Iraq War Vet Hospitalized with Fractured Skull After Being Shot by Police at Occupy Oakland Protest

Democracy Now, 10/28/11

Thousands of people reclaimed the Occupy Oakland encampment in front of City Hall Wednesday after police dispersed them twice on Tuesday — first in a pre-dawn raid on the camp and 12 hours later at night when protesters attempted to retake the park — using beanbag projectiles and tear gas.

Many protesters expressed outrage over of the injury of Oakland protester Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old Iraq War veteran whose skull was fractured by a projectile fired by police Tuesday night. He is hospitalized in critical condition and is reportedly under sedation by doctors monitoring his injury. We speak to Jesse Palmer, an Occupy Oakland protester who helped move Olsen to safety, and to Aaron Hinde, a close friend of Scott Olsen and a fellow member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

One of Olsen’s other friends, Adele Carpenter, told Reuters, “The irony is not lost on anyone here that this is someone who survived two tours in Iraq and is now seriously injured by the Oakland police force.” …

continue reading, with interviews, at Democracy Now

The Choice Between Democracy and Autocracy

By David Sirota, Truthdig, 10/21/11

Hear ye, hear ye! Let it be known that in this 10th month of the first year of His Majesty King John Hickenlooper’s reign, the sovereign governor of the Kingdom of Colorado handed down an edict closing the grounds of the Capitol palace to the public and ordering his praetorian guard to arrest the peaceful Occupy Denver protesters assembled at the castle gates.

This royal order, which made international headlines last week, was all about intimidating imagery. Just as King John had hoped, the iconic photograph to emerge from the sweep was a front-page Denver Post photo of a heavily armed police officer menacingly guarding the Capitol—a deliberate visual message telling the despot’s subjects to retreat or face consequences. He later told a reporter that he was aiming to preemptively crush “something that could easily catch on.”

Back on the East Coast, it was much the same, as His Majesty King Michael Bloomberg issued a decree stating that as a benevolent despot, he would “allow” his Manhattan subjects to occupy Wall Street (as if the mayor has the power to grant—or withhold—democratic rights). But then King Mike quickly sent his police force in for mass arrests, standing down only after a wave of outrage from the larger serfdom watching on television.

This might all sound like Medieval Europe, but it’s not. It’s America circa 2011, as these clashes are now taking place everywhere….

continue reading at Truthdig

DFA: free “We are the 99 percent” bumper sticker

from Democracy for America, 10/20/11

One of the most powerful things about the Occupy Wall Street movement is that it’s leaderless. No one person or organization controls it, drives it or can take credit for the movement that’s continuing to build everyday. Most importantly, that also means no one person or organization can stop it.

That’s why big corporations and their right-wing allies are freaking out. They’re scared of the movement that’s sweeping the country because they know it’s real. It’s organic. And it has the power to win because it’s clear we’re not going away until change happens to improve the lives of the 99%.

Here at DFA, we know that it’s not our job to try to take over this movement or take credit for its work. We’re here to help grow and support the work that people across the country are doing organically. So, when thousands of DFA members started writing in to ask us to make “We are the 99 percent” bumper stickers so they could show their support, we knew we had to do it.

Get your FREE “We are the 99 percent” bumper sticker right now.

Occupy Wall Street & MLK

from The Other 98%