The LA pigs are wearing hazmat suits now. That's a new piece of police theater.

[backscatter712]

The pigs are claiming they don't want to wallow in feces and urine.

After all, they'll do anything to attempt to discredit the "dirty commie hippies" of the Occupy movement...

[Luminous Animal]

1. They did the same thing in Oakland.

[ellisonz]

2. Simple Question

Have you ever had to work in an area where there may have been human waste? I have. It's not a pleasant thought, and it's not a pleasant experience. I'd have been thankful for such protection.

[sabrina 1]

4. Have you ever been to any of these occupations?

From your comment, it seems you have not. Bloomberg tried this also, 'let's make them look like filthy pigs' but since there were so many witnesses he failed and just made himself look like a frightened moron.

If that is what this is supposed to be about, then it will fail. It's obvious what they are trying to do.

[backscatter712]

5. ++

It also helps to examine the tactics of the Bloomberg types and their thugs...

1. Get every business and open establishment in the area to lock up their bathrooms, using police intimidation where needed.

2. Make sure the Occupy movement is not allowed to bring in porta-potties or have any other means for people to relieve themselves that doesn't involve walking five miles.

3. Point fingers and shout "LOOK THEY'RE SHITTING ALL OVER THE PLACE!"

[ellisonz]

6. So they shouldn't take some pre-caution?

Do you understand OSHA regulations?

I have not been to one. I have been to L.A.'s Skid Row. Have you been to Skid Row? Have you ever cleaned up an encampment that wasn't yours? I have.

[backscatter712]

8. Just about everywhere else, they didn't feel the need.

This is theater. Pure and simple. Engineered to give the pigfuckers at FOX News a talking point.

[ellisonz]

10. You live in Colorado.

What do you know about downtown L.A.?

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/10/occupy_la_homeless_food_camp_angeles.php

[U4ikLefty]

15. I've been there about 20 times and you haven't been there once.

Comparing it to skid row? Your prejudice is showing.

[ellisonz]

18. No time for it...

I've been through downtown L.A. a few times the last week.

Born and raised in L.A. County.

I didn't compare it to Skid Row. Just noted that it's been widely reported that there's been migration. I did compare the working situations though and that is a fair assessment. I've also personally dealt with homeless encampments in Hawaii and what workers need to clean them up.

I think your prejudice against law enforcement is showing. They're just doing a job...

[U4ikLefty]

20. Just as I figured...anit-Occupy L.A. and pro-authority.

I actually have experience with these protest & you have none.

Your posts are transparent and I have "no time" for your cop worship.

[ellisonz]

21. I'm anti-camp out until the sun comes up.

What'd they think was going to happen? This came down to breaking park rules and that's not what effective political movements are about. Effective political movements are about staying on message and picking the right targets for advocacy.

I think you're the first person to ever accuse me of being pro-authority (that includes the half dozen times I've been detained by police departments). How many times have you been detained by police? I'm just pro-workers rights.

[Javaman]

26. fail. remember to click your heels next time. nt

[uncle ray]

36. "park rules" vs. US Constitution.

[Capitalocracy]

76. Freedom of speech > freedom from tents. nt

[frylock]

52. obeying rules and laws are what effective political movements are all about

[Contrary1]

62. Ironic, I think...

That both the movement above and Occupy started with Parks.

[frylock]

66. whoa......

[Capitalocracy]

77. See, she should've just sat in the back of a bus

with a sign that says "I don't like sitting in the back of the bus."

[sabrina 1]

69. What have 'homeless encampments' to do with OWS?

And what law enforcement? What laws were broken that required a virtual army of ridiculous robo cops, cops dressed up like comic book characters in hazmat suits, armed to the teeth 'special' operations cops? Were there bodies all over the place? Did someone drop a bomb on LA?

We are the laughing stock of the world, or would be, as people would judge this country by these morons in costumes with guns, if it were not for the OWS protesters who have shown the world that there is more to the US than these authoritarian wimps in costumes.

[sabrina 1]

13. Nonsense, this is nothing but theater, and it's a shame to

see anyone on this board even try to defend it. First, they should not even be there. They are there for the BANKS and the BIG CORPORATIONS. If they were working for the people, which it has become pretty clear by now, they are NOT, they would have nothing at all to worry about.

The filth they are protecting is the problem, and no Hazmat suits or riot cops are going to clean that up. WE THE PEOPLE have to clean up that filth, corruption and crime.

It is the protesters who need protection. What is wrong with you that you cannot see what is going on here?

[DCKit]

16. Then why haven't they been wearing these suits all along?

It's not as if everyone at OWS-LA and Oakland held it until just yesterday and there's a sudden flood of urine and feces.

It's political theater.

[ellisonz]

19. Different situations.

They're removing tents. They're entitled to the same OSHA protections as you and I.

[DCKit]

23. Well, I really can't argue with that.

I'd want a hazmat suit if a bunch of Republics all pitched tents around me. Skeevy.

[Pacifist Patriot]

28. I don't think that would offer enough protection.

;-)

[bengalherder]

38. HST would have gone to occupy.

He would have seen for himself.

You just take the official word for it.

Lazy. Or perhaps your avatar is just from some cool movie.

[a simple pattern]

41. That would have made a hell of a book.

[ellisonz]

44. Yeah watching on the side, marveling at the debacle...

"The hippies, who had never really believed they were the wave of the future anyway, saw the election results as brutal confirmation of the futility of fighting the establishment on its own terms. There had to be a whole new scene, they said, and the only way to do it was to make the big move — either figuratively or literally — from Berkeley to the Haight-Ashbury, from pragmatism to mysticism, from politics to dope... The thrust is no longer for "change" or "progress" or "revolution," but merely to escape, to live on the far perimeter of a world that might have been."

"The Hashbury is the Capital of the Hippies" (May 1967); republished in Gonzo Papers, Vol. 1: The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979), pp 392-394

[Pacifist Patriot]

27. So you're equating an Occupy camp with skid row?

[ellisonz]

45. Some of the residents...

...as numerous media reports confirm were the same. This is simply about LAPD not getting sued.

[nadinbrzezinski]

47. Ok I need to ask the damn obvious question here

since you got a history degree and everything... so it should be easy to connect THAT DOT.

Why do you think OWS has taken care of the homeless? You are correct, some, operative word here, SOME, of the residents are part of the 10K homeless (estimated for the city of Los Angeles). Why do you think that is the case? Go on, try to connect THAT DOT. Think back to SOCIAL MOVEMENTS and their history.

By the way so are SOME of the residents in San Diego... they don't byte, nor are they full of feces or urine... and trust me I HAVE transported a few homeless that did fall IN THAT CATEGORY and did not wear a Hazmat suit.

[ellisonz]

53. I think there are many other organizations that do a much better job of it.

They're wearing hazmat suits because they don't want to risk being sued by their own employees. It's also important to note that LAPD now films police actions in incidents like these because they don't want to be sued.

There's been some great reporting done in the past on the whole situation: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez16oct16-series,0,3994447.special

Bottom line: LA has enough problems without needing to send beaucoup bucks removing people from City Hall lawn. They made their point weeks ago, and now they just showed that they are unwilling to readily change tactics. It's really starting to look like OWS is not going to have staying power.

[nadinbrzezinski]

54. We are not talking of the job.

And you are failing to connect that dot.

And you have zero direct experience with OWS. And it shows you don't get it, nor like them.

Here is where you might find the necessary tools for connecting that dot... Any by Howard Zinn. Or the history of madness by Michelle Foucault. Zinn is far more approachable.

[ellisonz]

55. Then what are we talking about?

I've been involved in several demonstrations before and political campaigns. I've also done a fair deal of volunteer work. I don't think this one is very well organized or effective in spreading its message.

"Why do you think OWS has taken care of the homeless? You are correct, some, operative word here, SOME, of the residents are part of the 10K homeless (estimated for the city of Los Angeles). Why do you think that is the case? Go on, try to connect THAT DOT. Think back to SOCIAL MOVEMENTS and their history."

I answered your question. You didn't like my answer. I think many people take care of the homeless in Los Angeles and have been doing it for far longer than OWS has been around. I'm not saying they're wrong for having an encampment in the first place, or letting anyone in who comes. I'm saying they're wrong for holding on to it until the bitter end when any reasoned observer can see that what they need to do is change tactics.

I've read some Howard Zinn and some Foucault. I think you need to read (if you haven't) The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe and Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer. I don't see you being led away in handcuffs...

[nadinbrzezinski]

56. You fail to see what role the homeless play in this

It is deep.

As to organization, you do not get it, nor does the MSM on purpose. There is a reason this is not organized. (In a traditional hierarchy)

Here is a hint...part of what OWS did was expose the invisible and bring them out from where power elites like to hide them. The local homeless have been there all along, like they have been here all along. They precede OWS.

I suggest you want to truly understand you stop reading the elite driven MSM. Yes, they have an agenda. I also suggest you look at the two historians I just pointed to.

Suffice it to say you are missing this by a mile. I suspect most historians are with you on this by the way. And it is sad.

Ed for clarity.

[a la izquierda]

60. As for historians missing it...

and by it I guess you mean the point of OWS- I know this historian has been puzzled by the OWS movement. Intrigued, actually. Most historians I know have been (in fact those are pretty much the only people I know in real life). Historians are intrinsically theoretical creatures, and I think some have tried to figure out this movement by studying antecedent movements. Unfortunately for us denizens of the past, OWS is quite different.
Anyway, I'm supportive of OWS, but from an arms' length (because of some ideological concerns I have). I guess I've been a supportive observer, not an active participant.

[nadinbrzezinski]

61. Yes it is very different from a lot of things that have come

in the past.

It is truly a creature of the web. Take away facebook and twitter and tumblir and the horizontal organization WILL GO AWAY. Why I suspect those in power will try exactly that.

The point is not that different than the American Revolution actually, if you look at the past. At least the American version of it. It shares a lot of that in fact.

Yes the names change, I mean none in Washington's age would use the words Glass Steagal, or Medicare, but they used fairness and natural rights of man. There is a commonality there, but one needs to do the work and go to the field and talk to them, and read what they put out.

:-)

I am in the process of trying to distill this into an understandable read, partly the media has not done it's job. Which is also part of the power dynamic, like with every other social movement actually.

This is also a creature of globalization and I suspect has been cooking for at least ten years, probably twenty.

It is also the first global movement, see facebook, tumblir and the rest.

[robinlynne]

30. the occupaiton is health inspected constantly. and NO health norms were broken.

at all. ever. period.

[ellisonz]

49. You don't know all that went on either...

Health officials, who conduct daily inspections of Los Angeles' camp, have directed organizers to dispose of wastewater from portable showers into drains rather than the ground, and to increase the number of portable toilets, have them emptied twice a day and provide water jugs for hand-washing.

-------

Some demonstrators complain that the health issues have been exaggerated as a pretext to crack down on the camps. Authorities did not seem to be concerned about unhygienic conditions that existed before, they said.

"They never go and clean up Skid Row," said Juan Alcala, a camper in Los Angeles, where more than 350 tents are jammed on a lawn around City Hall.

The protesters are taking pains to keep the premises clean but acknowledge it's an ongoing battle to keep up as tents proliferate and attract the attention of public health officials.

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us_occupy_wall_street_public_health

[pscot]

40. Do police routinely wear hazmat suits

when patrolling skid road?

[ellisonz]

46. They certainly don't go removing encampments...

...without protection. That's just basic work-safety regulations.

[frylock]

51. OLA = skid row

thanks for playing.

[fascisthunter]

64. Yup, the prejudice is right there

[Magoo48]

59. Exactly,

Drama queen cops in hyperbolic Halloween getups. They look like they just wandered off the set of a b-movie. Probably was a high-level palaver yesterday to come up with this strategy. Sadly, I shiver to think how many of my fellow citizens will be taken in by this ruse......peace

[robinlynne]

29. there are porta potties, paid for by the occupation. Every day the sidewalks and walking

areas are cleaned by the occupiers.

[Marrah_G]

33. My elderly Aunts were telling em the other day that they walked by Occ Boston

And were impressed at how clean and organized it was.

[lumberjack_jeff]

34. "... may have been"? Who hasn't?

It's theater.

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. Have you been to any of the occupations?

Trust me, a homeless encampment, where they never wear those suits, is what you think this is. The Occupy camps are clean.

[sabrina 1]

3. Pretty obvious that they must have received the memo on

'how to make OWS look bad'. Stupid morons, all this will do is make this movement grow even more.

[lob1]

7. Channel 5 here in L.A. took it a step slimier.

The "reporter" said they're wearing the hazmat suits because the cops were afraid the protesters would throw feces and urine at them.

[backscatter712]

9. Ah yes, the corporate presstitute... n/t

[ellisonz]

12. Yeah that was media bullshit.

But if I was breaking down dense campsites like these I'd want them too. It's not like all of them are wearing them.

[DCKit]

17. They only need a couple at a time for a photo-op. nt

[still_one]

11. You should have more intelligence than to refer to the police in the way you are doing. At the

minimum you are broad brushing "ALL" the LA police with you expletive.

but if you think that will move hearts and minds to your position, by all means enjoy

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. You don't live in LA, do you? Police and Sheriffs are best avoided.

I've been to the LA #Occupation a few times and the only people it could possibly harm, are those who engage in the acts we decry...the destructive members of the 1%.

Who are the ones who sent the KKKops.

"Rodney King"

[still_one]

22. I live in Northern Califronia, and I have a lot of relatives and friends in LA. Police and sheriffs

are best avoided in any community

Putting on hazmat suits, IS NOT "Rodney King"

Gates is no longer there, and regardless that wasn't my point anyway

You aren't going to win public support if you refer to the police as "pigs"

but if you believe that is the best approach, go for it

[Fire Walk With Me]

24. There have been reports tonight of people badly beaten and even swabbed for DNA.

Even from these vague reports, we're getting there.

[still_one]

31. I suspect I am on the same page with you regarding police brutality, and civil rights violations.

Those actions need to be prosecuted to the max.

[treestar]

37. +1

[Capitalocracy]

75. As soon as an LA police officer complains about the organization they work for

stomping out democracy in the name of "public health" with costumes, lies, and theatrics, I'll be more careful about how I talk about them.

[hobbit709]

25. They're wearing them because they are afraid liberty is contagious.

It's like cooties, doncha know.

[ladjf]

32. The Occupiers should be wearing hazmet suits as well as flack jackets. nt

[Mudoria]

35. Pigs?

[underseasurveyor]

39. I know.

Shows the OP to be of a lower than porcine mentality doesn't it.

[a simple pattern]

42. Pigs are actually pretty smart.

Cops, on the other hand, have to be fairly stupid or they won't get into the Academy.

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Fire Walk With Me]

48. The three root delusions at the center of the wheel of life are represented by pigs (greed)

roosters (lust), and snakes (hatred).

"THREE ANIMALS
At the center of the wheel (of life, of the six realms) one finds three animals -- a pig, a snake and a rooster. The pig symbolizes greed (Skt. = lobha), the snake anger and hatred (Skt. = dosa) and the rooster (or cock) ignorance or delusion (Skt. = moha). The three animals are often shown biting each others tails, to show that these evils are inseparably connected. The emotions of the three stem from fundamental ignorance. Together, the triad represents the root causes of trouble on earth."

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/six-states.shtml

Seems especially fitting this morning.

[Skittles]

68. yup - it is fucking DISGUSTING

makes me cringe - EMBARRASSING on a progressive site

[animato]

57. What happened to the offer to get office space for $1.00 ??

That seemed like a halfway good offer to develop themselves as an organization, or?

[nadinbrzezinski]

58. It was rescinded almost as soon as it was made

Coaltion unwilling blogged on it.

[robinlynne]

67. The mayor rescinded the offer. It never became a real offer.

[Fire Walk With Me]

73. Villainaigosa LIES. He said no raid at 12:01AM last Monday: Cops were there.

It goes on and on. Do not believe a word out of his face. If the offer was real, it had inbuilt traps.

[unionworks]

63. Best Occupy Sign

"If they enforced bank regulations as strictly as they enforce park regulations, we wouldn't be in this mess". The occupy movement is a miracle of hope, climbing atop the rubble of shattered hopes. For the first time perhaps since WW2, our young people instead of fighting in far off lands to protect the interests of the wealthy few, are fighting to preserve the American way of life, to preserve our liberties and justice, RIGHT HERE AT HOME. The ghosts of the "bonus Army" and the early founders of the labor movement walk among them. Their movement is still a newborn, but is going to grow into tremendous power, that the first manifestations have tyrants shaking in their boots. I am thankful I was here to see it born. :patriot:

[unionworks]

65. a sight that impressed me

...on "Freedom's" Ustream was Occupiers calmly approaching cops, and talking to them like friends, to educate them to the fact that the Occupy movement is fighting for them as well, to prevent the REAL "pigs" from robbing them of their collective bargaining and pension rights. It takes MATURITY AND DISCIPLINE to do +this kind of important outreach work.I These Occupy people earned my respect, and I'd like to believe that of these public service employees they were reaching out to.

[sabrina 1]

70. Freedom was on the radio today, with Brad Friedman.

Those people are true patriots.

[unionworks]

71. Turned on

...Freedom completely by chance at 2:30 a.m. eastern. When you see my old self slugging down black coffee at 4:30 a.m. to watch something, you know heavy shit is going down! She was in the middle of the crowd when the cops did their first bumrush, narrowly missing getting run over. She moved to the outside perimeter of the action to safety like a spectre, avoiding arrest but still close enough to show you the action. She pushed the envelope approaching and interviewing cops. This can result in an on the spot arrest, as angry or scared cops can get kind of "touchy"! She gave a view of the action you will NEVER get from M$M - many of those she sawarrested she knew by name, and you could hear the pain in her voice - and what a BLESSING to get a blow by blow account from an activists point ofview, instead of having to listen to the mindless blather of propoganda from a M$M bimbo! Thanks and good vibes to you, Freedom, whereever you are! "YOU SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION..." :hangover: :hangover: :yourock:

[sabrina 1]

72. Good post. Since I've watched all of this on livestream since

the first day, I cannot stand to watch the MSM coverage anymore. I said at the beginning, that the movement was far better off WITHOUT the MSM covering this as once they did, they would be working for the Corps.

Freedom and Sky and Vlad and all the other livestreamers have done some Pulitzer level reporting on this historic movement.

From the beginning, the organizers knew they would need their own media and we can see clearly why and what a difference it has made to have so many brave people there recording everything. The MSM becomes more and more irrelevant each day.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

74. You should be ashamed of yourself.

This kind of idiotic bigotry has no place on DU, or anywhere else.