(Here is the link to Washingtonsblog.com This blogspot has been also writing about the militarization of the police since LittleBoyBush armed them with Homeland Security monies. This is how the transfer of wealth works. These industries, owned by the Wall Street corporate elite, cannot earn incomes and pay out stock dividends without taxpayers wealth funding their products which are then sold to local government entities, like the police, in order to be used against civilians.)
Aerial Footage Shows Tear Gas Canister Hitting Scott Olsen and Flashbang Grenade Breaking Up People Attempting to Rescue Him
Aerial Footage Shows Tear Gas Canister Hitting Scott Olsen and Flashbang Grenade Breaking Up Rescue Attempt
The following aerial footage of the Oakland protests shows Marine veteran Scott Olsen being hit in the head with what appears to be a tear gas canister (approximately 1:40), and a group of protesters trying to rescue him being dispersed by a flashbang grenade (around 1:52):
I showed the video to former NASA photo analyst Michael Rivero, to see if he thought the low trajectory of the tear gas canister fired at Olsen shows that the attack was intentional. Rivero is an imaging expert with experience with NASA probes, and so is expert at assessing height, angle and object size from photos taken from various distances and at different angles.
Rivero told me:
I agree the low angle indicates the shot was aimed at Scott.This is a favorite trick of the Israelis to kill people while pretending it was an accident.
For background on the use of tear gas in Israel, see this.
Note: We at Washington’s Blog are in no way anti-police or anti-Israel. We support the troops and the police, although we demand that they follow the rule of law and the Geneva Conventions and rules of war, and respect the right of their citizens to free speech and free assembly. We are simply against the use of brutality or unjustified violence by police or military … anywhere in the world, whether in the West, the Middle East, China or elsewhere.
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Protesters invite Wall Street CEOs to Lunch: “We’ll Pick Up The Tab … We’ve Been Doing It For Five Years!”
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Marching on Big Banks
The Occupy Wall Street protesters are marching on the big Wall Street banks today. Here’s a livestream:
March now at Morgan Stanley: Protesters invite CEO to lunch. “We’ll pick up the tab..we’ve been doing it for five years!” Loud cheers
The protesters are currently holding a General Assembly in front of JP Morgan Chase headquarters.
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Did Oakland Police Intentionally Shoot Marine Vet Scott Olsen In the Head?
Marine Veteran Was Peacefully Standing When Attacked by Police
The following photograph on videos show that Marine veteran Scott Olsen was peacefully standing at the Oakland protest when police fired a projectile at him:
Did Police Intend to Hit Olsen In the Head?
Here is a photo of the ammunition or projectiles which police shot at the Oakland protesters:
Karl Denninger argues that the police intended to hit Olsen in the head:
One ex-Marine — a combat veteran — took a rubber round in the head. He is in critical condition and may die. That was not a mistake; that was aimed fire and an intentional assassination. Sorry folks, that’s facts – from 50′ you don’t “miss” and hit someone in the head with these things if you’re shooting for the legs or other non-vital parts. He was shot in the head by someone who aimed for the head. Those projectiles arenot “non-lethal” and the bomb thrown by a cop at the people trying to come to his assistance after he fell wasn’t tossed accidentally either.
A marine says that Oakland used crowd control methods that are prohibited in war zones, and that the shot must have been intentional:
Before gas goes into a crowd shield bearers have to be making no progress moving a crowd or crowd must be assaulting the line. Not with sticks and stones but a no bullshit assault. 3 warnings must be given to the crowd in a manner they can hear that force is about to be used. Shield bearers take a knee and CS gas is released in grenade form first to fog out your lines because you have gas masks. You then kick the canisters along in front of your lines. Projectile gas is not used except for longer ranged engagement or trying to steer the crowd ( by steering a crowd I mean firing gas to block a street off ). You also have shotguns with beanbags and various less than lethal rounds for your launchers. These are the rules for a WARZONE!!How did a cop who is supposed to have training on his weapon system accidentally SHOOT someone in the head with a 40mm gas canister? Simple. He was aiming at him.I’ll be the first to admit a 40mm round is tricky to aim if you are inexperienced but anyone can tell the difference between aiming at head level and going for range.The person that pulled that trigger has no business being a cop. He sent that round out with the intention of doing some serious damage to the protestors. I don’t care what the protestors were doing. I never broke my rules of engagement in Iraq or Afghanistan. So I can’t imagine what a protester in the states did to deserve a headshot with a 40mm. He’s damn lucky to be alive and that cop knows he was using lethal force against a protester he is supposed to be protecting.
A poster at Occupy Marines Facebook makes the following comment:
You can see Scott Olsen standing, with his BACK TOWARDS THE COPS moments before being shotWatch close- the guy who shot him can be seen backing away from the fence and lowering his shotgun (he musta been less then 5 feet from Scott when he shot him in the head….) he then goes behind two other cops and THROWS THE FLASH BANG himself at the people trying to save them. (the other two cops don’t move, but this guys steps back and then forward just as the flash bang is tossed – other two cops in that section don’t even twitch as the flashbang is tossed)Same Guy shot him and then tossed the FlashBang at the people trying to save him.
The policemen firing seemed to be having a little too much fun:
A protester also says the police shot him with a rubber bullet when he helped carry Scott Olsen to safety after he had been injured:
The Oakland police violated their own rules (page 9), and they would have violated the Geneva Convention against targeting wounded combatants or those attempting to render medical aid.
No wonder even Amnesty International has condemned the use of tear gas as well as the actions of Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, who said the measures were justified because protesters threw rocks. Although the Obama administration and the Department of Justice has shown no interest in investigating.
As Marine Sergeant Shamar Thomas – who stood up to the New York police – notes:
I was involved in a RIOT in Rutbah, Iraq 2004 and we did NOT treat the Iraqi citizens like they are treating the unarmed civilians in our OWN Country. No one was brutalized because our mission was to ‘WIN the hearts and minds.’ why should I expect anything less in my OWN Country.
Olsen Is an Extremely Hard-Working Network Engineer and a Decorated Veteran
Scott Olsen, 24, joined the protests as he worked his day job as a network engineer and left his apartment each night to sleep alongside protesters in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., Keith Shannon said.Olsen, who is originally from Wisconsin, served two tours of duty in Iraq, makes a good living at a San Francisco software company and had a hillside apartment that overlooks San Francisco Bay.***Each night, he would go out to the tent camps that have sprung up over the past month in cities as the movement spread to protest economic inequality and what they see as corporate greed.***People at OPSWAT, the company where Olsen works, were devastated after learning of his injuries. They described him as a humble, quiet guy who worked hard over long hours.“He’s been a big piece of what we do here and our growth strategy, so obviously it’s pretty devastating for us that he’s in the shape he’s in,” said Jeff Garon, the company’s director of marketing.Olsen was awarded seven medals while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, which he left as a lance corporal in November 2009 after serving for four years.He went on two tours in Iraq, one in 2006-2007 and another in 2008, where he worked as a datanetwork specialist. He was awarded seven medals, including the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, according to the Marine Corps.
Olsen’s condition has been upgraded from critical to “fair”, although neurologists say that he may require brain surgery.
Militarization of the Police is the Problem
The increasing militarization of U.S. police departments is clearly the problem (more).
In October 2010, the Oakland Tribune reported:
An Oakland police SWAT team finished second in a prestigious, internationally known training competition this past weekend, losing out to a group of Israeli police but beating more than two dozen other Bay Area law enforcement agencies that participated.
Indeed, the Alameda County Sheriff has hosted some of these Swat competitions (Oakland is in Alameda County, California).
And the militarization of police forces throughout the United States cannot be taken in a vacuum. The bigger pictures is that the government is using anti-terrorism laws to crush dissent.
Some are comparing police brutality towards the Occupy protesters to that used by Israeli forces against Palestinian protesters. Indeed, numerous heads of U.S. police departments have traveled to Israel for “anti-terrorism training”, and received training from Israeli anti-terrorism experts visiting the U.S. See this, this, this, this.
Anonymous Releases Police Information
Anonymous released a video in support of Olsen:
The group also temporarily took down the Oakland police website, and released personal information about Oakland police officers.
Mayor Backs Down
And the Mayor of Oakland has now done an about-face, saying the protesters can stay and that she “supports” them.
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