Occupy Oakland: Protesters, Officials Take Stock Of Costs [LATEST UPDATES]

By TERRY COLLINS, The Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The tear gas clouds have cleared, graffiti has been scrubbed off buildings and shattered glass has been swept away.

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As downtown Oakland attempts to get back to normal ? which for now seems to include a massive Occupy Wall Street tent encampment in front of city hall ? the costs of the movement on the long-struggling city are just starting to come into focus.

And the divisions over the violent tactics that capped an otherwise peaceful day of protest may be taking a toll on the movement itself.

In contrast to New York's thriving island of affluence, Oakland has spent decades on the cusp, a tough, blue-collar town that struggles with poverty and crime.

The protests have been centered in a part of town that has been the target of economic revitalization efforts that recently have lent the area a more upscale vibe but where abandoned storefronts remain plentiful.

City politicians at a chaotic five-hour meeting Thursday night homed in on the price of business lost because of the protests.

Downtown retailers and business leaders say customers and businesses have been scared off. One high-profile real estate developer said he stood in the lobby of his historic office building next to the encampment early Thursday morning and sent vandals at the door scattering when he racked his loaded shotgun.

"We're losing 300 to 400 jobs on people who decided to not renew their leases or not to come here," said Mayor Jean Quan, who also complained about what she said was the protesters' lack of willingness to talk with city officials about seeking common ground.

The president of the Chamber of Commerce blames Quan for three deals falling through.

Two businesses planning to lease a total of 50,000 square feet of office space and another planning to bring 100 jobs into the city pulled out after Quan allowed protesters to return to their camp after a police raid had cleared them out, Joseph Haraburda said.

"We have economic development in reverse right now," he said.

Quan has paid a high political price over her handling of the Occupy encampment.

From an early morning police raid to clear the camp to a tear gas-filled clash with protesters that night to an about-face that has allowed the camp to grow bigger than ever, Quan has faced a barrage of criticism from all sides claiming she has failed to show leadership in the crisis.

The City Council did not vote Thursday on an expected resolution to pledge the city's support to the Occupy movement as several councilmembers expressed doubts, leaving the city's position unclear.

What is clear is that the cash-strapped city's response to the protests is incurring major costs, especially in the form of police overtime.

The Oakland Police Officer's Association, which represents the rank-and-file, estimates that the city will have spent about $2 million in the past two weeks on the police response to the protests, which at one point included help from more than a dozen outside police forces.

"Occupy Wall Street comes in, takes over the park, starts to bleed the resources of this city ? resources that this city does not have," said Sgt. Dom Arotzarena, the union's president, who added that officers support the message of the movement but not its tactics.

The high-crime city laid off 80 officers last year in its effort to close a recession-driven budget gap.

Those hardships have not earned the police much sympathy from protesters, who have implored officers to cross the riot lines, in a city that has a long history of tensions between residents and officers.

Before Wednesday's massive turnout, Occupy Oakland had adopted several official positions, but none stating that the leaderless group was committed to non-violence. Like anti-Wall Street encampments in other cities, the Oakland offshoot adopts stands at evening meetings known as a General Assembly that are held four times a week.

Among the stances taken by Occupy Oakland was one encouraging participants to use a "diversity of tactics" outside the main encampment to register dissatisfaction with the economic status quo.

As an example, it noted that during confrontations with police, some protesters might want to have calm conversations and urge officers to be non-violent, while others might choose to express their anger by yelling, trying to remove police barriers, or disrupting traffic.

Yet at a news conference Thursday, divisions among protesters surfaced as several spokespeople addressed the latest vandalism.

Shake Anderson, a member of Occupy Oakland's media committee, said participants in the encampment had called the mayor's office to disavow the people who were causing damage, an action Quan later praised as helping prevent a bigger blowup between protesters and police.

"We called the mayor's office the instant we understood what was taking place over there," Anderson said.

"That was an anonymous action. That was nothing to do with Occupy Oakland," Anderson said.

Another committee member, Varucha Peller, interrupted and pleaded with Anderson to stick with the group's approved message of focusing attention on the thousands of people who shut down the Port of Oakland on Wednesday night.

"Occupy Oakland did not call the mayor's office. Individuals called the mayor's office. Occupy Oakland has a policy that has been passed through the General Assembly that we do not negotiate with politicians and we do not involve political parties," Peller said.

An early Occupy supporter whose views appear to be diverging from the group is Councilwoman Desley Brooks, who camped out with protesters early on. At the council meeting, she expressed skepticism about the camp's sustainability.

"I believe and understand the lack of hope and the pain and the frustration that people are feeling," said Brooks as her colleagues nodded in agreement. "But I have been extremely troubled, troubled by how far do we allow your rights to go and infringe on other people's rights."

___

Associated Press writers Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco and Lisa Leff in Oakland and video journalist Haven Daley in Oakland contributed to this report.

Latest Updates On HuffPost's Live Blog: More Details On Car That Struck 3 People Near Occupy DC Protest

From AP:

WASHINGTON -- District of Columbia authorities say a car drove through a crowd near an Occupy DC protest and struck three people.

D.C. fire department spokesman Lon Walls said Saturday morning that the three were transported to two area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. He said none was in critical condition but that some injuries were "fairly serious."

Full story here.

The Washington Post Confirms Occupy DC Injuries

From The Washington Post:

Hundreds of Occupy D.C. protesters blocked streets Friday night around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where a conservative group was holding a dinner.

Two people were injured after apparently being struck by cars, authorities said.

Full story here.

PHOTOS: Occupy DC Protesters March On Koch-Affiliated Event

WASHINGTON -- Protesters marched on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Friday evening where Americans for Prosperity, a conservative organization funded in part by the Koch brothers, was assembled for its Defending The American Dream Summit and Ronald Reagan tribute dinner.

Full story and photos here.

Occupy DC: Two People Reportedly Hit By Car At Different Intersections

@ timcraigpost : Two people hit by a car, at different intersections, when car allegedly rammed two human blockades. Numerous police responding. #occupydc

Second Iraq War Veteran Reportedly Injured In Occupy Oakland Protests

The Guardian reports:

A second Iraq war veteran has suffered serious injuries after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland.

Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland camp, but despite suffering agonising pain, did not reach hospital until 18 hours later.

Sabehgi, 32, is the second Iraq war veteran to be hospitalised following involvement in Oakland protests. Another protester, Scott Olsen, suffered a fractured skull on 25 October.

Full story here.

'These People Don't Even Believe In God'

@ timcraigpost : "These people don't even believe in God," one conference attendee said as she walked past #Occupydc

Occupy Paris Reportedly Has Food Stolen By Police

@ OccupyParis : #occupydefense number one trending topic on twitter ! We are hungry, police stole our food supplies. Follow us on twitter

Did The New York Post Instigate An Attack In Zuccotti Park?

HuffPost's Saki Knafo:

Recai "Rocky" Iskender woke up in his Zuccotti Park tent yesterday morning to the unpleasant sensation of being kicked in the head. He scrambled out of the tent and onto the sidewalk, where he found a man with wild hair and a deranged look screaming at him. He knocked the man on his back with a left hook.

Standing there capturing the action on his camera was Kevin Fasick, a reporter for the New York Post. This was excellent timing for Fasick. The Post has covered the seedy and criminal element in Zuccotti Park almost to the exclusion of any other aspect of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The morning of the attack, an op-ed urging Mayor Bloomberg to banish the "bums" appeared on the cover of the paper under a headline that screamed "ENOUGH!" Now Fasick had found the perfect opportunity to lend some reportorial weight to the editorial board's assertion that the protests had largely been "hijacked by crazies and criminals." The attacker, Jeremy Clinch of Cleveland, played the part of violent lunatic to perfection. He seemed to be performing just for Fasick's benefit, turning and ranting directly to the camera.

Full story here.

OWS Spokes Council Orientation Is Tonight

From the New York City General Assembly:

The Structure Working Group will be holding a Spokes Council Orientation, including going through a mock proposal, Group check-ins and other procedural issues tonight at 7pm at the 60 Wall St atrium. We will have a better space for Monday night.

Full details here.

OWS Releases Statement On Sexual Assault

Zuccotti Park's Safer Spaces Committee put out a statement to clarify recent allegations concerning a sexual assault that took place within OWS encampment. The press release provides a detailed accounting of the organization's response to the incident:

On the morning of October 29, a woman participating in OWS was sexually assaulted at Liberty Plaza. The person who she identified as having assaulted her was arrested on November 1 for a previous assault. He has since been released on bail.

On the morning of the assault, the survivor was accompanied to the hospital by a group of women from OWS, including a social worker, to support her and act as advocates. From the moment the incident was discovered to the present time, the survivor has been surrounded by a network of allies and trained advocates offering resources to provide emotional, medical, and legal support. At every step of the process, and in line with the core principles of survivor support, her wishes as to how she wanted to proceed have been honored, and information from a range of sources has been provided to her about her options. The survivor knew immediately that she wanted to make sure that the person who assaulted her did not harm anyone else at OWS. Community members honored this demand by asking that this person stay off site, and, when he refused, monitored his activity, ejected him from the space and escorted him to police custody.

These efforts provided the survivor with the time and space to carefully review the options available to her. Following two days of discussion with family, friends, supporters, and anti-violence advocates, the survivor decided to make a report to the police and to push for a criminal investigation and prosecution. Supporters from OWS accompanied her to the police station, and will continue to support her throughout the legal process.

We have been saddened and angered to observe some members of the media and the public blame the survivor for the assault. A survivor is never at fault. It is unacceptable to criticize a survivor for the course of action they chose to take or their community for supporting them in that choice. Additionally, we were troubled at the time of her report that responding police officers appeared to be more concerned by her political involvement in OWS than her need for assistance after a traumatic incident of sexual violence. A survivor is not at fault for being assaulted while peacefully participating in a public protest to express their political opinions. We are aware that this is one of several known cases of sexual assault that have occurred at OWS. We are dismayed by these appalling acts and distressed by the fear among many Occupiers that they have caused, as well as their negative impact on our ability to safely participate in public protests. We have the right to participate in peaceful protests without fear of violence.

We are also concerned that segments of the media have attempted to use this incident as another way to disingenuously attack and discredit OWS. It is reprehensible to manipulate and capitalize on a tragedy like this to discredit a peaceful political movement. OWS exists within a broader culture where sexual assault is egregiously common: someone in the US is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes, most assaults are never reported, and most rapists are never held to account.[1] We live in a culture of violence in which sexual assault is often ignored, condoned, excused and even encouraged. We note that it is particularly difficult for survivors of assault at OWS to feel confident in reporting crimes to the NYPD ? the NYPD?s unjustifiably aggressive and abusive policing of OWS has undermined trust in the police force amongst protesters.

As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence. Advocates, some of whom are survivors themselves, have worked for decades to address sexual violence generally. We are working for an OWS and a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally, where they are supported to come forward, and where every community member takes responsibility for preventing and responding to harm. We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.

We are creating and sharing strategies that educate and transform our community into a culture of consent, safety, and well-being. At OWS, these strategies currently include support circles, counseling, consent trainings, safer sleeping spaces, self-defense trainings, community watch, awareness campaigns, and other evolving community-based processes to address harm. We encourage survivors to connect with support and advocates, and to access medical, legal, and social services, as well as available community-based options, many of which are listed below. We stand together as a community to work towards the prevention of sexual violence and harassment, and to provide unwavering support for anyone who has been assaulted. We commit to creating a culture of visibility, support, and advocacy for survivors, and of accountability for people who have committed harm.

Occupy Philly Sets Up Pivotal General Assembly

Organizers have to decide whether or not to move to make way for city construction project. According to the Philly City Paper:

Mayor Michael Nutter has allowed the Occupy Philly encampment in front of City Hall to continue more or less unmolested. But he has made it clear that the protest tent city must move in the coming month when construction to rebuild Dilworth Plaza is slated to begin. But protesters have debated whether to comply and last night, a group called the ?radical caucus? put forward a proposal to vote on whether to stay put in Dilworth for good.

It?s possible, says organizer Chris Goldstein, that the proposal, like many others, will be tabled or amended. And he says that whether people stay or relocate will in the end be a personal choice since the General Assembly (GA) isn?t a governing body. It?s just a space to build consensus ? or something close to it (the rules call for an overwhelming super-majority).

For his part, Goldstein is more interested in discussing expanding the encampment than relocating.

?There?s a lot of autonomy in Occupy Philly. I?m not sure if a vote at the GA will make any difference. People can occupy wherever they want. My personal opinion is that we should occupy more places. I?m not sure if moving is as much an issue as expansion.?

Second Iraq War Vet Injured at Occupy Oakland

The Guardian reports:

A second Iraq war veteran has suffered serious injuries after clashes between police and Occupy movement protesters in Oakland.

Kayvan Sabehgi, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in intensive care with a lacerated spleen. He says he was beaten by police close to the Occupy Oakland camp, but despite suffering agonising pain, did not reach hospital until 18 hours later.

Read the whole thing here.

Oakland Sets Up First General Assembly Since General Strike

@ occupyoakland : GA tonight at 7. First GA since the #generalstrike, we have a lot to discuss and propose! Come get involved in the revolution #occupyoakland

Did The New York Post Instigate A Fight In Zucotti Park?

Recai "Rocky" Iskender awoke in his Zuccotti Park tent yesterday morning to the unpleasant sensation of being kicked in the head. He scrambled out of the tent and onto the sidewalk. A man with wild hair and a deranged look was screaming at him. He knocked the man on his back with a left hook.

Standing there, capturing the action on his camera, was Kevin Fasick, a reporter for the New York Post.

This was excellent timing for the Post reporter. In case you haven't been following, the Post has been covering the seedy and criminal element in Zuccotti Park almost to the exclusion of any other aspect of the movement. The morning of the attack, an op-ed urging Mayor Bloomberg to banish the protestors from the park appeared on the cover under the headline equivalent of a kick to the head: "ENOUGH!" Apparently Fasick had now found the perfect opportunity to lend some journalistic weight to this demand. Not only did the attacker, Jeremy Clinch of Cleveland, play the part of violent lunatic to perfection; he seemed to be performing just for Fasick's benefit, turning and ranting directly to the camera.

After the incident, Iskender angrily told Fasick that he suspected Clinch may have been put up to the job by someone employed by the "Bloomberg police machine," and he accused Fasick of somehow contributing to the incident. He says that Fasick managed to calm him down by repeatedly referring to Iskender as a "victim," but when the article and video came out this morning he found that the reporter had been less than honest with him. The article referred to Iskender as a wacko and jeered that he was "up to the bizarre standards set by Clinch." Iskender now suspects it was Fasick who coaxed Clinch into starting the fight. Fasick told this reporter he would not be giving any interviews.

--Saki Knafo

Send Us Your Images And Videos

People from across the U.S. have been sending their images and videos of Occupy Wall Street protests to OfftheBus, The Huffington Post's citizen journalism program. The best of these submissions are included in the gallery below. Recent additions include images from Oakland, Durham and Providence.

To add your own images from OWS events near you, email offthebus@huffingtonpost.com. See more citizen journalism from Occupy Wall Street events here.

Iowa Credit Unions Gain $49 Million In Deposits Ahead Of Bank Transfer Day

The Iowa Independent reports:

Olivia Maiers, spokeswoman for the Iowa Credit Union League, reports that members have gain 7,000 new members and $49 million in new deposits since the beginning of September. Nationally, credit unions have gain 650,000 customers and added $4.5 billion in new accounts during that same time, according to the Credit Union National Association.

The national organization adds that four out of every five of their affiliated credit unions have reported the increase is due to attempts by larger banks to raise customer fees, the Bank Transfer Day movement or a combination of both.

WATCH: Anonymous Poet's Passionate Performance At Occupy Denver

Michael Moore may have drawn the crowd Thursday at Occupy Denver, but the day's most memorable moment may be attributed to an anonymous poet who stepped forward to recite Livin' In The Land Where The Whip Still Cracks.

Traders Dump McDonald's Job Applications On Occupy Chicago

Mediaite reports:

In the middle of an Occupy Chicago teach-in this week, traders at the Chicago Board of Trade dumped several sheets of paper on top of the heads of protesters below. Demonstrators were angered to find out they were showered with employment applications for McDonald?s.

Read the full story here.

Anonymous throws support behind Occupy the Caucuses in Iowa

An Occupy Des Moines protester tells HuffPost in an email "Occupy Des Moines has no intention of disrupting or interfering with caucus voting on January 3. We are targeting the presidential candidates and the big-moneyed corporations pulling their strings behind the scenes, not everyday voters."

Bloomberg's Patience Wears Thin As Eviction Rumors Swirl

The Village Voice reports:

Mike Bloomberg has started to publicly lose patience with the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park. Yesterday, he told the Observer that recent reports of crime and sexual assault in the park were "a very high priority" for the administration and that any withholding of information from the police by protesters "is despicable, and I think it is outrageous and it really allows the criminal to strike again making all of us less safe."

Today during his weekly appearance on John Gambling's radio show, Bloomberg said that "we're not going to tolerate" some of the behavior at Zuccotti. "If you see what happened like in Oakland, we are not gonna have that here," he said. "That's not gonna happen here."

Read the full story here.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/occupy-oakland-costs_n_1077443.html

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