Occupy Oakland: More than 100 arrested; police defend tactics

Police arrested more than 100 people during a night of clashes with Occupy Oakland protesters throughout the city's downtown area.

The scene finally cleared after midnight Wednesday, but police were on alert in case crowds returned.

Oakland's interim police chief, Howard Jordan, said arrests were continuing and that the total number might rise. Eight-five of those arrests were made Tuesday night, when officers raided the Occupy Oakland encampment on Frank Ogawa Plaza at City Hall, along with an annex in a park near Lake Merritt.

PHOTOS: Occupy Oakland protest

Jordan justified his department's use of tear gas.

"We were in a position where we had to deploy gas in order to stop the crowd and people from pelting us with bottles and rocks," he said.

Protesters had also thrown paint "and other agents" at officers, he added.
The crowd reached about 1,000 people at its peak, Jordan said, noting that police used bean bag rounds to disperse demonstrators. He said no rubber bullets were used -- a claim disputed by protesters.
Two officers were injured in the clashes, Jordan said. He said he did not know how many demonstrators may have been hurt.

In an interview with KTVU-TV Channel 2, Officer David Carman said he had been hit by paintballs and more.

"The crowd started throwing bottles, paints, beer, eggs at myself and the other officers," he said.

But some activists criticized the police tactics.

Kat Brooks, an Occupy Oakland activist and spokeswoman, said she took her young daughter home about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday because she did not want to expose her to the tear gas flooding downtown Oakland.

Protesters had marched from the plaza to Snow Park, a swatch of green near Lake Merritt, where an annex encampment was also torn down by police Wednesday morning. They had returned to City Hall when the confrontation began.

"We weren’t there but a minute before they started giving the dispersal order," Brooks said Tuesday night. "The first time they said five minutes, this time they said 'now.' They shot off the flash grenades and people scattered."

"This is the most disciplined I've ever seen Oakland be. There was no damage to property," she said.

At one point, Brooks said, several officers were hit with paintballs, but she said they had come out swinging batons.

"From the way they came into the camp [Tuesday] morning to the way they acted tonight, they have gone beyond what was necessary," she said.

RELATED:

Occupy Oakland: Police and protesters in tense standoff

Occupy Oakland: Police fire two more rounds of tear gas at crowd

Occupy Oakland: Protest spokeswoman says police action "beyond" what's necessary

-- Lee Romney in Oakland and Robert J. Lopez

Photo: People flee after tear gas is fired in Oakland. Credit: Associated Press


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Report: Andy Rooney Hospitalized in Serious Condition

NEW YORK – Andy Rooney, who delivered his last essay on the CBS TV newsmagazine "60 Minutes" three weeks ago, was in the hospital Tuesday after developing serious complications following surgery.
CBS said the 92-year-old writer's condition was stable and, at the request of his family, offered no other information about his medical problems or where he was hospitalized.
The three-time Emmy-winner was a regular presence on television's most popular newsmagazine. Since 1978, "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" wrapped up the Sunday night program, often with a look at the absurdities of life and language.
Rooney could talk about what was in the news or what was in his closet. One of his Emmy Awards was for an essay about whether there was a real Mrs. Smith behind Mrs. Smith's Pies.
On Oct. 2, he delivered his 1,097th and final essay, saying it was a moment he dreaded.
"I wish I could do this forever. I can't, though," he said.
True to his often cantankerous nature, Rooney noted that he hated being recognized on the street. So if you see him in a restaurant, he said as he signed off, "please, just let me eat my dinner."
He's had a long career as a writer, and that's how he saw himself. He worked for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes and wrote four books about World War II. He wrote for entertainment personalities Arthur Godfrey and Garry Moore and had a longtime partnership with newsman Harry Reasoner.
With "60 Minutes" looking for something new at the end of its show, Rooney's first essay appeared on July 2, 1978: a complaint about people who kept track of how many people died in auto accidents over holiday weekends.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/10/26/report-andy-rooney-hospitalized-in-serious-condition/#ixzz1btitdyGK

John Lackey to have Tommy John surgery

(CBS/AP) A miserable year for Red Sox starter John Lackey just got worse.

Lackey will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2012 season, Boston's new GM Ben Cherington announced Tuesday.

Photos: Players who have had Tommy John surgery

It's the latest setback for a once-elite pitcher who had major issues on and off the field in 2011. He was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA in the second year of a five-year, $82.5 million contract. To make matters worse, the Boston Globe reported that he and fellow starters Josh Beckett and Jon Lester drank beer and ate fried chicken in the clubhouse during games in which they were not pitching.

As if that wasn't enough, Lackey filed for divorce late in the season. His wife has breast cancer.

"Everything in my life sucks right now, to be honest with you," Lackey declared after another terrible start in May.

When announcing Lackey's reconstructive elbow surgery, Cherington praised the pitcher for playing through adversity.

"John Lackey pitched through circumstances this year that I don't think any of us in this room can fully understand," Cherington said, "and he got beat up for it a little bit along the way. This guy was dealing with some stuff both on the field and off the field that were really difficult. I thought he showed tremendous toughness pitching through that."

Fortunately for Lackey, Tommy John surgery has a high success rate. Washington Nationals' phenom Stephen Starsburg had the surgery last year and came back strong this September.

When Dr. Frank Jobe performed the first such surgery on Tommy John in 1974, he put the Dodger pitcher's chances of complete recover at 1 in 100.

Since then, dozens of major leaguers have had the surgery, and chances of a successful recovery now hover closer to 90 percent, according to Dr. Michael Reinold, a rehabilitation coordinator for the Boston Red Sox.

The usual rehabilitation period from Tommy John surgery is at least 12 months.

Considering the brutal year Lackey just endured, maybe the time off will do him some good.

Bizzaro valuations: Amazon (P/E = 100) vs. Apple (14)

Even after Tuesday's free-fall, Amazon's shares cost seven times more than Apple's
It's never been adequately explained to me why Amazon's (AMZN) shares are so expensive and Apple's (AAPL) so cheap.
Both stocks were punished after reporting their most recent quarterly earnings. Apple fell $23.62 (5.6%) last week when the company came in with iPhone sales that were lower than analysts expected, reducing profit growth to 54%. Amazon fell $10.46 (4.4%) Tuesday after reporting net income down 73% and offering investors the strangest guidance I've ever seen:
"Operating income (loss) is expected to be between $(200) million and $250 million, or between 142% decline and 47% decline compared with fourth quarter 2010."
Apple, by contrast, is expecting next quarter's sales to grow by at least 38%, to $37 billion.
To be sure, the two companies are in very different businesses. But they are about to compete in the tablet market -- the only part of his business that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos mentioned in Tuesday's press release -- and the contrast is striking.
Amazon will lose money on the Kindle Fire -- the more it sells, the more it loses -- hoping to make it up in the sale of books, movies, music, etc.
Apple will make some money from music, apps and books, but the big bucks (and we're talking billions) come from the sale of its high-margin hardware.
Two different business models. Both growing rapidly, both (mostly) profitable. But at Tuesday's close, Apple's shares (at $397.77) were selling at 14.4 times trailing earnings and Amazon's ($227.15) were selling at 100.2.
Can someone tell me why?
Posted in: Amazon, App Store, Apple, iPad, iTunes, Jeff Bezos, Kindle, Quarterly earnings
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Terrell Owens' agent waits for calls

No teams attended Terrell Owens' workout in Calabasas, Calif., on Tuesday, but the 37-year-old receiver said he was confident that he showed enough that teams will be interested.

The free-agent receiver is unsigned after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and having surgery in early April. He participated in some drills and caught passes Tuesday in the workout that was televised on ESPN and the NFL Network. He did not run the 40-yard dash.

[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Amy Sancetta
Terrell Owens nearly had 1,000 yards receiving with the Bengals last season and says he's now healthy enough to help an NFL team in 2011.
"I definitely feel there are some teams out there that are interested," he told ESPN.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus said Wednesday in an interview with ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" that no teams have called as of Wednesday morning, but he's sure NFL teams were watching Owens' workout on TV.

"Just because they weren'’t there doesn't mean they weren'’t interested," he said. "I can guarantee that all 32 teams were interested."

Rosenhaus said that from his conversations with teams before the workout that he wasn't surprised by their absence. He said the workout was organized to "create interest. We were trying to create a buzz."

And he believes that Owens opened some eyes Tuesday.

"I think that teams see that Terrell is healthy, that he is ready to play football," Rosenhaus said.

He also said that if Owens doesn't sign with a team this year, he still will try to resume his career in 2012.

Owens on Tuesday wore a T-shirt with the words "I am" on the front and "ready" on the back at the beginning of the workout. He took the shirt off when he ran routes and caught passes from Casey Hansen, who played quarterback at Norfolk State and has played in the Arena Football League.

"I felt very comfortable out there," Owens told ESPN after the workout.

Rosenhaus told ESPN's Rachel Nichols on Tuesday that he planned to send a tape of the workout to all 32 teams.

Owens said he wasn't deterred by the fact that no scouts were in attendance and said his workout "speaks for itself."

"I only need one team," Owens told the NFL Network. "I only need one chance."

Owens said he felt good after the workout and that overall, "I probably feel better than I did before when I got hurt."

The six-time Pro Bowler had 72 receptions for 983 yards and nine touchdowns last season with the Cincinnati Bengals when Carson Palmer was his quarterback.

Palmer last week was traded to the Oakland Raiders and Owens was asked by ESPN's Jerry Rice if he had considered a reunion with Palmer in Oakland.

"I'm very familiar with Carson. If that situation comes up, I'll have to assess that," he said.

Owens said he hopes to sign with a contender but that if only non-contenders are interested, "I'm not going to give up just for the sake of giving up."

Jenna Lyons' Divorce: Why Are We So Shocked?

According to the New York Post's Page Six, new details have emerged about the divorce of Jenna Lyons: the creative director of J. Crew, much admired for her impeccable taste, is splitting from husband, Vincent Mazeau, and is supposedly in a relationship with another woman.

If the rumors are true, this means, among other things, that contrary to tired stereotypes, not every lesbian looks like, say, Pat Buchanan. Yes, folks, a lesbian can be stylish. And not just kind of stylish, but really stylish. In fact, two lesbians can be stylish, assuming that Lyons wouldn't pair up with some who has questionable taste.

L'affair Lyons is catnip for gossip rags, and if she actually is gay, she will join the many celebrity women once married to men whose coming outs inspired more media coverage than usually devoted to small revolutions. (The Frisky takes us down memory lane to remember some others in a slideshow here.)

One early example is The Daily Mail's headline: "Millionaire J Crew boss who painted five-year-old son's toenails pink splits from husband -- and moves on with lesbian lover"

Because the pink toenails clearly have a lot to do with it. I'm just surprised no one has suggested that the writing was on the wall in Lyons' recent interview with The New York Times discussing how gay and lesbian couples have recently had an influence on J. Crew's wedding collection:

The piece quotes Lyons, "Based on feedback, she said, there was a need for simpler dresses, as a way for a woman to differentiate herself if her partner decides to go the princess bride route. Ms. Lyons is also thinking of offering a white pantsuit."

Lyons clarified in the piece that said pantsuit would be "not necessarily for a lesbian."

You'd hope that any socially-aware heterosexual person in Lyons' position would have had the same idea, no?

Perhaps the biggest question Lyon's personal saga raises is this: Is the public shocked by the fact that she was married to a man for ten years and that she now likes women? Or that she's a successful, well-respected and beautiful leader in the fashion industry who's gay, but not a man?

Ed Lee vetoes SF health care bill - antibusiness

Mayor Ed Lee on Tuesday issued his first veto since taking office in January, describing legislation intended to close a loophole in San Francisco's law requiring employers to provide some funding for their workers' health care expenses as bad for business.

"This legislation aims to solve an important problem, but imposes an overly broad approach to solving a discrete set of issues," Lee said in his veto letter.

The Board of Supervisors approved the proposal on a 6-5 vote last week, setting up a showdown with Lee just weeks before the Nov. 8 mayoral election, in which polls show him as the front-runner in a field of 16 candidates.

Four of his rivals, Supervisor John Avalos, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, city Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and state Sen. Leland Yee, have signaled they will make Lee's veto a campaign issue, having rallied on the steps of City Hall this month urging him to support the plan.

It's unlikely sponsors of the legislation will get eight votes to override the veto. But Supervisor David Campos, chief sponsor of the legislation, said Lee "is taking San Francisco in the wrong direction" by limiting the funding uninsured workers can access to pay for their health care needs.

Campos said he is considering taking his proposal to the voters. It takes four supervisors to place a measure on the ballot.

The Campos plan targets the provision in the city's groundbreaking health care law that allows employers to set up individual health care reimbursement accounts for uninsured workers. Participating employers contribute up to $4,252 annually into each worker's account, but any unused money at the end of the year can go back to the employer.

Last year, 860 businesses out of the approximately 4,000 covered by the law contributed a combined $62.5 million into the reimbursement accounts, but just $12.4 million was used by workers. Employers pocketed the rest.

Under the Campos amendment, the unspent money would accrue in the accounts. Only after a worker has been off the payroll for 18 months could an employer get the money back.

Business owners and their trade association said it would force them to lay off workers, shelve expansion plans, move out of the city or close.

Lee said that while he agrees the proposal would be bad for business, he believes changes are needed.

One of his goals, he has said, is to get businesses to be less restrictive on how the money can be used. Some employers, for example, won't reimburse workers for health insurance premiums or for enrollment in a city plan that makes use of public clinics and hospitals.

The Campos amendment, he said, would not increase access to health care or protect jobs. "Moreover, this cash, pulled out of our local economy, will not be available to pay wages or grow businesses," Lee told supervisors.

The mayor formed a working group to see whether a compromise could be brokered and Lee said in his veto letter that he is "confident there is a legislative path forward."

Meanwhile, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu has offered a different amendment to address the loophole. Under his version, at least a year's worth of unused employer contributions must always be available to avoid a use-it-or-lose-it scenario.

The board was to vote on Chiu's plan Monday, but, at his urging, delayed consideration for one week.

Chiu, Campos and Lee all agree that employers should do a better job of telling workers how to access the reimbursement funds, and also want to prevent restaurants from placing a surcharge on their patrons' bills for employees' health care unless the money is actually used for that purpose.

"Once we're past this week, I'm looking forward to working with my colleagues to find a solution," said Chiu, who also is running for mayor.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/25/BAKG1LMB78.DTL#ixzz1bthbgKib

Denver weather turns wintry; Occupy protesters say they fear they will die

Monday’s record 80-degree temperatures in Denver were replaced Tuesday night by a wet and heavy snowstorm that left trees bent, power out, and the wind howling. Some areas of the state got up to 10 inches of snow.


Bundled up Occupy Denver protesters argue with a policeman about their right to pitch tents in the park. (Image via YouTube) Occupy Denver protesters, who have been occupying the Civic Center Park for nearly a month, didn’t do well with their first taste of the cold, as temperatures fell to 38 degrees in the early morning and forecasters predicted they’d soon drop to the 20s.

Occupy organizers told police who tried to tear down their tents Tuesday night that they feared people forced to sleep in the open would die from the cold. In the following video from Occupy Denver, an organizer says that several people have already had to be removed from the park for hypothermia:


On the Occupy Denver Facebook page, a message from last night reads:

It is a rough night for [the] Occupy Denver team 24/7 tonight. Tarps, waterproof blankets and bedding, cold weather clothing, all could help... Despite the cold tomorrow, we will be doing non-violent protest training...
Despite the cold, a major protest is scheduled for Saturday in the park.

Protester Shannon Garcia, who is three months pregnant, told the Associated Press that while she is concerned about the changing weather, she and other protesters will stay no matter what.

“I’m freaking out a little bit, of course,” Garcia said. “[But] everybody here takes care of everybody, so I have no doubt that if things get really bad for me, I’ll be safe.”

Start-up Unthink: We're the 'anti-Facebook'

says it will trigger a social revolution.
On its home page, Unthink uses black-and-white photos of the Civil Rights Movement as a backdrop, and it promises to "emancipate social media" and "unleash people's extraordinary potential." Apparently, that's done by giving users an online hub that is free of "privacy issues," "endless redesigns," and user profiles vamping as "commercial junkyards," as well as allowing users to own their data and all their interactions on the site.
It's not hard to identify which social network Unthink, based in Tampa, Fla., is targeting in launching its public beta today.
For its part, Facebook, which currently dominates the social Web, says its users do actually own the data they post on its network. But that has yet to be tested. In Europe this week, Facebook Ireland is under fire for allegedly violating data privacy laws and holding on to vast amounts of private messages, "pokes," and "unfriending" activity that a user said he had deleted over the past three years.
Founded on Earth Day in 2008, Unthink is backed by $2.5 million in venture funding from DouglasBay Capital. On its site, where those who want to sign up can get an invitation code in exchange for their e-mail address, Unthink says it will work with brands that are "forward-thinking, socially responsible, and environmentally conscious." Users can choose which brands to feature or advertise on their profile pages.
Beyond this casual reference to brands and advertising, Unthink's actual business model is unclear. According to TechCrunch, which first reported about Unthink's public beta, users who choose not to align themselves with a brand can instead pay a $2 annual fee.

Laura Locke
Laura Locke is a senior writer for CNET, covering social media, emerging trends, and start-ups. Prior to joining CNET, she contributed extensively to Time and Time.com for much of the past decade.

Topics:Software, Entertainment, Social networking, Advertising and marketing, Consumer content Tags:anti-Facebook, social revolution, Unthink, DouglasCapital, emancipation from social networks

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Storm leaves Denver roads wet; more snow, power outages to the north

Wet, heavy snow that began falling along the Front Range and on the Eastern Plains late last night is straining trees, snapping limbs and causing power outages in some areas, especially north of Denver.

Clusters of power outages have hit areas of Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties, according to Xcel Energy. In Denver, an area around West 52nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard also had power down this morning.

The overnight storm brought 10 inches of snow to Greeley, according to the National Weather Service. After 2 a.m. snow was falling in Greeley at the rate of about 2 inches per hour.

In Denver, public works crews were out overnight; roads in Denver are wet, and icy and slushy in some spots, but mostly in good shape

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this morning.
"We're looking really good," said Ann Williams, Director of Communication for Denver Public Works.

Williams said they had 68 snow plows at the ready last night, and they started circulating through Denver's streets as soon as the snow began to fall.

"Oh yeah, they're all out," Williams said. "And they'll stay out."

Williams said the biggest concern this morning is that the roads are very wet. She said bridges and elevated sections of road could be icy or slushy, but added that should melt as soon as the sun comes up.

"The biggest thing for drivers this morning is to make sure they have wiper fluid," Williams said.

The wet, heavy snow is bending trees, many of which have not lost all their leaves.

Williams said one snowplow driver reported seeing a lot of downed branches in the middle of the roadways in Denver.

At Denver International Airport the snow has been minimal and operations are running on normal schedules, according to airport officials.

"We will likely see airlines de-icing aircraft this morning, but all airport operations are normal," DIA said in a media release.

Air travelers can check their flight status at

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href='http://www.FlyDenver.com'>www.FlyDenver.com before heading out to the airport.
A steady snowfall should continue in the metro area through 9 a.m., according to the weather service, and then the storm will begin to gradually clear out.
Denver's high temperature today should be about 33 degrees, the weather service reports, and there's a 10 percent chance of snow tonight in the city.