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Is there footage of the alleged skillet throwing? Are the throwers undercover cops? How do you know they aren't? Photo by Reginald James/TheBlackHour.com
This morning there was a raid on the Occupy Oakland encampment.
I’ve read the accounts in the Oakland Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle and a live account from an independent citizen journalist in Salon.
As I wrote just this weekend, the authorities will use alleged examples of protester on cop violence to convince the media and public that these encampments need to be shut down. Public officials will repeat even unconfirmed reports of protester on cop violence in order to create the impression that the protesters are a bunch of rock-throwing thugs that justify police wearing full riot gear to disperse the crowd.
The suggestion of protester violence gets picked up and used by the city officials.
“We’ve been trying (to talk) with the Occupy Oakland people for the last two weeks,” Quan said. “Last week it was pretty clear that there was escalating violence. (SF Chronicle Demian Bulwa,Henry K. Lee,)
Here is an example from the Oakland Tribune above where the Oakland Police Department makes a statement to the media and is accepted at face value.
One police officer said that during the plaza camp shutdown, protesters threw several objects at police, including bottles, skillets, other kitchen utensils and rocks. They also “threw plates at us like Frisbees,” the officer said. Police confirmed that protesters had set off a fire extinguisher — mistaken at first for a smoke bomb — and several M-180 and M-1000 firecrackers, low-level explosives they used to try to confuse or deter oncoming police. (Kristin J. Bender and Sean Maher, Oakland Tribune)
I wasn’t at the dispersal. If I was I would ask the unnamed police officer a few questions:
1. Who threw that first rock, skillet, bottle?
2. Do you have video footage of these alleged protesters on cops violence?
3. I have video footage of the same event showing it didn’t happen as you described, would you care to see it and then recast your characterization?
4. Do you have the alleged throwers’ identities? If not, why not? Were they arrested? Can I talk to the accused skillet throwers? If they weren’t arrested, why not?
5. Is it possible that an agent provocateur or undercover cop was behind the alleged throwing?
6. Does the Oakland police department (and its supporting agencies) have undercover operatives embedded in the encampment? Would you even tell us if there were?)
7. If you have the identity of the alleged skillet throwers, do you know their motivation for throwing rocks? (An undercover cop and agent provocateur starting violence makes a big difference to how the movement is perceived by the public, and what steps are acceptable for police to take.)
Personally I’d love to see footage of someone throwing of kitchen utensils. What something was really thrown? Sporks? Spoons? Plates as Frisbees? Maybe they were using Frisbees as plates! Of course the veiled suggestion is knives.
The media will be fed the story that the protesters are “getting violent” even with no actual footage or footage of the exact opposite. Today’s Bay Area TV news casts will all follow the lead of the print reports and run with undocumented protester on cop violence. I wish I could get to reporters and producers to remember to be skeptical of police reports.
Should police statements be taken as truth? What if there is opposing video evidence? Like the instant reply in football, opposing video evidence to the contrary of what the authorities say should be a game changer in this era of video phones.
The media fall into their roles of getting “both sides”, but if you have a leaderless group on one side, who speaks for them? Will video footage do? Who you going to believe, a cop or some live video footage? How do you get the footage to the media when you can’t just hold a press conference and they all come running?
Want to Help #occupyoakland From Home?
For #occupyoakland supporters at home who want to help, follow the methods of Charlie Grapski.
1. Scour all the footage and photos you can find of the instigators of the violence at the protest.
2. Look for video footage at the same time the cops said people were throwing things. If you find some that conclusively shows them throwing things, next.(You might also be able to identify egregious police abuse.)
3. Crowd-source the images and ask for help identifying them.
4. If you can identify the throwers, track them. See if they were arrested. (We know the trick of undercover cops getting arrested to make it look like they are part of the movement) Ask to see who was booked for violence and see if you can talk to them after they are released.
5. Write a post about it on a blog with info on the person(s) and their background.
6. Contact the media and point out who that protest was started by.
The media love to cover conflict stories like this raid. They don’t have the time to do the kind of research that might disprove their easy “the protesters are getting violent” narrative. We can.
40 Comments
tweeted and recommended — thanks spocko
Who would ever think a reporter might, well, ya know, ask for actual evidence.
As these protests continue, the protesters ignore (or haven’t been made aware) Obama signing away at least 150,000 more of the 99%’s jobs. No one’s been as good at hiding from the media as Obama. Mainstream media not covering Obama signing all 3 trade agreements into law on Friday didn’t surprise me. Conservative sites all ignoring it, despite their usual attack of all he does, didn’t surprise me. Daily Kos pretending it never happened wasn’t even a huge shock. Same goes for Countdown with Keith Olbermann. But Fire Dog Lake — who a couple weeks ago said they would keep their readers informed when it happens not even mentioning it in passing? That surprises me.
Sorry this is off-topic. I was hoping to put it in a late night thread, but am going out right now and don’t know when I’ll next be online.
Par for the course on FDL. Had no front page post on a fem blog the day SCOTUS threw out Walmart female employees class action suit. Go figger.
I have really mixed feelings about Occupy Oakland. I know what a combat zone it can be. And they just lost their police chief. It’s really a hard to manage city even w/o occupations. Police are always edgy there for many valid reasons. Just sayin’. I would worry for the safety of the protesters just generally. Don’t flame me…I know we are all entitled to free speech.
This one’s particularly strange, as FDL — along with a number of other Liberal (and a few Libertarian) — had regular updates on the status of the agreements UNTIL Obama signed them into law. Then nothing. I only knew about it because of an email I received from a trade union. I then went to read about it and nothing was written, anywhere. When I searched “Obama signs trade agreements into law,” I kept getting articles about how he MAY sign it into law and how that would be a tragedy. No articles about how he DID sign it into law. No mention on any TV show.
It reminds me of how the Canadian Oil Pipeline — and the 2000 arrests outside of the WH — has been made invisible. When it’s the mainstream media, it isn’t a surprise. But it is surprising and upsetting me that it’s now happening with Liberal blogs, as well. I fear that Obama will simply allow the pipeline in, destroying what little is left of our environment, and not a word will be spoken. This is HUGE news, people!
Just my two cents.
As I was walking back from the Star Fleet academy market it occurred to me just how overwhelming it can be to be in the middle of a early morning, late night raid. There is a reason they didn’t do this in mid afternoon before the TV cameras could be there.
These kind of events will keep happening as various cities pass around what methods work. It is imperative that we help spread around counter strategies. I’m sure that I’m not stating anything new here, but we have different tools that we had before. The easy availablity of camera phones and video phones combined with a wireless communications network SHOULD allow us to uncover the police techniques and deal with them.
My other point has to do with people actually doing the work that would track down and expose plants in the movement. Charlie Grapski did this work on the Air and Space Museum pepper spraying incident from his home in Florida.
What would the benefit be of finding the plants? Many, including the understanding that the police (or private security or RW publications) felt the need to do this.
I also think we need to address who the groups respond when they DO find someone who is not committed to non-violence and wants to throw rocks and smash stuff.
BTW, I wonder if the footage on the camera in the phone is available to the public.
I might just watch the local news tonight and see how many talk about skillet throwing based on the word of a police person.
I know exactly how police abuse and fabrications can be challenged by video footage. A friend of mine got arrested trying to ask a question at a town hall in Florida. We have footage of the arrest and her action that was interpreted by the police officer as treating. It was a patent fabrication, but the written report makes it sound like she punched the officer. She is weighing her legal options now, but she would not had any if not for the video footage.
So “throwing kitchen utensils and skillets” might be pushing over tables in the general direction of the police.
Bradley Manning & a lot of other FDL “causes” have been invisibilized.
And it works! I’m not very proud to admit it, but I mostly forgot about Manning. What the hell? Does the Obama admin. even work with these blogs to trade access, or something? This is weird.
Jesus, you guys are so paranoid that you can’t even accept that there are some rotten apples in those crowds! Everything that’s not fully in line with the message and messengers at these occupations HAS to be the result of a plant and some sort of huge conspiracy. The couple selling heroin at Occupy Boston? Plants. The people defecating on police cars in NYC? Plants. The snow and sleet predicted for Occupy Denver? The result of sort of Koch-backed meteorological experiment!
And you have video of something NOT happening?
You really are drinking the Koolaid and buying into the Factless Dogmatic Lies.
I am not sure if your last paragraph is saying that FDL didn’t report on the pipeline or just “liberal blogs”. You do know that Jane and others from FDL were protesting at the White House, got arrested and spent a night in jail recently.
Police don’t need no proof. They all know how to “testily” (that’s a lawyer term for it). And the judges want to believe every word they say.
Out of all of the occupy demonstrations it comes as no surprise that the one most harshly dealt with was from a community that has a large black population.
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the troll.
Nobody said there are no bad apples, what are you talking about?
Spocko suggested that it would be sensible to identify any agitators planted amongst the protestors, if present. Protests have been deliberately compromised before, so it’s a good idea to consider the possibility.
Did you misunderstand, or are you deliberately missing the point?
Sorry – that was a reply to the happy guy.
Hey, anyone here remember TRex? He had the best method EVER of dealing with trolls. Why don’t we do that anymore?
Now I remember EPU.
Its so hard to keep up with the pace of things.
He’s b-a-a-a-ck. (Or she.)
Tortoise Eh. He’s a troll. But here is something else you might be interested in,
I just read a facinating story by Pam Martens of CounterPunch on Wall Street Firms spying on protesters.
She describes a massive facility dubbed the Lower Manhattan Security Coordination Center.
“It operates round-the-clock. Under the imprimatur of the largest police department in the United States, 2,000 private spy cameras owned by Wall Street firms, together with approximately 1,000 more owned by the NYPD, are relaying live video feeds of people on the streets in lower Manhattan to the center.”
It occurred to me that these cameras might cover Zuccotti Park. I wrote Martens and asked if video of that events at the park are available to the public. She thinks they might be, but someone needs to file a Freedom of Information request to the NYPD.
You see that photo in the article? I wonder if that footage is available.
You know how cop cars have video cameras in their cars? I’m wondering how many cameras they had there? How many cameras did we have?
It’s deliberate. Just take Mary’s advice.
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Oh yeah, we remember TRex. He’s still around, but I don’t think he’s blogging any more.
What was the “best method ever”? Let’s resurrect it.
EPU is not TRex. EPU is still around too. Occasionally.
“to create the impression that the protesters are a bunch of rock-throwing thugs that justify police wearing full riot gear to disperse the crowd.”
Seems like he is disputing that there are any bad apples. You don’t need to create an impression when it’s fact.
Yes tell me what the practice is!
I LMAO reading this one from SF Gate, it’s an AP Reporter providing UNBIASED coverage of the event at hand.
The Pics, All 52 To See, Are Staged.
1) There have been people pissing, shitting, shooting up, cracking up, and doing paid sex with condoms strewn about in that location and in the streets for decades, it’s fucking Oakland, and there are thousands of transients of all kinds bless them in that region.
2) The rats have been there as long as the rat fuck politicians have been there, they ain’t new either.
Great diary read Spock, thanks for the other linkys.
You rawhk hoss.
Totally rcc’d, always.
I keep LMAO like this and I might LOSE a few pants sizes!
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Obama signed them into law, end of fucking story.
As to Bradley Manning, eCahn, that’s a cheap shot IMHO.
Invisibilized?
Shit happens, coverage turns . . . FDL does what it can. Why turn on it all of a sudden?
Do you suspect skullduggery on the part of Mz. Hamsher’s and FDL’s intent?
Not like you to go down this road in this sordid manner. Usually, you go into depth with your concerns of matters such as these . . . .
Agree with you COMPLETELY!
This is just the beginning of the backlash, the saboteur’s are in place, more will come as Occupy’s are id’d and diagrammed.
Key players in Occupy’s will be id’d, and either set up or infiltrated by fellow travelers and then set up.
The labor movement in the late 1890′s thru the 1940′s knows of these things, the antiwar movements of WW1. WW2 and Vietnam know of these things . . .
The Occupy blowback is JUST gearing up . . . it will get much worse before it gets better or is completely smothered and dies.
Now is the time to amass masses and turn the Ghandian Cheek, regardless of the violence and challenges.
Now is NOT the time to engage with violence. Not at all. That would be only self defeating for the 99%.
NO protest of this sort should EVER engage in violence. Of any sorts.
Hey AssByte, Yer On Our Corner.
I thought EPU was extreme parallel universe . . . it was an identity here at FDL?
I hope TRex is happier n he was a few years ago, tough times for him it seemed . . . his snark was so cutting I got femoral artery bleeds from it at times just reading him.
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“Obama signed them into law, end of fucking story.”
The problem is, that story wasn’t reported. Here or on any left leaning site I’ve looked at. What part of that didn’t you understand?
Yes. I know this and I was very excited to see FDL cover the pipeline. It’s just odd to me that the coverage of the pipeline AND of the anti-American trade agreements just STOPPED. Not only here, but pretty much everywhere. And yes, I am wondering if there was a reason for it, as both stories were being followed quite closely by many a site and neither story is even being mentioned anymore.
Help support Oaktown! Please sign and pass this along. Thank you!!!
Re-Call Oakland Mayor Jean Quan http://signon.org/s/hWiwzm #signon
via Twitter, “In the last minute of the video, a woman is knocked unconscious by a concussion grenade and then shot with a beanbag” – http://www.ktvu.com/video/29587714/index.html
Venture off the front page every once in awhile. There were several excellent entries on MyFDL about the trade agreements with lots of comments. I, for one, am not going to get my undies in an uproar over what is on the front page or not when I can easily find information from people I trust at the click of a tab.
I understand that the Oakland officials are denying the use of flash bang canisters while this video clearly shows their use:
http://www.ktvu.com/video/29587140/index.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
This video has reports from KTVU reporters on the ground with the protesters yet this 5 minute plus clip makes no mention of violence on the part of OWS.
Perhaps there are reasons why this #occupy camp was cleared as violently as it was — to provoke civil unrest to pin #occupy as violent. Where better than Oakland where police and citizens have an, er, history?