I have to agree with Meteor-Blades comment in another diary on rec list:
..but why ignore what the article specifically claims? Federal agencies, including FBI, are offering tactical and logistical advice and suggesting an overwhelming use of force, and, although unnamed, a Justice official is interpreted by the reporter to have said the efforts have been coordinated by these agencies even if the ultimate decision is left up to local level.
And if you wish to call me part of the "lunatic left," feel free. I've been called that since about 1965. I'll wear it as badge of honor. As for hating Obama, I don't.
The surest way to predict the future is to invent it. — Stephen Post. [Me at Twitter.]
by Meteor Blades on Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 07:41:44 PM PST
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Where will this story go? Check out a twitter exchange between ACLU and Examiner reporter from mahakali overdrive in the comments.
Another update -- blogger at The Nation just wrote:
8:50 A remark by Oakland Mayor Quan in a BBC interview has gained wide play, and no there's a bit more. She said that she'd been on a conference call a few days ago with 18 mayors with OWS problems, which sounds like some coordinating going on--the series of evictions have been going on the past few days. Now in a NYT article tonight Portland mayor Sam Adams mentions TWO such calls, and reveals they were organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors--sharing tips but not (he says) discussing their own schedule for actions.
Heh: "(he says)" . Looking forward to learning more as more comes to light.
Google news headline:
U.S. Mayors Crack Down on Occupy Wall Street
Bloomberg - Esmé E. Deprez - Alison Vekshin - 2 hours ago
14 (Bloomberg) -- Oakland, California, Mayor Jean Quan talks with Bloomberg's Alison Vekshin about her decision to shut down the city's camp allied with the ...
Have to wonder though, is this more Government of, by, and for the 1%?
Not much of a diary, but wanted to share the following, which IF true, will be huge news:
Update: 'Occupy' crackdowns coordinated with federal law enforcement officials
Over the past ten days, more than a dozen cities have moved to evict "Occupy" protesters from city parks and other public spaces. As was the case in last night's move in New York City, each of the police actions shares a number of characteristics. And according to one Justice official, each of those actions was coordinated with help from Homeland Security, the FBI and other federal police agencies.
The official, who spoke on background to me late Monday evening, said that while local police agencies had received tactical and planning advice from national agencies, the ultimate decision on how each jurisdiction handles the Occupy protests ultimately rests with local law enforcement.
According to this official, in several recent conference calls and briefings, local police agencies were advised to seek a legal reason to evict residents of tent cities, focusing on zoning laws and existing curfew rules. Agencies were also advised to demonstrate a massive show of police force, including large numbers in riot gear. In particular, the FBI reportedly advised on press relations, with one presentation suggesting that any moves to evict protesters be coordinated for a time when the press was the least likely to be present.
Yeah, I know, phantom Justice official off the record .....
But hey, Naomi Klein warned that the 1% would not go down without a fight.
Naomi was asked to speak at Occupy Wall Street early days, and she concluded with this:
A few final thoughts. In this great struggle, here are some things that don’t matter.
- What we wear.
- Whether we shake our fists or make peace signs.
- Whether we can fit our dreams for a better world into a media soundbite.
And here are a few things that do matter.
- Our courage.
- Our moral compass.
- How we treat each other.
We have picked a fight with the most powerful economic and political forces on the planet. That’s frightening. And as this movement grows from strength to strength, it will get more frightening. Always be aware that there will be a temptation to shift to smaller targets – like, say, the person sitting next to you at this meeting. After all, that is a battle that’s easier to win.
Don’t give in to the temptation. I’m not saying don’t call each other on shit. But this time, let’s treat each other as if we plan to work side by side in struggle for many, many years to come. Because the task before will demand nothing less.
Let’s treat this beautiful movement as if it is most important thing in the world. Because it is. It really is.
Editor's Note: Naomi's speech also appeared in Saturday's edition of the Occupied Wall Street Journal.
One thing I noticed doing google search for this was that wingnuts have all kinds of articles out saying the Administration are the cause, coddling, encouraging, etc Occupy Wall Street.
Surely the Obama Administration (including HS, FBI, et all ) was not behind this. I hope not.
What do you think?
12:49 PM PT: In the comments below Keori suggests some distressing implications for cities getting huge funds from Homeland Security . http://www.dailykos.com/...
1:03 PM PT: As pointed out by some in comments, its no surprise that federal law enforcement is involved with monitoring.
In Hawaii:
FBI Watching Potentially Violent APEC Protesters
Honolulu Civil Beat - Chad Blair - 6 days ago
Montoya said authorities would protect lawful First Amendment protest, and that the protests won't be monitored or investigated.
"I think one of the very first things that we are very careful to do is that we are very careful to protect the First Amendment rights of every person on this island, every American, to be able to express their opinions, to protest freely without having to worry about someone watching," he said.
Monotoya continued:
"At the same time, as we've seen around the world in some of these demonstrations, there are individuals that want to cause trouble, that want to break the law. And so, the interagency effort, essentially, is to identify those individuals and try to (prevent) them from destruction of property, or worse, hurting people. And that's an ongoing process."
Thus far, local protests associated with APEC have been peaceful.
Thirty people were arrested over the past few days — eight at an Occupy Honolulu event on Saturday targeting APEC, and 22 at a Hawaiian sovereignty protest at Iolani Palace on Monday. Another Occupy Honolulu protest — at the Hawaii Convention Center — was set for Tuesday afternoon.
http://www.civilbeat.com/...
Monitoring is one thing. What will be news is if it is soundly sourced that FLE lead or coordinated the removal of Occupy camps imo.
1:50 PM PT: More speculation on level of involvement...
The Nation posted this
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3:00 Michael Moore tweets: "Dozens of Occupys across US raided this weekend--& now NYC- Planned & coordinated by the Dept. of Homeland Security? Did Obama give green light?"
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http://www.thenation.com/...
3:35 PM PT: Just FYI, from the OpCIT, Examiner writer has journalism creds with trad media:
Rick Ellis
Minneapolis Top News Examiner
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Rick Ellis has more than a decade's experience in online local news and nearly twenty years experience as a journalist. Beginning at the Chicago Tribune, he has worked for a variety of news outlets, including Patch/AOL, Yahoo and Internet Broadcasting. While he was the managing editor of NBC13.com, the web site won a regional Murrow Award for best big market news site.
