Month: December 2011

Baltimore woke up to the news that police in riot gear shut down Occupy Baltimore shortly after 3 a.m. today, rousting 35 to 40 people from tents in what appears to have been a largely peaceful end to the group’s 10-week protest.

“It happened at about 3:20. I poked my head out of my tent and there they were – police with riot face masks and shields and batons in their hands. It was something!” said Mike Gibb, standing at the corner of Pratt and Light streets with four or five others in front of the encampment, which was still cordoned-off by police.

SEATTLE — Police who used “flash-bang” percussion grenades to disperse protesters who blocked an entrance to a Port of Seattle facility Monday say 11 demonstrators have been arrested.

The demonstration was part of a national effort to disrupt West Coast port traffic.

Officers moved in Monday evening after Occupy Seattle protesters tried to set up a makeshift barrier near the entrances to Terminal 5 and Terminal 18, using scraps of wood, aluminum debris and any other material they could scrape together.

Demonstrators blocked traffic, hurling flares, bags of paint, bricks, rebar and other debris at officers and police horses, Detective Jeff Kappel said. One officer was treated by medics after a bag of paint hit his face.

By Aaron Bady / guardian.co.uk /December 13, 2011

On my way to the Occupy the port action this morning, I stopped by Oscar Grant Plaza, the tiny patch of lawn in front of Oakland’s city hall where – until the city evicted them for the second time on 14 November – Occupy Oakland’s tents, kitchen, library, and meeting place had stood. Now it’s little more than a muddy swamp. The city’s sprinklers run overtime to keep the soil saturated with water, so that no more tents can be put up. It’s cheaper than paying police to evict the occupiers. Easier just to leave the water on all night and turn the space into a mud pit.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12, 2011 — We are the front-line workers who haul container rigs full of imported and exported goods to and from the docks and warehouses every day.

We have been elected by committees of our co-workers at the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma to tell our collective story. We have accepted the honor to speak up for our brothers and sisters about our working conditions despite the risk of retaliation we face. One of us is a mother, the rest of us fathers. Between the four of us we have six children and one more baby on the way. We have a combined 31 years of experience driving cargo from our shores for America’s stores.

By Davina Lynch

Saturday, December 10 2011: Occupy San Diego gathered with Veteran’s For Peace, ACCE, LGBT groups, PSS San Diego and APRL, and members of other progressive and interfaith groups to come together showing solidarity for the National Day of Action for Human Rights.

Congresswoman Susan Davis and Seisen Saunders, a Buddhist priest from the Sweetwater Zen Center, gave speeches to kick off the march and to show their support for the movement, both expressing that we are all in this together. This was followed by a march through the Gaslamp District of downtown with protesters chanting, “We are unstoppable, a new world is possible!”

Come inside for photos!

As we head toward 2012, there are a number of tax initiatives being proposed for the ballot next year. What separates them? Two of them, being put forth by activist millionaires, are largely regressive in nature aiming to bring in revenue by increasing income, sales, and other taxes on the majority of Californians in order to help fund education and other services. The Governor’s plan is a combination of progressive taxation (starting with earners who make $250,000 and above) and regressive (a sales tax that will hit everyone).

Only the “Millionaires’ Tax to Restore Funding for Education and Essential Services” keeps its aim on the 1% and only the 1% by imposing a 3% tax on all earnings over $1 million and 5% on all earnings over $2 million.

UPDATES 5:44 PM – Big Ed Schultz of msnbc mentions the West Coast ports shut down, while highlighting east coast…

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s minions attacked Occupy SF on the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Just a coincidence?

In the wee hours of this December 7 just past, over 100 SFPD riot cops invaded Occupy SF, gave the sleeping campers 5 minutes to clear out, arrested 70, supervised the destruction of their belongings in trash crusher trucks, and supervised the obliteration of the suddenly most offensive structures ever to grace the grounds of San Francisco: Tents.

Was it just a coincidence that this happened on the 70th anniversary …

On October 28th, San Diego police raided the Occupy San Diego encampments at Civic Center Plaza and Children’s Park – arresting 53 protesters.

Yesterday – December 9th – was the arraignment date of nearly all those arrested, but it turns out only 3 were actually charged with criminal or Municipal code violations.

October 28th – or actually the very early hours of October 29th – was the night of the horrific show of brute force of hundreds of SDPD and Sheriffs Deputies, where people were rousted without warning from their sleeping bags, some trampled on by police as officers rampaged the camps at 2:00 a.m.

Civic Center Plaza Rally – 4:00 pm – (3rd Ave and B Street) also called “Freedom Square”

Speakers include Congresswoman Susan Davis

March through Gaslamp

Drum Circle

Join a myriad of progressive groups downtown today, the 10th of December, for actions as part of the National Day of Action for Human Rights. There will be a 4:00 pm rally at Civic Center, (1100 3rd Ave and B Street) – also called “Freedom Square”, followed by a march through the Gaslamp, and a Drum Circle back at the Plaza.

Last night at the Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting, the planners unanimously rejected an application to build a three story house in the 5100 block of West Point Loma Boulevard, in northwest OB. The vote was 9 to 0; the vice-chair had recused himself and had left the meeting before any discussion or vote.

If it had passed and ended up being built, this proposed building would seriously add to the gentrification occurring on that particular block of West Point Loma Blvd., which butts up to the beach and its grassy area. The Burk family had submitted the application to demolish the existing two-unit, one-story place at 5150 W. Pt. Loma and construct a three-story, one-family residence, with just less than the maximum allowed, 1750 square feet. If ever built, the Burk residence would join two other similar 3-story projects that either have already been built or have been approved. The last applicant – the Cox residence – was fought by OB planners all the way to the Coastal Commission – unsuccessfully.