Home from the Holidays: Occupy in Action

Occupy is back in full swing, all around the Bay!

Occupy SF's Run on the Banks shut down four bank branches in Excelsior today (photo by Nancy Macias)

Occupy SF:  Run on the Banks

As a kick-off to the Occupy Wall St. West campaign, four banks in the Excelsior district of San Francisco were shut down today.  Via OWSWest:

More than a hundred protestors today shut down four bank branches in San Francisco’s Excelsior district to protest bank evictions and foreclosures of home owners and renters in the Excelsior and beyond. One protestor, Craig Rouskey, was arrested for refusing to leave the Bank of America branch as security closed the bank.

"Due to circumstances beyond our control we are temporarily closed." #OccupySF shuts down a BankOfAmerica (via zaigham)

Wild Old Women shut down B of A in Bernal Heights on Thursday (CBS) (click for audio)

This comes on the heels of “Wild Old Women,” seniors ranging from 69 to 82, successfully shutting down a B of A branch on Thursday in Bernal  Heights (great audio report from CBS here).

And Occupy Santa Rosa joined with local immigrant rights groups and other Occupies in the area including Sebastopol and Petaluma, to shutdown two Wells Fargo branches yesterday (for exploiting the immigrant community while profiting from private detention centers, and of course having been involved in illegal foreclosures and fraudulent lending that targeted people of color).  Critical Mass Petaluma joined the march, as two branches were shutdown through civil disobedience, resulting in two seven arrests.  (Story in Bay View Newspaper).

Upcoming Run on the Banks/OWS West actions:

• Thursday January 12, Noon at Bank of America, 3250 Mission St in Bernal Heights.
• Saturday January 14, Noon at 16th & Mission Streets in the Mission District.
• Friday January 20, a full day shutdown of SF’s financial district’s banks and corporations most involved in evicting tenants and homeowners.

Why:  OccupySF’s David S explains why corporations are not human beings and why we all need to participate on January 20th

A Call to Occupy Wall St. West!

Occupy Oakland:  F’ Tha Police Rally and Bubble March TONIGHT

Folks are gathering at 7pm at O-G Plaza, and will march to the jail (#FTP on twitter).  There is a call for people to bring BUBBLES, while the anarchists are calling for all black dress code and #REVOLT.

Here are a couple different approaches to this evening’s march:

• Operation Occububbles: Saturday Night OPD Bubble Brigade March
• Oakland Commune: F’ OPD March Against Repression
• F’ The Police call on Indybay

Live webcast stream at:  http://www.ustream.tv/occupyoakland

What are they marching about:  listen to this archived stream from Hard Knock Radio yesterday, start point 43:40 min.

Note:  OPD requesting Mutual Aid for FTP rally tonight

https://twitter.com/#!/OccupyMedic1/status/155717793931735042

Meanwhile in the Southland

• OccupyLosAngeles.org: FBI Infiltrators in Protest Groups (and how to spot them)
• boingboing.net: LA City Attorney to Occupy: pay for brainwashing lessons on limits of free speech and we’ll drop the charges

The latter seems ridiculous, if you recall reports like these:

• LAPD Officer Captured on Video Pointing Gun at Citizen Journalist ‘@OakFoShow’ at OccupyLA Raid
• People Locked in Tiny Cages, Crying in Pain: What I Saw and Heard When the LAPD Threw Me in Jail for Exercising My Right to Protest the Oligarchy
• My Occupy LA Arrest, by Patrick Meighan (writer for Family Guy)