Thursday, November 03, 2011

Occupy Movement Turns Violent In Multiple Cities In One Night

RADICAL ORGANIZERS FROM CHICAGO? 
MAU MAU COLLECTIVE? 
BLACK PANTHERS? 
9/11 PROPHECY?



From My Way:
A day of demonstrations in Oakland that began as a significant step toward expanding the political and economic influence of the Occupy Wall Street movement, ended with police in riot gear arresting dozens of protesters who had marched through downtown to break into a vacant building, shattering windows, spraying graffiti and setting fires along the way.

"We go from having a peaceful movement to now just chaos," said protester Monique Agnew, 40.

The far-flung movement of protesters challenging the world's economic systems and distribution of wealth has gained momentum in recent weeks, capturing the world's attention by shutting down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports toward the end of a daylong "general strike" that prompted solidarity rallies across the U.S.

About 3,000 people converged on the Port of Oakland, the nation's fifth-busiest harbor, in a nearly five-hour protest Wednesday, swarming the area and blocking exits and streets with illegally parked vehicles and hastily-erected, chain-link fences.

Port officials said they were forced to cease maritime operations, citing concerns for workers' safety. They said in a statement they hope to resume operations Thursday "and that Port workers will be allowed to get to their jobs without incident. Continued missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers, truckers, and their families, as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our region."

Supporters in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and elsewhere staged smaller-scale demonstrations; each group saying its protest was a show of support for the Oakland movement, which became a rallying point when an Iraq War veteran was seriously injured in a clash with police last week.

The larger Occupy movement has yet to coalesce into an organized association and until the port shut down had largely been limited scattershot marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.

Organizers in Oakland had viewed the day as a significant victory. Police said that about 7,000 people participated in demonstrations throughout the day that were peaceful except for a few incidents of vandalism.

One of the protest leaders, Boots Riley, touted the day as a success, saying "we put together an ideological principle that the mainstream media wouldn't talk about two months ago."

His comments came before a group of demonstrators moved to break into the Travelers Aid building in order to, as some shouting protesters put it, "reclaim the building for the people."
Riley, whose anti-capitalist views are well-documented, considered the port shut down particularly significant for organizers who targeted it in an effort to stop the "flow of capital." 

The port sends goods primarily to Asia, including wine as well as rice, fruits and nuts, and handles imported electronics, apparel and manufacturing equipment, mostly from Asia, as well as cars and parts from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai. An accounting of the financial toll from the shutdown was not immediately available.

The potential for the chaos that ultimately erupted was not something Riley wanted to even consider.

"If they do that after all this ..." He paused, then added, "They're smarter than that."
But the peace that abided throughout the day, did not last into the night.

Occupy protesters voicing anger over a budget trim that forced the closure of a homeless aid program converged on the empty building where it had been housed. They blocked off city streets with Dumpsters and other large trash bins, starting bonfires that leapt 15-feet in the air.

City officials released a statement describing the spasm of unrest.

"Oakland Police responded to a late night call that protesters had broken into and occupied a downtown building and set several simultaneous fires," the statement read. "The protesters began hurling rocks, explosives, bottles, and flaming objects at responding officers. Several private and municipal buildings sustained heavy vandalism. Dozens of protesters wielding shields were surrounded and arrested."

Protesters reported running from several rounds of tear gas and bright flashes and deafening pops that some thought were caused by "flash bang" grenades. Fire crews arrived and suppressed the flames.

Meanwhile, protesters and police faced off for the rest of the night in an uneasy standoff.
 So, who is Boots Riley? Could he be responsible for organization on a larger scale? I think so.

Just read his biography here. He seems to have had knowledge of the 9/11 attacks before they happened, and approved of them after they happened.

This is a bad dude, my friends. And, oh yes, he was born into a family of "radical organizers" in Chicago, and he founded a group called "The Mau Mau Collective".
Boots Riley (born Raymond Lawrence Riley in 1971) is an American musician, vocalist, writer, and public speaker most known for being the front man and producer of The Coup as well as the front man for Street Sweeper Social Club.

Boots Riley was born in 1971 into a family of radical organizers in Chicago.
The family later moved to Detroit and then to Oakland. His interest in politics began at a young age, inspiring him to join the Progressive Labor Party and the International Committee Against Racism.

In 1991 Riley founded the political hip hop group The Coup with fellow United Parcel Service worker E-roc. Pam the Funkstress, DJ for the group, joined in 1992. Boots was chief lyric writer and produced the music on the albums. They released a song on a 1991 compilation album called Dope Like A Pound Or A Key along with fellow former UPS worker Spice-1 and future Thug Life member Mopreme Shakur, then known as Mocedes. The album was released on Wax That Azz Records, which was owned by Pierre "The Beat Fixer" James, Too Short's DJ.

In 1991, he and other Hip-Hop artists created the Mau Mau Rhythm Collective. They put on "Hip-Hop Edutainment Concerts" which allied with and promoted the campaigns of community based organizations like Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP), Copwatch, International Campaign To Free Geronimo Pratt, and the Black Panther Alumni Association.
The Mau Mau Rhythm Collective was actively involved in the campaign to stop the FBI's "Weed And Seed" program (which was used in the '60s in conjunction with CoIntelPro) from coming to Oakland. They used the growing popularity of their concerts to bring a large number of youth to take over a closed Oakland city council meeting and hold a public meeting.

In 1992, The Coup signed to Wild Pitch Records/EMI. The group released their debut album Kill My Landlord in 1993. Two singles from that album, "Dig It" and "Not Yet Free", received play on BET, Yo! MTV Raps, and mix shows on national Black radio.

Also, in 1993, E-40 released the video for "Practice Lookin' Hard". It was a song based around Boots's lyric, "I got a mirror in my pocket and I practice lookin' hard" from the song "Not Yet Free" on Kill My Landlord. The video featured Boots Riley singing the chorus while he, Tupac Shakur, and E-40 reflected light into the camera from a handheld mirror while dancing around.

In 1994, The Coup released their second album, Genocide & Juice. It featured guest appearances by E-40 and Spice-1. Fueled by video play and some radio play for the single "Fat Cats And Bigga Fish", the album shot up the charts, but stalled when EMI suddenly absorbed Wild Pitch. At this point, E-roc left The Coup on amicable terms.

At this time, Boots decided to stop making music in favor of forming an organization called The Young Comrades, with a few other radical, black community organizers. The organization mounted a few important campaigns in Oakland which yielded some minor victories, such as the campaign against Oakland's "no cruising" ordinance. The organization folded and Boots went back to music.

The group's fourth album, Party Music, was released on 75 Ark Records in 2001. It was re-released in 2005 by Epitaph Records. Its cover art depicted group members standing in front of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center as they explode. Riley is depicted pushing a button on a bass guitar tuner and DJ Pam the Funkstress is shown holding conductor's wands. The photo was taken in May 2001. 


The album was scheduled to be released just after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In response to the uncanny similarity of the artwork with the attacks, the album release was held back until alternative cover art could be prepared. The album hit #8 in the 2001 Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll- the most important year-end critic's list, was named “Pop Album Of The Year” by the Washington Post, and "Hip-Hop Album Of The Year" by Rolling Stone. The album included a guest appearance by dead prez on the song "Get Up".

Boots Riley released a controversial press release one week after the 9/11 events, which was later published in the book, Another World Is Possible. The press release stated that "last week's events were symptomatic of a larger backlash against U.S. corporate imperialism."
The controversy surrounding the cover art, press release, and the lyrics from Party Music (specifically the song "5 Million Ways To Kill A CEO") led to Boots appearing on local network news affiliates all over the U.S.

He also appeared on Fox News's Hannity and Colmes and ABC's Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. During this time, syndicated right-wing columnist and sometimes Fox News host Michelle Malkin called Boots's lyrics “a stomach-turning example of anti-Americanism disguised as highbrow intellectual expression.”

In 2002, Riley taught a daily high school class, "Culture and Resistance: Persuasive Lyric Writing", at the School of Social Justice and Community Development in East Oakland. 
 Wasn't Obama's grandfather involved with the Mau Maus, in some way? Why yes, he was.

6 comments:

Epaminondas said...

The entire POINT of a physical demonstration with no GOAL is to provoke police response.

1) Jam the cell phones.
2) Remove all power, toilet, and support facilities. NO FOOD DISTRIBUTION WITHOUT CERTIFIED RESTAURANT LICENSES, etc.
3) VOMIT GAS, and SOUND REPULSOR if no dispersion after 15 minute warning for all non legal assemblies

These people WANT to duplicate what happened in Chicago in 1968 for worldwide cameras.

Pastorius said...

I hope there is someone in our FBI and Police who are onto them and are organizing an effective resistance against this attempt at chaos.

Unknown said...

The nights are getting cooler , water them down every hour of the night , no violance involved shut of all power and heating.

Unknown said...

Just another narcissistic communist maumau looking for attention. Problem is we have a press and a government that's validating him and Van Jones (who started the whole thing in Oakland, FYI)...

midnight rider said...

Afraid I have to take a harder line here.

Shop owners and private citizens should arm and prepare to defend themselves and their property.

While only 30% of America supports these knuckleheads, statistics won't stop an angry mob. Bullets give you a better chance.

Read the several stories on rapes in the camps I just posted. Think this can't or won't spread to non-protestors happening by?

The protestors are trying to proovke violence. They want their "revolution". And the Administration will use the confrontation to their political advantage.

They need to stop supporting this, even tacitly, and ask themselves what will happen when the 99% run into the 3%.

Pastorius said...

Hi Rockdog,
Do you have links to back up that idea? Cuz, if so, I would, of course, like to see them.

I definitely believe Van Jones would do such a thing. And, I certainly do not believe that Boots Riley is the only person involved in this.