Officers from the Oakland Police Department and other regional law enforcement agencies raided the Occupy Oakland encampment early this morning, tearing down the protest site while activists and supporters milled about in the intersection at 14th and Broadway streets, chanting and shouting "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

Protesters had received eviction notices from the City of Oakland in the days before the raid, and word that a police crackdown was imminent traveled via Twitter and text message updates, bringing several hundred people out into the intersection beginning around 2 a.m. Read more »

After a long day of mostly peaceful demonstrations by thousands of protesters who joined OccupyOakland's General Strike and Day of Action yesterday, it's still unclear why the Oakland Police – which had stood down the entire day, leaving the movement to self-police – massed in riot gear around midnight and used tear gas and other projectiles to clear the streets and make a reported 80 arrests.Read more »

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today approved a resolution supporting Occupy Wall Street and the right of OccupySF to maintain a 24/7 encampment in Justin Herman Plaza, although sponsors of the measure narrowly lost a fight over amending the measure to allow police to use force if “there is an objective threat to safety or health.”Read more »

The California Highway Patrol seems to be on high alert and itching to fight the people in the street, at least if a bizarre incident at last night’s Critical Mass is any indication. And that’s a scary prospect in the Bay Area, where the ongoing standoffs between police and the Occupy movements in San Francisco and Oakland are potential powder kegs that require cool heads on both sides. Read more »

When the Grand National Rodeo was in town Oct. 14-15 and 21-22, we wrote about the presence of animal rights advocates lofting signs in the parking lot of Cow Palace outside the vernerable event. But it turns out the activists got to catch the show too -- the Guardian has been sent videos from a local animal advocate that suggest that animals were in fact being mistreated at the event. Read more »

Protesters at the OccupySF encampment remained on edge for hours early on Oct. 27 as reports of a pending police raid put the crowd of perhaps 1,000 on alert. Between the collective fear of risking serious injury or arrest, the anxiety of losing camp, and the sleep deprivation, the police department's unwillingness to make its intentions clear to people gathered in Justin Herman Plaza seemed akin to psychological warfare waged against the occupiers.Read more »