Deaths used as excuse to shut down Occupy protests

[Free Palestine]

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/12/142267727/deaths-at-occupy-camps-bring-push-to-pack-up

[Yelnoc]

I'm conflicted about this.  On the one hand, these shanty-towns have experienced violence and are beginning to attract drug dealers and the like.  On the other, protesters are still there, protesting whatever the hell they're protesting.

Let's just hope there aren't any anarchists preparing for a battle, like that police chief speculated.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

It's not the occupiers that cause the problems, it's the fact there's just so many people, that it enables bad people to take advantage of the situation.  Whether or not you want to shut down the whole thing based on that becomes a debate over whether or not the public interest takes over freedom of assembly.  It's like I do on the FC board - if a thread causes problems, even if it's not the original posters intent, I shut it down; however, I don't have the Constitution governing me.  It's an interesting debate, which pits legal against public interest.

[Free Palestine]

Let's just hope there aren't any are anarchists preparing for a battle, like that police chief speculated.

[dead0man]

bah, this certainly has the possibility to get ugly.  Hopefully sanity will prevail (but you know it won't everywhere).

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Clearly there had never been a crime committed in downtown Oakland before.

[Free Palestine]

Oakland Commune, anyone?