Who Rules Oakland? Part 1., Corporate Directors and the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce By Darwin BondGraham and Adrian Drummond-Cole [Download a pdf of this article for end notes, higher resolution images and print layout.] The Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit "business league" organization, chartered under Section 501 (c) 6 of the IRS Code. The goal of a business league is to promote political conditions in which their members can obtain lucrative government contracts, avoid local and state taxes, pass off operating expenses onto the public, and privatize public goods. The membership of most chambers of commerce is split between two kinds of businesses. Large banks are a good example of this latter category of members in that they frequently participate in local chambers to promote local branches and ensure access to local housing, consumer, and business lending markets. Most of these companies have large dollar stakes in the Bay Area and California markets. 1. Who Rules?
Cognitech, Inc. Announces Donation of Software to the Oakland Police Department Pasadena, CA (PRWEB) January 31, 2012 Cognitech, Inc. has announced the recent donation of it's forensic video enhancement Tri-Suite 11 software system to the Oakland Police Department, at the request of the Oakland Law Enforcement, and in the interest of the City of Oakland, CA, community at large with the purpose of forensically enhancing and analyzing video footage from the Occupy Oakland protests in order to find the forensic truth in the recorded incidents/events footage. The Cognitech, Inc. Cognitech, Inc. About Cognitech, Inc In 1988, Cognitech, Inc. was the first company in the world that designed and developed the unique Video Investigator® hardware and software products for professional forensic CCTV video processing and analysis.
If you have been arrested at Occupy Oakland, please read the following The District Attorney has recently filed charges against some of the people arrested on December 12th and 30th. However, they have not notified people that these charges have been filed. This means that if you were arrested at any point during Occupy Oakland and your charges were not filed during an arraignment, there is still a possibility that the charges have now been filed and there is a warrant for your arrest. Therefore, if you have been arrested, you should call the District Attorney immediately to determine the status of your case. If you find out that charges have been filed, immediately call the National Lawyers Guild to discuss your legal options. If you call the District Attorney and charges have not been filed, this does not necessarily mean that you are in the clear. For everyone who wants to know more about their options in this situation, there will be a meeting with a lawyer on Thursday, January 26. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.
Whose streets? Oakland’s shadow government presses City Hall to end the occupation by Adrian Drummond-Cole and Darwin BondGraham Not considering local law enforcement sufficient protection against the 99 percent, downtown Oakland “business improvement districts,” or BIDs, hire private security firms to patrol public space. These riot clad Alameda County Sheriff deputies were protecting the property of the 1 percent on Oct. 25, the day Oscar Grant Plaza was reclaimed after the encampment had been brutally destroyed by police from 17 local jurisdictions. – Photo: Jay Finneburgh In a letter addressed to Oakland’s Mayor Jean Quan on Nov. 8, two little-known entities, the Lake Merritt/Uptown District Association (LMUDA) and Downtown Oakland Association (DOA) implored Mayor Quan to “step up and provide cohesive, common sense leadership.” Who are the LMUDA and DOA? The privatization of public administration The Lake Merritt/Uptown District and Downtown District are two of nine BIDs established in Oakland since 2001. Before joining SKS, J.C.
Activists and Anarchists Speak for Themselves at Occupy Oakland January 28 was not supposed to turn out the way it did. After Occupy Oakland failed to occupy its first two targeted buildings and had a short-lived street battle in front of the Oakland Museum, police in riot gear contained the march of nearly 1,000 in a public park. There was a dispersal order, but no means of escape. Protesters with shields attempted to push the police line, which responded with several volleys of tear gas into the crowd, still trapped. As marchers, both masked and bare faced, continued north, taking the street, they chanted powerfully, suddenly and without reservation: "When Oakland is under attack, what do we do?" As the move-in committee said Monday in a statement on January 28: "This time, the chant was not an empty one." Occupy Oakland, January 28, 2012. This principle, this fight, appears to be at the heart of recent critiques of "anarchists," "Black Bloc" and the tactics some choose to employ in political protest, especially in Oakland. But so does Hedges.
OPD Used Violent Cops Against Occupy On the morning of November 3, following the massive general strike in Oakland, police shot Occupy protester Scott Campbell with a beanbag round that left an ugly welt on his thigh. Campbell's only apparent offense was that he had decided to video-record a line of riot police at the north entrance of Frank Ogawa Plaza. Last week, news reports revealed that Oakland police had put two cops on administrative leave and were investigating their roles in the apparent unjustified shooting of Campbell. But the Campbell incident was by no means isolated. Documents recently released by OPD, coupled with news reports of the Campbell shooting, indicate that the department appears to have systematically assigned cops with histories of using deadly force to deal with Occupy Oakland protests. Last week, Oakland Tribune reporter Thomas Peele identified Victor Garcia as the officer who fired a less-than-lethal beanbag round at Campbell.
So it's OK then ? New details surface from 'Occupy Oakland' protester Scott Olsen's past By Sergio Quintana SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Members of "Occupy Oakland" had a march Friday in support of two veterans who were also injured in the demonstrations. They honored former Marine Scott Olsen and Army Ranger Kayvan Sabeghi. Since his injury, Olsen brought international attention to the Occupy Oakland encampment. "He suffered a brain injury from a teargas projectile fired at him, and he's just now recovering his speech." He was honored by Veteran's For Peace and the Occupy San Jose group on this Veterans Day. They point to a website, which is no longer active, called IHateTheMarineCorps.com. "I know Scott I met him between his first and second tours in Iraq and I tried to talk him out of going back a second time," said Johnson. According to a story published by Reuters, Olsen also received an administrative discharge from the Marines, instead of an honorable discharge. Diane Layfield participated in San Jose's Veterans Day Parade. (Copyright ©2014 KGO-TV. Tags:
The_Judge Thelton Henderson Thelton Eugene Henderson (born November 28, 1933,[1] Shreveport, Louisiana) is currently a federal judge in the Northern District of California. He has played an important role in the field of civil rights as a lawyer, educator, and jurist. Career[edit] Henderson received both his undergraduate and law degrees from University of California, Berkeley. In 1962, he became the Justice Department's first African-American lawyer in the Civil Rights Division. He was sent to the South to monitor local law enforcement for any civil rights abuses, a role that included investigating the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing which killed four girls. After a stint in private practice, he served as director of a Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County office in East Palo Alto, California. Federal service[edit] In June 1980, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as U.S. In a landmark 1995 civil rights case, Madrid v. Honors and recognition[edit] Additionally, the Thelton E. References[edit]
Cop Identified in Scott Olsen Incident? One of the most indelible images of the Occupy movement to date is that of Marine veteran Scott Olsen being carried away from a skirmish line of riot police at 14th Street and Broadway on October 25 in Oakland. Stunned and bleeding from an ugly gash on his forehead, the 24-year-old Wisconsin native had been struck in the head by an unknown projectile during the first salvo of tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and less-than-lethal munitions fired at hundreds of Occupy Oakland supporters facing off against Oakland police and several other Bay Area law enforcement agencies called in on mutual aid. Video from the tear gas-soaked night of the 25th shows a prone Olsen lying in front of metal barricades and police in riot gear. As several protesters ran to Olsen's aid, someone from the cluster of police appears to lob a flash-bang grenade into the crowd gathered around the young veteran. Two stripes and a star, OPD's insignia for acting sergeants, are visible on the officer's left sleeve.
Police clash with 'Occupy Oakland' protesters - Americas Police have fired tear gas at protesters from the "Occupy Oakland" movement in the US city of Oakland in California. Thursday's clashes followed a peaceful rally which shut down Oakland's port, the fifth busiest cargo facility in the country. Protesters called for a general strike to protest economic conditions and police brutality. An estimated 5,000 people gathered for the demonstration against what they call corporate greed. The port, which handles about $39bn a year in imports and exports, stopped operations after being swarmed by thousands of the marchers. While the city was not shut down by the protest, as had been the aim of the demonstrators, many businesses chose to remain closed on Wednesday. "At this time, maritime operations are effectively shut down at the Port of Oakland. Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds, reporting from Oakland, said the mostly peaceful events had been marred by sporadic "scuffles and fistfights" between protesters. Teacher walkout Oakland 'example'
Obstructions of justice - Page 2 Carly (left) is arrested Dec. 30 for having a yoga mat, as were two tree sitters (right) Police cars had pulled up on 14th street, and a line of police exited. In unison, they started advancing, brandishing batons. Many who were at the scene grabbed their possessions and fled. Most just backed away as the cops advanced. A handful stood in front of the teepee, and were arrested on the spot. Twelve were arrested, including La Rose. "I took one picture and I was told to back up," he said. Then there's Chris, another occupier arrested Jan. 4. On Jan. 7, OccupyOakland held an "anti-repression march," claiming that recent arrests are an overt attempt to repress the movement. "There is evidence that would go to show that they were targeting people based on First Amendment activity, and not for illegal activity," said attorney Mike Flynn, president of the NLG-SF. But OPD spokesperson Johnna Watson told us these arrests were perfectly legal.
Riot police fire projectiles, arrest dozens of Occupy Oakland protesters This post has been corrected; please see bottom for details. Riot police from a number of Bay Area departments fired tear gas and other projectiles and arrested dozens of demonstrators early Thursday to break up Occupy Oakland protests that had drawn thousands of participants. Officers moved in near the protesters' City Hall encampment, where tents resprouted after officials last week ordered them razed. The police action came after a predominantly peaceful day of protest that attracted more than 7,000 people. The evening appeared to be winding down peacefully when protesters declared victory at the Port of Oakland at 9 p.m. Wednesday--after authorities confirmed that a shift of workers scheduled to start work at 7 p.m. had been canceled. PHOTOS: Occupy Oakland Demonstrators managed to gain entry to an empty building that had housed the Traveler's Aid Society, a nonprofit organization that assists the homeless but had suffered funding cuts. Diet pills killed actor Bubba Smith