#occupyoakland Occupy Wall Street roundup: Day 40

by HunterFollow for Daily Kos

(pquegg/YouTube)

Today in Occupy-related news:

• The events in Oakland made for the majority of headlines today, as the Oakland Police statements continue to "evolve" in justification of what seems, from available evidence, to have been an excessive and perhaps outright incompetent police action yesterday. Among other injuries, an Iraq War veteran is in serious condition after suffering a fractured skull and brain swelling caused by being hit by a projectile fired by police. And video of the scene:

  shows Olsen lying prone on the ground in front of police lines. A crowd gathers in an apparent bid to help him, but then scatters when a police officer throws an explosive device into their midst.

  So far, the Oakland Police Department seems to be ... what's the diplomatic term? Lying their asses off, I think. The department first denied firing tear gas: video appeared showing them firing tear gas. They said no rubber bullets were used, but quickly backtracked from that. They said no flash-bang explosives were used; it would seem that statement, too, will soon be made inoperative.
  In the meantime there is plenty of video and photographic evidence showing these weapons being used against protesters, but no video has yet come forward matching the Oakland Police Department's other major claim: that the violence against protesters came after officers had rocks and/or bottles thrown at them. And we have multiple instances of protesters being hit in the head with non-lethal weapons, which could very well render those weapons lethal, which means that at minimum, the police department needs to sort out what sort of officer incompetence would lead to such a thing. Hopefully we will get a clearer picture of what happened, but as of the moment the Oakland Police is left with a serious credibility problem.
  
• The reason for all that police action? To allow the city to clean the park. Yeah, sorry we shot you in the head, Mr. Veteran, but you've really been messing up that lawn.
• Protesters are meeting in Oakland again tonight, including fellow Marines.
• A common refrain, during these protests: hey, your free speech is nice, but the lawn is more important. The latest version comes from Los Angeles: fine, citizens, you've made your point, but think of the damn lawn already:

  "They've made their statement. I agree with their statement, but it is time to move on. The trees are in the process of being impacted. The grass is being impacted. Other activities that we need to do on the lawns are being put on the back burner," said Councilman Bill Rosendahl.

  At this rate we're going to get a constitutional amendment declaring personhood for fescue. And we'll have to rename that the First Amendment, just so everybody's clear on what the real priorities should be.
  
• In Albuquerque:

  Over a dozen members of “(Un)occupy Albuquerque,” part of the nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement, were arrested last night at the University of New Mexico campus, after the university administration declined to renew a permit allowing the protesters to camp out at Yale Park.

• A statement of solidarity from Cairo.While you read through that, I'd just like you to reflect a moment on how a group of people in Egypt were able to come up with a clear description of the motivations of the Occupy movement long before professional expert-guy Bill Kristol ever will.
• Readers of the Washington Post illustrated a picture of the Oakland violence with a nice picture of a police officer petting a kitten. Sigh.
• AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has issued a statement condemning the arrests of peaceful protesters across the country.
• Comics: Mike Luckovich; Jen Sorensen

Much more happens during each day than can possibly be condensed into a single rundown, so follow the Occupy Wall Street group and the Occupy Wall Street tag right here on Daily Kos.

ts.

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