There were trash cans on fire. Some people got knocked unconscious from the flash-bangs and tear gas. I saw one girl being carried over a guy’s shoulder, and he was trying to find a paramedic, but there just weren’t any around.Oakland resident Tony Santiago • Giving his first-hand account of the scene in downtown Oakland last night, as the Oakland Police Department (as you probably already know) raided and dispersed some 1,000 protesters in the Occupy movement. The police had denied using such things as flash-bang grenades and rubber munitions, but thanks to eyewitness accounts, amateur video, and work by professional journalists, such denials have been shown to be untrue. Occupy Oakland is expected to return for protests at 6:00 PM tonight, and with last night’s grisly scenes still fresh in their memory it’s anybody’s guess how they’ll react — especially if/when the OPD descends on them once again. (Editor’s note: The source story was written by Seth Millstein, a SFB writer who also writes for The Daily.) source (via • follow)
jron says: Paint, beer, eggs. Flashbombs, teargas, rubber bullets, beanbag shot. Same thing right? I’d be very surprised if anything was thrown at the police before the destruction of the camp yesterday and the surprise teargas attack.
» SFB says: Important context to our last post. We recommend, if you’re just catching up, checking out this well-organized Storyful piece, which breaks down the nature of the incident a bit more. — Ernie @ SFB
Tumult, violence in Greece: Passions continue to run hot in Greece after the party-line vote in favor of a harsh new set of austerity measures — the new tax burden placed on minimum wage earners, in particular, has inflamed swaths of the public against the plan. Protests had been increasingly violent leading up to the vote, and have sustained after the plan’s passage — police have responded with teargas attacks on the protesting crowds. As always, we hope people find a way to keep themselves safe in all this. source
The dangers of nightfall in Syria: A sit-in was held in Clock Square, in the city of Homs, but come nightfall the Assad government decided it was time to clear the square. The methods employed seem to be teargas and live gunfire. Be forewarned — while the video is a bit jumpy and hard to see clearly, it’s nonetheless very unpleasant and disturbing. source
Truly heartbreaking video: Al Jazeera English takes us to a hospital in Bahrain, where doctors and medical staff are treating people horribly abused, beaten and teargassed. Many, it seems, have taken to sleeping in the hospital, so fearful are they about being caught up in the violence if they venture outside or return home. source
yemen, boiling over: The vehement protests against Yemeni President Ali Abudullah Saleh have racheted up in recent days, culminating in live rounds being fired on citizens, and the attack of a provincial governor. Naji al-Zaidi was stabbed in the neck with a dagger, as were four of his bodyguards, and was rushed to a hospital from where no further information has been announced. Government forces have deployed teargas against the protesters, and all told about sixty people were injured across Yemen, part of a violent crackdown that President Saleh is employing in a bid to maintain control (h/t pantslessprogressive). source
Teargas in the streets of Tehran: So says the Facebook page of Iranian opposition figure Mir Hossein Mousavi, where this video was posted. It shows Iranians protesting, reportedly against the Iranian government’s detainment of political prisoners, before fleeing back towards the camera. Mousavi’s Facebook claims this was caused by a sudden teargas attack. source
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