RAID versus Black Flag

RAID has definitely won the first sortee. At least a lot of the the wingnut cockroaches flew the coup (pun intended): At 2am last night as I was trying to enjoy my fourth hour of sleep in the last week, I hear "cops in riot gear!". I am unfazed hoping the prankster would shut the eff up...When I reached the end of Market, I saw a few boneheads grabbing barricades to put with rolling trash barrels and doors, etc. for "our barricade". That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard. Trash barrels and their barricades. More embarrassment.

The fights and the theft and the intoxication were not enough, then we have made-for-TV drama when Stan tries to make sense by standing on a concrete stanchion and saying that resistance must be passive if it is to be effective, and this 'barricade' will be about as effective against rubber bullets and tear gas as a paper bag. I am with Stan, believing Occupy the Mind and the Heart will follow, but a fellow protester has other ideas and will not quit banging the green recycle bin enough for Stan to be heard. The cops are half a block away dude. The stick ends up drawing blood from Stan's head, at least 4 or 5 professional-looking cameras rolling. More embarrassment.

I speak to a well-educated fellow from Berkeley, who mentions that the cops change shift at 4. We put together between the 2 of us that if new cops come on, they could tap the old crew for some O.T. and perhaps double their force. After verifying my logic with some members of the G.A., I approach each of the TV trucks to make sure they please stay, explaining my logic of the cop duty change. They seem to agree.

I am deranged by lack of sleep and the frustration of having to watch my stuff constantly. I came back to my spot this a.m. and somebody was literally moving in ON my sleeping bag which was laid out neatly under the communications tarp. ON my bag with a whole park depleted of a quarter of the tents it previously had. I go semi-ballistic and relocate for the...4th or 5th time, involving a modicum of gear, but plenty of frustration.

I do believe there are 'plants' who steal and foment internal disention by creating distractions of a Health and Safety violation nature. Urinating on the foodstuffs in the kitchen. Underscoring the parvo in the dogs in the park in the press. (Thank you Examiner). One may go a bit further to think that drugs, especially stimulants are allowed and perhaps supplied, that there is a 'stand-down' order for boosting alcohol from the one Safeway within walking distance. I dunno. It just seems so obvious, including the person in a wind-breaker no one has ever seen saying 'we' should not go help defend 101 (The Federal Reserve branch of Occupy), that 'we' should' defend our own turf. As far as I know, we're all the same schmuck.

Gotta go, never know how long the 'calm before' will last since we were read the Riot Act (municipal code violation blah x3). Thanks for reading. We need water. SW corner of Justin Herman.