appeared someone had taken the gas and poured it on the entrance and all along the facade and lit it on fire.” The gasoline was intended for generators for a Christmas party yesterday in the Rockaways, an area heavily hit by Hurricane Sandy. Ballard also noted, regarding the gas, “You’d have to know it was there”.
Three Occupy Sandy volunteers were sleeping in the church at the time the fire started. According to an Occupy site coordinator, they were there as a security precaution after a spate of thefts that included donated materials and Rev. Ballard’s bicycle. The volunteers made it out safely. The fire did not appear to have affected the donated supplies, despite earlier reports that they were destroyed. The Occupy Sandy coordinator noted they would likely now be helping to clean out the church. Their twitter account associated with the location also called for people to bring and donate poinsettias to help decorate the church today.
Councilwoman Letitia James, who represents the area, expressed outrage at what she called a hateful arson. “We will find the sick individual who committed this crime,” she said, standing outside the church.
Rev Ballard said the church would be back open this evening for services.
Anonymous “spokesperson” Barrett Brown facing multiple new charges, in relation to Stratfor hack
The never ending saga of Barrett Brown continues. Brown, 31, who was a self-styled “spokesperson” for the group Anonymous faces new charges in relation to the hacking a year ago of the intelligence firm, Stratfor.
According to federal prosecutors, Brown was indicted this week in Texas on a dozen charges including aggravated identity theft and device fraud. He is accused of making public an Internet link providing access to credit card information stolen from Stratfor, which had emails taken during that same hack released by WikiLeaks. The full indictment against Brown can be seen here.
Brown had already been arrested and charged in October with threatening FBI agent, Robert Smith. Like much of Brown’s recent life, even the October arrest played out in the media, as he was arrested while on a live Tinychat session. One can hear him apparently trying to get away from the FBI and sounds that may have been taser bursts at 1:30.
The Stratfor breach led to the disclosure of thousands of credit card numbers and other information. Jeremy Hammond was also arrested, but charged with participating in the actual hacking of the company.
HT TwoTroubles
Walmart Black Friday protest: carpetbagger bust
The planned ‘Black Friday” protests at Walmarts across the country appear to have flopped.
“OUR Walmart”, an organization backed by the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, said it expected employees in 100 cities to walk off the job on “Black Friday,” the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season that accounts for up to one-half of retailers’ profits.
In response to the UFCW’s planned protests, Walmart US Chief Executive Bill Simon stated, “Only 26 protests occurred at stores last night and many of them did not include any Walmart associates.” In addition, the company did not experience the walk-offs that were promised by the UFCW. “We estimate that less than 50 associates(the term Walmart uses for employees) participated in the protest nationwide. In fact, this year, roughly the same number of associates missed their scheduled shift as last year,” Simon said. Indeed, according to Reuters, only 1 person walked out of among the 500 employees at a Walmart in Chicago’s South Side. There are reportedly 1.3 million Walmart employees nationwide.
It appears to be in the main a “carpetbagger protest”. Many of the “protesters” appeared to be people bused in and not actual employees. Reuters referenced 4 busloads of people being bused in to the Southside location where there was only the one employee protesting . Here is a picture of Occupy Wall Street members being bused into a protest in New Jersey and outside in front of a Walmart:
Self described “Revolutionary Marxist” Caleb Maupin at Secaucus Walmart protest. Credit Getty Images.
Occupy has started wepay donation pages to donate for “Walmart strike organizers” and “Walmart strikers”, including asking for donations to pay for their food and feminine hygeine products.
In the face of the “protests”, Walmart reports that it had its best Black Friday ever. Those employees that worked Black Friday got an additional 10% of on an entire basket of goods and were rewarded with holiday pay.
Update:
Between the two donation pages, Occupy has accumulated a tidy sum for “Walmart strikers” and “strike organizers”, allegedly over $18,000. One wonders who this money will actually be going to, since it seems that Occupiers are the “strikers” and “organizers”.
Socialists, Occupiers in New Zealand assault US Consulate with shoes, remove US flag and replace with Palestinian flag
The Socialist Aotearoa group organized a march, including members of Occupy Auckland & Occupy New Zealand, and moved on the US Consulate in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday. Claiming to be part of a “Global Peace and Justice Solidarity with Gaza March”, they shouted such chants as “Free Palestine” and threw shoes at the Consulate, a sign of disrespect in the Arab world.
They also replaced the US flag that flew over the Consulate with a Palestinian flag.
See picture of US flag normally there (partially obscured by tree):
US Consulate Auckland, American flag in place. Credit Citizen Journalist
The American flag replaced:
Video of protester rejoicing at raising of Palestinian flag:
Video of protesters throwing shoes at the Consulate:
Speeches and signs indicated a desire to tear up the Camp David accords and move the Egyptian army into Gaza to fight Israel.
One might ask where police and US security at the Consulate were in all this? Apparently, we are still not adequately protecting our embassies and consulates, even after the Benghazi scandal and terrorist attack which resulted in the death of four Americans including the American ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens.
HT: Foolish Reporter
OWS doctor arrested with bomb making chemicals and stash of weapons
Occupy Wall Street protester Roberto Rivera. Credit: Amy Arbus for Bloomberg
Police have arrested a 60 year old unemployed doctor, Roberto Rivera, after finding a large quantity of chemicals used in bomb making after they conducted a raid on his home in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The search of Rivera’s home on Friday night also revealed a number of assault rifles and other weapons
Rivera was charged with second degree recklessly creating a risk of widespread injury or damage; fourth degree failure to mitigate against recklessly creating a risk of widespread injury or damage; third degree unlawful possession of a destructive device; fourth degree unlawful possession of a stun gun; fourth degree unlawful possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine; and second degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm. His bail has been set at $1 million dollars.
Ridgewood police had initially responded to the home after receiving a report that potentially hazardous materials might be at the residence. The Bergen County Prosecutor, John Molinelli, called at least one of the chemicals “highly volatile,” but authorities did not disclose the names of the chemicals found in the house.
Bergen County Hazmat and the FBI were involved in the search of the house. Saturday afternoon FBI Special Agent Barbara Woodruff said it was an ongoing investigation but “the scene is definitely secured so there’s no reason for concern”. Agencies investigating include the Ridgewood Police Department; Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office; Bergen County Police Department Bomb Squad; FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force; and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Prosecutors say Rivera is unemployed but has a license to practice medicine in New York.
Rivera was an active member of Occupy Wall Street. He was quoted in Bloomberg News in October of last year, commenting on the movement:
“I’m glad that at last the youth of America is able to stand on two feet and take a position that millions of people around the world have taken that they will not be intimidated by the capitalist free market paradigm and they will fight against gross inequality in distribution of income and assets.”
Rivera was also described in November 2011 in the Tribeca Tribune working as a “volunteer medic” helping with several overdose victims in Zuccotti Park, while wearing a black t-shirt with a red cross taped to his arm and the words “Stop bitching and start a revolution” emblazoned across the front.
Police searching the Rivera home. Credit Boyd Loving.
Bret Baier reports OWS rants about benefits of Hurricane Sandy, “Anonymous” twitter accounts then threaten him
Yesterday FNC’s Bret Baier on Grapevine reported on the comments by @OccupyWallStreet ‘s official twitter account in response to Hurricane Sandy. See his report here. This earned him some unfavorable attention from twitter accounts associated with Anonymous (one of the founding parts of Occupy). They “doxed” Baier (got his personal information including his home address and phone) and said “anything goes” against him.
On Tuesday, the day after the hurricane started, the OWS account started with a rant against capitalism:
Then followed up immediately thereafter with the specific “benefits” of Sandy:
What obscures “community”? Why, Capitalism, of course.
They then advised people to go outside on Tuesday (while many wires and trees were still down and dangerous, most without power, many still under water ).
In the above tweet, they link to an article on another Occupy site that refers to Sandy as the “People’s Hurricane” and a “Climate Strike” (arguing Sandy is due to Climate change that evil Wall St loosed on itself).
In response, the OWS account was widely castigated by the Twitterverse. Jaceyla Jones was perhaps one of the best, reminding them that people had died.
After being roundly criticized, suddenly the OWS account seemed taken over by notices of how one could volunteer to help out Sandy victims, and posting on Occupy “volunteer efforts”. Still, they revealed it was all about the politics, noting:
They then started praising themselves for their “rapid response” to Sandy, and attacked the Tea Party and government response.
When the FNC report by Baier then dared report some of the above tweets, this Anonymous account first called him a liar, saying that Occupy was helping victims.
https://twitter.com/DBCOOPA/status/263847890861047808Thereafter the following tweets recorded the effort to “dox” Baier and discussed what should be done to him. Click to enlarge:
This was then followed up with a post with his “dox” including phone numbers, home address, age and birthday. Citizen Journalist will not be linking to that dox page.
Here is a copy of the page with relevant info excised.
Anonymous@DBCOOPA has since scrubbed the first tweet about “ruining Baier’s life”.
HT @RichardRSmithJr for screenshot
Occupy vs. the Tea Party: NYC debate
An amusing time is on tap for Saturday, October 27th in NYC. G-4 Productions is presenting a debate between Occupy members and members of the Tea Party. The debate is being held tonight at St Luke’s Theatre in NYC at 308 West 46th Street. Tickets can be obtained here.
For the Tea Party side the debaters are Pamela Geller, David Webb, Dr. Gina Loudon, Dr. Milton Wolf, Jennifer Stefano and Ruth White.
On the Occupier side are:
1. Edward “Ted” Twitchell Hall III (of infamous meltdown fame)
2. Kanene Holder – you can find Ms. Holder in this pedantic reaching and unfunny skit titled “Searching for American Justice”. She plays the roll of “Justice” as a blonde blind ditz.
3. Harrison Schultz – appeared on Sean Hannity and tried to blame the rapists at Occupy on police directing them to Zuccotti
4. Devin Balkind – works at the Sarapis Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports the development and deployment of strategically significant free/libre/opensource solutions and spaces
6. Justin Wedes- Last, but by now means least, Justin Wedes, who most recently went to the Cayman Islands “to find the hidden money”. Justin used to be a NYC public school teacher, but ended up resigning over a grant scandal. He continues to be a spokesperson for OWS and was infamously featured on Colbert with “Ketchup”. Here’s a reminder of that memorable event in the first 40 seconds on this video:
“Anonymous” group claims to have planted a bomb in a government building to blow up on November 5th (Updated)
Here is the statement that they released. which reads as follows:
Dear citizens of the world,
We are anonymous. As of today 200 kilograms of composite Nitroglycerin and commercial explosives have effectively been concealed in a government building, situated in the united states of America. on the 5th of November 2012 the device will detonate remotely via the transmission control protocol, leaving behind severe consiquences[sic]. We would like to advise that the contraption is built inside a tamper proof apparatus sensitive to physical intrusions or attempted disarmament, thus resulting in the desired effect, if the military grade device is found before the 5th of November. there is no intention, risks or circumstances what so ever to cause harm to innocent people, but we can not, say the same for the people who are the real terrorists, oppressors and war creators.
we are anonymous
we are legion
we do not forget
we do not forgive
on the 5th of November, you will expect us.
The release says it is from the group “@FawkesSecurity” and references “#OpV” which refers to the actions planned for November 5th (which harkens back to V for Vendetta and Guy Fawkes Day). Other videos and statements from other Anonymous accounts have called for actions in the streets on that day to help bring down the government.
Update:
Since the video hit yesterday, many in Anonymous have denounced it, asserting that they would not employ such tactics. Speculation about @FawkesSecurity ranges from “false flag” and “fed”, to “attention whore”. The Youtube account is not one of the main Anonymous accounts, although it is connected to a bigger channel.
@FawkesSecurity appears to have been on the Anonymous scene since at least the end of last year. The twitter profile lists a Facebook to a private group, with the administrator supposedly a blonde woman from New York named “Jodie Rushforth”, which is likely false. There are several others listed in the grouping as well.
This group has claimed involvement in attacks on HSBC and on Twitter last week over the suspension of the account @Anon_Central. Other Anons are now disputing these claims.
The nature of Anonymous allows anyone to effectively claim to be a part of it. Yet this is not the first threat claiming to come from an Anonymous source. In February, for example, The Anon Message released a video, declaring war on the United States and calling for the destruction of the government, specifically noting this was not calling for a “protest” but a “call to arms”, again referencing #OpV and November 5th. That video has over 400,000 views.
Anarchists claim sabotage of train tracks in NYC
On October 17th, people calling themselves “New York Anarchists” claim to have sabotaged railroad tracks leading into and out of New York City.
According to WSQT “Direct Action Radio”, the action was in “retaliation” for the jailing of three people in Seattle “for refusing to snitch on Occupy activists and/or anarchists” who were “opposing the very corporations these railroads serve”. The three people in question were called before a grand jury and given a grant of immunity from prosecution, but refused to testify and were charged with civil contempt of court. One has been released yesterday, the two others are still in jail.
Here is the radio statement.
WSQT phrased this action as “yet another of a long line of punitive strikes against corporate capitalism in retaliation for the grand jury” They stated that the “warriors who carried out this mission” posted the following communique on Anarchist News.
To our comrades enduring repression in the Northwest, you are not alone. In the early morning hours of October 17th, we sabotaged the operation of three sets of train tracks leading in and out of New York City. This action was undertaken in solidarity with Leah-Lynn Plante, Matthew Kyle Duran, Katherine Olejnik, and all of our other comrades in the Northwest. To those who are staying strong in these trying times, may this action be an expression of our deepest love. To those who seek to put them in cages, may this action be an expression of our deepest hatred.
DEATH TO CAPITAL
DEATH TO THE STATE
LONG LIVE ANARCHY– New York Anarchists
It is not clear what this alleged “sabotage” is supposed to have involved and Citizen Journalist has not been able to confirm that anything actually took place. If anything was done, it apparently wasn’t sufficient to even make media. On September 17th, the anniversary of OWS, anarchists claim to have tied a copper wire from one track to another, disrupting a switch relay, and incapacitating a track north of new York City. That also has not been confirmed.
Vigilante response to Black Bloc anarchists of Occupy Oakland?
After the latest Occupy vandalism march on October 8th, it looks like some may just be fed up.
This flyer was apparently being distributed in Oakland.
Speculation among Occupy Oakland participants is rampant as to who might be behind the flyer, everything from aggrieved community member to a COINTELPRO plot by police.
But the most common guess is unhappy Occupy member.
Schisms have exploded over the past week between various elements of Occupy Oakland, with elements threatening each other, saying things like “we will hunt you down” and “no love all bullets and body bags”. See more here. Within the schism is an undercurrent of race, with disturbance being expressed by people of color over the “white” nature of such groups as the Oakland Commune.
The flyer itself doesn’t read as though it were a mere aggrieved citizen.
– it cites the date of October 25th. That is the day when Occupy is planning a big action and a possible re-occupation, something the normal citizen probably wouldn’t know.
– it appears to be calling on Occupy to “beat the shit out of anarchists”.
– it also claims to be from “DOOM” (Defend our Oakland Movement). Could mean just defend Oakland, or alternatively, defend our Oakland Movement(indicating involvement).
– it has a clear grievance against the “caucasian” nature of Occupy anarchists, echoing some of the underlying issues expressed in the schism talk.
Whoever it is, one would hope that this doesn’t indicate a ratcheting up of the violence in Oakland.
Occupy Anarchist smash up in Portland, Oregon
Members of Occupy Portland and others were part of a group of around 50 people who damaged several businesses including 4 banks and a Walgreens in SE Portland on Thursday.
After arranging the action on Facebook, the group met at 8:30 pm at SE 35th & Taylor and shortly thereafter, began throwing rocks and smashing windows of businesses. Police began receiving calls, including that bottles were being thrown as people, according to NWCN, who also interviewed one man who was nearly hit in the head by an object.
Wells Fargo, Umpqua, Chase and US Bank all had their windows broken. The Walgreen’s store on Southeast Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Southeast Belmont Street also was vandalized. It was reported that the vandals also walked into traffic and blocked vehicles.
According to KATU, Virginia Suftin said she saw about 50 people headed her way. “I heard the noise and the glass shattering as I was walking to my apartment,” she said. “and they threw a rock right at the bank. They had a huge banner that said ‘no prisons, hug cats? And a bunch were wearing ski masks,” Suftin recalled. An anarchist report indicates the banner read: “BURN THE PRISONS, HUG CATS. YOLO (A) ACAB”. ACAB means “All Cops are Bastards”. According to the same report, they pulled news paper boxes and other items into the streets to block being followed and chanted “GIVE NO F–KS TAKE NO ORDERS, SMASH THE PRISONS AND THE BORDER!” Here is another account by an Occupier who “observed” the march
By the time police arrived, most of the people had dispersed. No arrests have been made, police said.
Here is video made by BareItorBearIt of some of the damage. The video also notes how this action was advertised on the Occupy Portland Facebook and notes who said they would be attending. Citizen Journalist has confirmed that in fact it was indeed advertised, and is still in fact up on their Facebook, although the names of those attending appear now to have been erased.
Despite this, Occupy disavowed the action, telling KATU that the event was not sanctioned, organized or affiliated with them. “The action last night was not an Occupy Portland action or march” a spokesperson said.
This particular action was reportedly in response to the jailing of three people for refusing to testify in response to grand jury subpoenas, despite being granted immunity from prosecution. Since a grand jury, by its very nature, is secret to protect the integrity of pending investigations, it is not clear what information is being sought from these three. Supporters of those jailed contend the three are being held purely for their anarchist views. This was disputed by a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office, Emily Langlie, stating people were not being investigated for political views. She also noted that grand juries can consider many cases, not just one, and that she cannot comment on the ongoing investigations.
Occupy the Cayman Islands with fund raised money
Lee Camp
Negin Farsad
Justin Wedes
Here’s a funny Occupy story, although perhaps it’s not funny in the way Occupy would like to think.
They had a recent fundraiser in NYC on October 2.
What was that fundraiser for? Was it for money for the poor? Helping someone save their home from foreclosure?
It was to send two Occupy members to the Cayman Islands.
Yes, that’s right. Send them to the Cayman Islands.
Well, what are they being sent to the Cayman Islands for? Negin Farsad and Lee Camp, two Occupy comedians are being sent there to “report on the infamous tax havens that Mitt Romney and other millionaires use”. They are also accompanied by Justin Wedes, a spokesperson for Occupy Wall St, who is the main voice @OccupyWallStNYC. It is unclear who is paying for him to be there.
Let’s look at some of the wonderful things they have discovered in the Cayman Islands so far:
A follower comments on their hard hitting investigation:
https://twitter.com/Biscuit_Angel/status/255737123666276352Here is a recording of their first day debriefing
It is gratifying that they have discovered that the Cayman Islands doesn’t have taxes and that people legally invest there.
Perhaps tomorrow they can report on the water temperature -oh wait, they already did that:
Sweet deal if you can get it.
Obama links himself to MLK: “A Legacy of Hope”
Obama supporters and protesters were out in last night in San Francisco as he visited the Civic Center, trying to raise money for his campaign.
Among the items being sold was a button with the faces of both Martin Luther King and Barack Obama, and what appears to be a background of the Lincoln Memorial, with the caption “A Legacy of Hope”.
The button is being held by an Occupy live streamer who was upset what he saw as the presumption of Obama to so link himself to Martin Luther King.
The button then had an unhappy encounter with the Occupier’s foot on the Obama face:
Communique from an anarchist in Oakland (with video)
Last night, Bay Area Occupiers from San Francisco, Oakland and surrounding environs held a “Hoodies & Hijabs” anti imperialist anti war march on the 11th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan. The march was billed as being organized by “Afghans for Peace”. As we noted in our prior article, after a few minutes of brief speeches at Frank Ogawa Plaza, they then spent under an hour smashing and vandalizing businesses, homes and cars in the downtown area. There were no arrests. More on the story here.
An old SDS (Students For a Democratic Society) poster that read, “Bring the war home” was used as a propaganda tool online.
Organizers urged marchers to wear hoodies or hijabs. During the march, chants included “Allahu Akbar”, “Free Afghanistan” “Free Palestine”.
Here is a post from Anarchist News from an anarchist who participated in this action:
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Tonight was an intimate experience with the direct confrontation between what is wild and what is the negation of life. It was a little release from the choke of politics, of representation, and order. It’s a peek into a proper response to what we face as contained life.
Our symbiotic relationship between each other, our kenesis, chaos, and our ebb and flow outran the law. Our bodies are equipped with joy and it may be our most valuable weapon when under attack. In this most impersonal world where one can fly a drone and drop a bomb killing untold amounts of life, our intimate bonds of life—our animal nature unleashes. Of course The Oakland Scientific Facility got some of our rage.
Yesterday the state took 25 friends away from us. The destruction tonight was in part our response—the struggle continues. Whether staffing the legal call-in center, covering imprisoned friends work shifts, smashing police recruitment stations, raising bail, or etch bathing the Community Policing Centre in East Vancouver we take care of one another. Every day agents of the state take people away and imprison them, and while 25 of our friends were nabbed, about 35,948 other people were arrested and carted off to jail yesterday.
It didn’t start with Chase Bank and it doesn’t end with City Hall or the Police recruitment station. It all must go, every last vestige of this wretched earth, and it is always a violent phenomenon.
An incomplete list of some of the attacks:
The last big window of the old Obama office on telegraph (The office has since moved because Oakland is to real for ’em)
The disgusting new Chase bank on 14th and Broadway
The whole side of California Bank.
Bank of the West
Some ATM’s here and there
Some condos here and there
Sears
Oakland Tribune
Kaiser Permanente Office
AC Transit
Rudys can’t fail
“Die yuppie scum” & “Gentry” were scrawled on some yuppie condos around 19th and Telegraph
OPD recruitment station
Oakland City Hall
Several BMW’s and some other posh cars
The Oakland Scientific Facility, which houses computers and data storage for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.With love and dedication,
for myself
for the silent ones
for the revolutionary comrades behind bars
for the survivors and victims of US imperialism, colonialism, and war in Afghanistan, Palestine, and throughout the Muslim world.Fight Genocide, Destroy what is civilized.
Here is video of the event. The video is edited by a participant live steamer, PFailblog, with faces deliberately blurred to make recognition difficult.
Occupy vandalizes Oakland again, calls for “class war”
City Hall doors damaged. Credit ABC KGO News.
For the second day in a row, Occupiers in the Bay Area conducted a disruptive march, last night causing damage to several businesses in Oakland.
On Saturday, 22 were arrested during a “Fuck Columbus” anti-colonialism anti capitalist march in San Francisco. Around 3 pm in broad daylight, they threw paint bombs with rocks in them at cops and vandalized cars and businesses yesterday. After several of the paint attacks, police made the arrests. Charges ranged from conspiracy to assault on a police officer.
Last night was billed as an “Afghan led” anti imperialist anti war protest, “Hoodies and Hijabs” march, commemorating the start of the war in Afghanistan 11 years ago. They started out around 7 pm with a few speeches in front of city hall, but then went on an hour run of vandalizing businesses in Oakland. About 200 people marched through the downtown area smashing windows and throwing paint along the way. According to KGO 810 News, they broke large plate glass windows of three banks along Franklin Street. Six windows were attacked at the Chase Bank on Franklin. Doors and windows of the City Hall were damaged, as was the AC Transit office and the police recruiting office. The group also broke windows at the Oakland Tribune. KTVU noted several businesses were damaged including Kaiser Permanente and that cars were vandalized as well.
There were no arrests last night.
In a rambling statement posted on the Occupy Oakland website, the “Afghans for Peace” accuse US soldiers of atrocities and multiple instances of desecration of the ‘Holy Quran”. They also claim the military has “Kill teams”. They call for US soldiers to “go AWOL, refuse to fight and start a revolt amongst your ranks”. They closed their statement with “say no to all wars, except class war”.
Occupy anti colonial anti capitalist “F–k Columbus” march results in 22 arrests
Police arrested 22 people during an ‘anti colonial, anti capitalist” “F–k Columbus Day” march in San Francisco. The march, which was advertised over the traditional Bay Area Occupy hashtags on Twitter and streamed on Occupy livestream, is part of a weekend of activities which included a call for a march against Mexican, Canadian, US embassies worldwide yesterday
The march today began from Justin Herman Plaza shortly before 3 and snaked through the financial district, disrupting traffic as they walked in the streets. The marchers were attired as a black bloc, dressed in black and carrying black anarchist flags.
As they marched, they vandalized cars, slashing the tires of one car and breaking the window of another. They also smashed a Starbucks window. About 15 minutes into the march, they began to throw flares and bags of paint with rocks in them at the police who were accompanying the march.
Updated video We’ve updated the video showing clearer shots of the action. At around :40 you can see a female throwing something at the police following by flipping them off. Something else is thrown at police at :51 causing one of the cops to have to wipe his eyes. At :54 you can see the paint bomb thrown against the building. 1;21 more paint thrown at police. and at 1:24 they hit a cop pretty hard and all over with a paint bomb. More is thrown at 2:02. Then at 2:06, a cop on bicycle appears to fall over or be knocked over, and is surrounded by marchers. That is when police move in and start making arrests.
You can still see full raw live stream recording here.
According to ABC News, a search of the arrested suspects’ backpacks revealed many were armed with weapons including: hammers, an ice pick, flares, more bags of paint containing rocks, and other weapons.
The 22 people were arrested on one or more of the following charges: conspiracy, riot, refusing to obey a lawful order from a peace officer and resisting, delaying and obstructing a peace officer, and assault and battery on a peace officer.
The marchers posted their intentions on Indy Bay calling for a “rowdy march” through the financial district to fight colonialism and capitalism. In addition they noted it was the 20th anniversary of the first black bloc march disrupting the Columbus Day parade in 1992.
Tomorrow, the group plans to march in Oakland commemorating the 11th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan. Their statement accuses the military of having “Kill teams”, American soldiers of atrocities and “burning hundreds of copies of the Holy Quran”. It calls for American troops to rise up and “start a revolt in your ranks”. They have also called elsewhere for “autonomous creative disruptions of the Columbus Day parade” tomorrow.
Posters advertising the events and photos (by Steve Rhodes) of action today:
Occupy “Illuminator” van is repossessed by Ben of “Ben and Jerry’s”
Occupy just had their “Illuminator” van repossessed by Ben Cohen of “Ben and Jerry’s” fame.
A year ago, Ben and Jerry’s formed a group, the “Movement Resource Group”, designed to help underwrite Occupy projects of which the group approved. Ben Cohen was an instrumental part of leading the group.
One project to come out of the relationship with Occupy was “The Illuminator”. In a February meeting, Mark Read, an adjunct professor of media studies at NYU, was discussing the idea of putting a projector on a movable van to help illuminate Occupy messages on buildings at various actions. Ben Cohen, who led the MRG, agreed to fund the idea and came to an agreement with the Occupiers.
The agreement discussed the Illuminator and another vehicle which was later abandoned. Cohen agreed to contribute as much as $65,000 toward the development of the cars. This included paying Read $250 per day to launch the operation. The vehicles would be owned by MRG.
According to DNA Info, a separate document which set forth goals for the Illuminator, stated that the purpose was
to “put a friendly non threatening face” on the Occupy movement and “generate good will” with the public by slowly cruising the city, projecting the “99%” signal, playing “family friendly music,” and stopping occasionally to serve hot chocolate and pass out Occupy-themed comic books.
After the Illuminator started in March, problems quickly developed. Read and a team of volunteers were running it three times a week. Cohen expected that they would do it 5-6 days a week, for six hours a day, as was set forth in the agreement.
Read and the crew of volunteers that were involved came to feel that this was unfair, despite the fact that they had agreed to it. According to them, Cohen wanted more control over use of the van and wanted it to be focused on being a “mobile billboard for Occupy”, whereas the Illuminator team felt it should be used for any progressive cause. They had even used it in a fight over expansion at NYU.
According to DNA Info:
After a “full-out custody battle” in May, the two sides agreed to share the van until the end of September, after which Cohen and the Movement Resource Group would gain full control of it, Read said. “To a person, I think we all feel kind of betrayed and disappointed,” he said. “He didn’t want to have to bother with the messy part of being in a democracy”. “He’s a 1 percenter,” Read, 46, added, “telling the 99 percent, ‘I’m your boss.’”
The Illuminator team released a statement, thanking him for his support, but expressing their disappointment. They also stated that they will continue with the idea of using illumination, but seek more “crowd funding” to support their endeavors in the future.
Adbusters tries one more time but does anyone actually care?
Adbusters has announced another Occupy action. Based off the effort in Spain to surround the Congress there, they are trying, one more time to get folks to DC to protest.
Alright occupiers, trick or treat,
Let’s all go to Washington, DC, and have a Halloween night party!
Let’s celebrate the wonderful Coke/Pepsi presidential election now in progress … and the honest, feisty way our elected reps in Congress have conducted our nation’s business … pay tribute to the bold visions they’ve put forward.
At dusk on October 31, let’s gather on Capitol Hill, trick or treat Congress and party like we’ve never partied before.
Bring mask!
CJ HQ
PS And if you cannot make it to DC then party in front of the Bank of America in your community… outside your city hall… or in the squares.
Of course, their efforts to have “a million on the mall” turned out to be no more than a thousand, and the efforts for NATO in Chicago were dismal at best. The left has actually had more people out for things like the G20 even before Occupy started.
Of course, wearing a mask around the capitol is going to go over so well. Not.
So after you have another few hundred people out, yelling blocking traffic and getting arrested one more time, then what? Ah, let’s have a Christmas action!
Seems like some are getting the futility of all this from the comments to the Adbusters’ announcement. When you try to harness anarchistic tendencies, sometimes you may find, well, they don’t like the pointless organization.
-Please, please, PLEASE stop calling for actions that you have no intention on doing any work for in cities that you do not live in. It’s really annoying when REAL activists who do REAL work have to put up with planning these idiotic convergences with a month’s notice because Adbusters says so. We will not be planning anything around this stupid call to action. Let everyone know that they are not welcomed to come trash our city for your stupid publicity stunts.
Oops, at least one Occupier DID meet with Ahmadinejad.
Citizen Journalist ran a piece three days ago on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad allegedly planning a meeting with Occupy members during the time he is in NYC to speak at the United Nations.
The announcement, which was met by revulsion, even from some supporters of OWS, pushed some in OWS to take to the media to denounce it. ”Nobody in their right mind would meet with a fascist dictator like Ahmadenijad,” said Shawn Carrié, a longtime Occupy activist, in a direct message to Rosie Gray at Buzz Feed.
I was working with the group CODEPINK several years ago when Ahmadinejad came to [New York] and held a meeting to discuss global issues. I imagine this is the same. We have no idea who is organizing the meeting and how they came up with this story.
I’ve been trying to reach someone from Fars to ask them who they are talking about. Anyone going is doing so as an individual,” Balicki said. “There is no organized effort on behalf of OWS to meet with Ahmadinejad. This smells like a propaganda effort to me.
Except now we know at least one of the people that actually met with him was in fact an Occupier from Occupy DC, again according to Fars. Occupier Leah Bolger is also president of Veterans for Peace, one of the groups in the left anti-war coalition which also includes Code Pink. When queried for confirmation of the meeting, Ms. Bolger failed to respond.
Here is Leah with Occupy DC on Day 4 of their occupation
Fars printed a long statement from Ms. Bolger, speaking on behalf of Veterans for Peace, which basically translates to Israel and US want war, Iran is just an innocent. Of course, meeting with these people only serves Ahmadinejad. It is too bad they fail to realize they are just propaganda bait.
Apparently Mr. Carrié will have to have a conversation with Leah Bolger about the state of her mind.
Update:
Mr. Carrie may have to wait before talking with Leah Bolger. She is off to Pakistan with others of Veterans for Peace and Code Pink to protest drones. If one protests US use of drones, the logical place to protest would be here, as both groups have done. There is no reason to go to Pakistan other than being a propaganda puppet.
Welcome to our site, Iranian state media- “Press TV”
Please steal this picture, Press TV. Credit NYDN.
Except that in response, Dana Balicki then notes that she, as part of Code Pink (which is one of the groups involved with Occupy), did meet with Ahmadinejad ‘several years ago” (actually 2008).
“I was working with the group CODEPINK several years ago when Ahmadinejad came to [New York] and held a meeting to discuss global issues. I imagine this is the same. We have no idea who is organizing the meeting and how they came up with this story.”
“I’ve been trying to reach someone from Fars to ask them who they are talking about. Anyone going is doing so as an individual,” Balicki said. “There is no organized effort on behalf of OWS to meet with Ahmadinejad. This smells like a propaganda effort to me.”
As we noted in our prior report, Occupy members, most notably, Imam Musa, went to Iran for an Occupy conference over the winter.
They have also had a cosy relationship with Press TV, Iranian government TV, which has promoted them in its media. Press TV is state run, by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran.
Yesterday, Press TV ran an interesting report talking about the alleged visit and alleged meeting with Ahmadinejad. We wouldn’t be linking to it, because we don’t like to link to propaganda, so if you’d like to see it, be our guest, we will quote the relevant parts.
They noted:
Analysts see Iran as “just one example of the connection between OWS movement and the Middle East, which is based on a common enemy, the governments of the United States and Israel”.
This quoted part was taken straight out of our prior article, of course, excerpted and used for their own purposes.
Press TV then goes on:
Occupy protesters stormed an Israeli consulate in Boston on November 2011, waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Long Live the Intifadah!” and “not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes”.
Taken from our story, but adding the line “No more money for Israel’s crimes” (which Occupiers did in fact chant).
More:
Participants made clear that they are not anti-Semites, but anti-Zionists, critical of the Israeli government’s current policies.
Well, now, no they didn’t. They never said any such thing. so we’re curious as to how Press TV came to this conclusion. But it makes them sound nicer, so I guess rewriting truth is Press TV’s inclination.
But it’s nice to know that Ahmadinejad can have “journalist” propagandists to help his agenda.
Press TV’s report was then picked up by another propaganda arm, RT (Russia Today) the Kremlin run media outfit. They ran the following, in pertinent part:
Iran’s Press-TV have also picked up the story and quotes unnamed analysts who say Iran is “just one example of the connection between OWS movement and the Middle East, which is based on a common enemy, the governments of the United States and Israel.”
We want to welcome Press TV to our readership. But when you steal our stuff, try to get it right. You may actually learn something.
Occupy Smashy “FTP” march in the Mission District of San Francisco
Here is video from the attack on the Mission District on Friday night. In it you can see Occupiers in black bloc, attacking the local police station and as well as other businesses. More on the story here. “FTP” stand for “F–k the Police”.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to meet with Occupy Wall Street in NYC (Updated with OWS response)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be in New York City to address the General Assembly of the United Nations on September 25. He has regularly addressed the General Assembly once a year for the last seven years. He represents the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as its rotating President. His purpose in addition to the speech is to focus on “connecting to mainstream Americans including those who are part of the Occupy Wall Street movement”, according to The Hindu, quoting Fars, the Iran News Agency. He plans on meeting with members of OWS as well as other “students, artists and intellectuals”. He also plans on reaching out to the public through interviews with CBS, CNN and Russia Today (RT). The delegation, guarded by 150 security personnel, will stay in Manhattan’s Warwick hotel, Fars News Agency is reporting.
Iran is just one example of the connection between Occupy/Anonymous and the Middle East, the confluence of some of the left in the US and the Muslim world, a connection which is based on a common enemy, the governments of the United States and Israel. Many elements in Occupy are anti Israel, pro Palestinian for example, like Code Pink. Occupy actually invaded the Israeli consulate in Boston in November 2011, waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Long Live the Intifadah!” The narrator in the video is Occupy and Code Pink member Dennis Trainor, who is also the VP of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) one of the biggest unions in the country.
More on the relationship between Occupy and Israel here.
Iranian government TV, Press TV, has long promoted Occupy in its media as an indication of the general public rising up against the evil US government. In February, there was an Occupy conference held in Iran which Occupy representatives from the United States attended. Attendees included college professors and an Imam from Washington DC. This support was interesting, given the support Occupy and Anonymous lent to the Green Movement, protesting the government in Iran and the election of Ahmadinejad. But Occupy still serves the purpose, in Iran’s mind, of being disruptive to the US governmental entities.
Here is one video from that event:
Since then however, Occupy has lost steam and media, and Press TV, realizing Occupy doesn’t have the numbers or the effectiveness it was hoping for, hasn’t pumped it as much.
Ahmadinejad’s visit also comes at a time when hackers, alleged to be connected with Iran, have been cyber attacking the Bank of America, Chase and the NYSE this week as revenge against the US for sanctions, using the anti-Islam video as a cover. According to some sources, these attacks have been happening since 2011. Those with Occupy/Anonymous connections also appear involved in the recent attacks on the financial organizations.
Update:
OWS is now backing off this claim of a meeting. Buzz Feed, in an article by Rosie Gray, who has covered OWS at some length, ran the following statement from one of its members.
“Nobody in their right mind would meet with a fascist dictator like Ahmadenijad,” said Shawn Carrié, a longtime Occupy activist, in a direct message. “I think it’s been blown way out of proportion. There were some emails floating around on listservs about going to *protest* his appearance.”
“Anyway, it must be stressed that no one speaks for OWS,” Carrié said. “Any moron can go say they’re gonna go do something, but to say OWS meets with Ahmadinejad? That’s just ridiculous.”
Well, then he needs to take that up with the Iranian government, since this is part of their official press release of the trip. According to Fars,
Ahmadinejad is also set to meet American university students, artists, intellectuals and elites, including Occupy Wall Street anti-capitalist protestors, despite the ongoing efforts made by the pro-Zionist lobbies to prevent direct link between American people and the Iranian president.
No one speaks for OWS (except apparently Mr. Carrié). The problem with his response is that it doesn’t appear to explain the cosy position that Occupy has had with the Iranian govt news agency, Press TV, or any of the other information we noted above. Moreover, his response is interesting in that everyone in OWS can disclaim any action by another as saying “it’s not an officially approved action” as we have seen in multiple OWS cases, despite the fact of Occupy involvement.
For example, the San Francisco Mission district violence of two nights ago. Organized by Occupiers, sent out over Occupy hashtags, Occupiers participating, on Occupy livestream. But because it might have blow back, “not an Occupy event”.
We shall wait to hear more, and continue to investigate if anyone meets with him or they have backed off.
Occupiers rampage through the Mission District again
Occupy black bloc rioters rampaged through the Mission District of San Francisco for the second night in a row, allegedly protesting an officer-involved shooting on Thursday.
The officer involved shooting occurred around 8:00 pm Thursday. The man shot was a 22 year old reported gang member who had previously been convicted for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. He was recently jailed for a parole violation and released about two weeks ago. He allegedly pulled a Tech-9 on an officer who fired back, wounding the suspect. The man is now recovering in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Tech-9
Around 10:30 pm, dozens of rioters surrounded the police station at 630 Valencia St. and vandalized the police station, according to San Francisco police. Vandals spray-painted “Killers” on the front doors of the police station.
Last night, on Friday, the Occupiers came out again after arranging to meet at Dolores Park. Notice the hashtags on the post. “FTP” stands for “f–k the police”. “OSF” is Occupy San Francisco and “OO” is Occupy Oakland. Dustin Slaughter, another Occupier/Anonymous supporter asks for pictures of the “damage” before it even occurs:
They threw paint balls with glass in them at the police stations and other projectiles including a hammer. One officer was injured.
When one of the local restaurant owners dared to come out and ask them to stop hurting the businesses, he was punched in the face.
They also threw explosives of some type on the street.
They attacked the CBS News crew, trying to grab their camera, as well as banging and jumping on their van.
When CBS interviewed some of them, some were smoking marijuana, some believed that the suspect had been killed, others did not give clear answers as to why they were there.
While media covered it, and did refer to “Black Bloc”, it is unclear if they realized that it was Occupy.
Protesters passed out the following flyer to ABC News showing again that they really didn’t have their facts straight.
Click on picture for CBS story and video:
Citizen Journalist 