Oakland Mayor Jean Quan (photo: Ella Baker Center)
Embattled Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, speaking in an interview with the BBC (excerpted on The Takeaway radio program–audio of Quan starts at the 5:30 mark), casually mentioned that she was on a conference call with leaders of 18 US cities shortly before a wave of raids broke up Occupy Wall Street encampments across the country. “I was recently on a conference call with 18 cities across the country who had the same situation. . . .”
Mayor Quan then rambles about how she “spoke with protestors in my city” who professed an interest in “separating from anarchists,” implying that her police action was helping this somehow.
Interestingly, Quan then essentially advocates that occupiers move to private spaces, and specifically cites Zuccotti Park as an example:
In New York City, it’s interesting that the Wall Street movement is actually on a private park, so they’re not, again, in the public domain, and they’re not infringing on the public’s right to use a public park.
Many witnesses to the wave of government crackdowns on numerous #occupy encampments have been wondering aloud if the rapid succession was more than a coincidence; Jean Quan’s casual remark seems to clearly imply that it was.
Might it also be more than a coincidence that this succession of police raids started after President Obama left the US for an extended tour of the Pacific Rim?
capitoilette 
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that they waited until Obama was gone before acting. It had that “while the cat’s away” flavor to it. I also think it’s utterly appalling that Michael Moore, self-appointed speaker for OWS, openly speculated that Obama must be behind this debacle without a shred of evidence in support, and since then has failed to retract or apologize for his statement. Moore has decided – the way only a rich, privileged, white guy can – that Obama lacks “blackness” and has chastised him for it, and this accusation of his can only be interpreted as an attempt to take votes away from Obama and give them to his new BFF Ralph Nader. A hopeless, futile exercise, but Moore apparently subscribes to the theory that what we need to do in this country is assure yet another Republican Presidency because that way everyone will learn how to vote for a “real” progressive the next time around. Being rich and privileged he doesn’t actually have to worry about the immediate impact of such a result on ordinary people.
In every community: under your own open-records laws in your state, demand from the city administration all records regarding the Occupy movement beginning about June 9 when Adbusters first called for occupation. Do it now!
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Can you expand on your remarks at the end? Why would it matter, for example, that this took place after Obama left the country? It seems clear from Quan’s remark that mayors coordinated these crackdowns, which would also square with previous remarks from Bloomberg and others that the mayors were indeed speaking to each other. So what are you asking at the end?
Thanks for sharing this info. I would, however, change (or at least caption) the photo you used of Jean Quan. Her posture, the low angle, and the air horn make it seem like she is announcing the triumphant eviction of the protesters when, in fact, that photo is from a running race back in March. We must be careful of inflammatory imagery with regard to this movement.
Good writing, Gregg. I love your direct style. I learned a lot. For example, conferencing is still used in California. I would have assumed a mayor would use a more informative outlet by now. Thanks!
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“Might it also be more than a coincidence that this succession of police raids started after President Obama left the US for an extended tour of the Pacific Rim?”
Probably also just a coincidence that he had to listen to a protest song by Makana as all his autocrat buddies looked on. It was a long performance and I expect Obama kept thinking, “Someone’s gonna pay for this!”
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Mubarak playbook… Night raid, media blackout… and coordinating assault …
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Aha!!!
Wow..it all makes sence now,
Doesn’t that therefore become a Conspiracy to denie constitutional rights? time to get a Ricco indictment on the mayors…
Aren’t the OWS protesters part of ‘the public’? Do they not have as much right as anybody else to inhabit public space? There is a long history in the US of debating this concept: is public stuff everybody’s or nobody’s? We allow ranchers cattle access to public lands, are the OWS protesters less worthy than cattle?
And as for ‘separating from the anarchists’… nice try but no dice. Inciting factional infighting will not break up this movement. Working to develop a non-violent ethic, sure, working to create a culture of peaceful witness, resistance, and revolution, sure, but falsely castigating a political theory as inherently violent? Anarchist theory is about leaderless, consensus-driven, direct democracy, not about violence or vandalism.
~Molly (eatcology.com)
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because obama has been so supportive up to now? come on, already
the guy has received more corporate kickbacks than any previous president and has been the worst president re: the war on drugs even though he promised to end it
if anything, they did it while he’s gone to make it LOOK like he doesn’t have anything to do with it
dude’s a puppet
“Oakland Mayor Jean Quan Admits Cities Coordinated Crackdown on Occupy Movement”
Mayor Quan didn’t admit anything of the sort. I listened to the audio link you provided, and all she said was, as you quoted, “I was recently on a conference call with 18 cities across the country who had the same situation.”
She didn’t say anything about coordinating a response with other cities; all she said is that she discussed the Occupy movement and the issues the cities had in common in regard to the movement. Is it possible that discussion involved, as you say, coordinating a crackdown? Of course it’s possible — and even likely. But that’s not what she actually *said*. This post makes large assumptions about the contents of the conversation and draws conclusions that simply can’t be reliably drawn from the information it’s citing on.
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The air horn and Oakland Raiders warm-up jacket is a nice touch.
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Impeach that shitting corporate traitor!!!
I find it amazing that these right wing fascist politicians who work for our nation’s enemies would blandly and without a hint of remorse admit to collaborating with other right wing corporate traitors to commit crimes against our country, fully expecting that she and her fellow corporate-owned criminals and traitors won’t have to face any adverse consequences of their crimes against our country.
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Green WhatElse
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Occupy your mom, dooshnozzle.
————
Karoli “So what are you asking at the end?”
I think there are two possible implictions. First is that the mayors wanted to enforce the law and clean up the toxic dumps forming in these so-called “camps” without giving Sock Puppet the opportunity to swing by in person and grandstand about being on their side and undercutting local law enforcement and political authority. Alternately, Sock Puppet was in on the deal, and deliberately made himself scare, so if there was too much of a backlash, either now or at some later point where he might feel this at the polls, he can grandstand that this sort of thing wouldn;t have happened if he in town and it was the all the fault of the local cops and whatever Republicans he can find to point his finger at. And of course if there is no significant backlash, he runs behind the cities yelling “Me too!” it’s what hucksters of all stripes call the “win/win” scenario.
When the cats away :The mice will play
:
Well of course the mayors of at least 18 cities (and as many more as are infected by OWS) are allowed to discuss the various problems (and discuss any workable solutions) that are germane. These occupations by the so-called 99% (that’s a lie; they are nowhere near representative of even 20% of us; these scrum are but neo-Marxists who are far-Left of center) cause nothing but trouble for all involved. As it stands, OWS is nothing more than hurtful and troublesome to the cities they ‘occupy’; having absolutely no effect on the source of their frustrations: the U.S. Government residing in Washington D.C., and both political parties that make it up. Both parties are equally corrupt.
If these kids could articulate their message as well as the TEA Party did (recall the ‘shellacking’) then they might be somewhat valid; as stands, they are as useless as would be an Engineering Jobs Fair in Zuccotti Park.
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Thank you marrowtest, I was feeling the same way while reading this post.
Please, just step down Mayor Quan. You have done an atrocious job with this.
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mayor quan!!! you and the 18 other mayoral cohorts betrayed us!!! i believe it was with the help of homeland security so aS to use mccarthyite tactics to shut us down!!!!we ows have only begun!!!!! see u this summer at the conventions
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Because of the date I fully expected something “big” to occur. November 15, 1969 is when the SHTF during the last American uprising, and the intellectuals were disgusted, particularly with fellow intellectuals who pointed out to the students of the day the shadows on the wall. Some of those same intellectual’s students are now the men in stations of power and influence. Well trained, they were going to do all they could to honor their mentors and stop from happening any further disruption of the Noble Lie.
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Nader is not a new friend of Moore. Moore endorses Nader every time the Dems turn out to be a bunch of spineless corporate puppets (Clinton/Gore). Obama works for the people who pay for his campaigns, (BP, Monsanto) and not the American people. At least Michael Moore has the courage to back away from dirty politicians he once supported when they show their true colors.
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As to the comments by morrowtest, it should be pointed out that OPINION commentary such as this article do not have to hold up like testimony in a court of law – and it is furthermore more than likely {beyond a reasonable doubt} to assume that if the mayors on the conference calls were discussing the OWS “problem,” that they were discussing a “solution.”
Usury and Fractional Reserve Banking = Debt Slavery.
If that doesn’t “inconvenience” the ‘public’, what does???
Going along to get along is just fine – until you get where they are taking you.
And if you haven’t noticed, we’re just about there.
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Again, I can’t understand all the Obama True Believers out there. They are again letting this guy off the hook. The reality is that many of these raids and evictions are getting tactical advice on how to do it from the FBI and Homeland Security. Come on, people. Let’s face some facts. Again, Obama isn’t standing with the 99%. Grow up. He has the absolute gall to call out Egypt’s military for cracking down on peaceful protesters, yet he remains a deaf mute here in his own country. I’m tired of giving this guy the benefit of the doubt. He has shown ZERO leadership since his inauguration on many fronts. The Occupy Movement is just another epic fail.
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