Pushback Against Occupy Sites

The Portland Press Herald reports on the bombing of Occupy Maine:

"We are more motivated to keep doing what we're doing," said Stephanie Wilburn, of Portland, who was sitting near where the chemical mixture in a Gatorade bottle was tossed at 4 a.m. Sunday. "They have heard us and we're making a difference."

Wilburn said she was startled and briefly lost hearing in her left ear when the device exploded beneath a table about 10 feet away. Wilburn's hearing returned and police said no injuries were reported.

"There was no fire . . . We had a good 20 feet of thick smoke rolling out from under the table," Wilburn said. They could see the "G" on the 24-ounce bottle and its orange cap, as well as bits of silver metal, she said.

She and a friend who ran over to look at it breathed in fumes that smelled like ammonia, she said.

Witnesses said a silver car had been circling before the attack, its occupants shouting things like "Get a job" and "You communist." They believe someone from that car threw the device, according to a statement from Occupy Maine.

Democracy Now! also listed arrests at several Occupy sites:

In Texas, 23 activists with Occupy Dallas were arrested Monday for blocking the entrance to a Chase bank while other activists attempted to close their Chase accounts.

In Illinois, members of Occupy Chicago and a group of nurses protested outside City Hall and the offices of Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday, one day after Chicago police arrested 130, including many nurses, at Occupy Chicago in Grant Park.

Oakland police are threatening to raid Occupy Oakland. A tweet by the protest group posted just before we went to air reported that police in riot gear had surrounded the encampment and began firing flash grenades and rubber bullets into the camp. UPDATE: Oakland police stormed the Oakland Occupy protest encampment outside City Hall just before 5 a.m. PDT. Police lobbed flash grenades and reportedly fired tear gas. Initial reports say at least 70 people have arrested and the police tore apart the protest camp.

While the Daily Pennsylvanian covered arrests in Philly:

Occupy Philadelphia saw its first sets of handcuffs last weekend.

Fifteen people who had participated in the protest were arrested Sunday for blocking 8th Street near Race Street. Those arrests represented the first since the protest began in early October. According to the Division of Public Safety, none of them were Penn students.

In contrast, no arrests were made Friday when about 500 activists assembled inside and outside Huntsman Hall, where United States House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) would have spoken had he not canceled earlier that day.

The Daily Penn has an interactive map of arrests across the US as well.

Democracy Now did have a bit of good news about Occupy Albany:

In Albany, New York, protesters are continuing to camp across the street from the New York State Capitol. On Sunday, local police refused to remove the protesters from the park in defiance of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the city’s mayor. One police official said, "These people were not causing trouble. The bottom line is the police know policing, not the governor and not the mayor."

This is why I don't understand the Occupy Baltimore stance against calling the police. Why antagonize union people that could become an ally, or at least protect you from adversaries? From Occupy Baltimore's website, City Sets Deadline for Occupy Baltimore Dispersal:

Occupy Baltimore has been peacefully gathering in McKeldin Square on
the corner of Pratt & Light Streets since October 4th, 2011.

The City of Baltimore Parks & Recreation Dept has refused their request for a permit to legally occupy this space, and has responded to their permit request with a set of unreasonable demands - including a limit of 2 people overnight, and limiting the group to a small area in the corner of the park. Furthermore, they have given the group an eviction deadline of Wednesday Oct 26th to be in compliance with these demands, which would essentially end their movement.