i would like to say something will happen of course it will however these so called "police to protect and serve" want to throw out threats to the poeple of the united states of america when these are just reguler mad to say "hippies"(referring to percent of OWS) when they have not seen what the american people will do when one day they get pushed too far...

Did anyone watch the video? It's rather mundane, and a pretty routine occurance in Oakland. A few young anarchists taunting riot cops, with some other people milling about, maybe protesters, maybe gawkers just seeing what's happening. A few are probably hoping some looting opportunities will arise. A little smoke. A routine arrest. My favorite part of the video is when a guy in the apartment from which the video is being shot says, "I have to go get something to eat."

I would like to believe that Occupy is a meaningful response to a perverse financial system, but I live in Oakland and have to ask harder questions. It's a harder existential exercise. I've sat in the very same bank lobby pictured in the article and tried to talk an oafish, slick-haired manager out of an overdraft fee. Yes, that sucked too. I needed that money. And I see the anarchist squatters living in homes dotting my neighborhood. A lot of them come down from Oregon to make the squatter scene. And I saw the fliers posted all over the city for the so-called General Strike, along with the childish anarchist graffiti that city workers paint over every week. Why was I being asked to take a day off work? No reason, really. Maybe because capitalism sucks, dude. Oh, OK.

Many of us who were initially excited about Occupy Oakland have since grown skeptical. Now, you would have to convince me why I would risk getting injured so a bunch of late adolescents in black hoodies can run through the streets and trash the city. I'm no pacifist, but if there's going to be a confrontation, I would need to not just agree that capitalism is unjust, but also respect the people who organized it. They would have to have some goals beyond messing with cops. They would have to care about the people coming to their protests, not be secretly hoping that the cops will injure someone so they can brag to their anarchist buddies that they were there, and feel so cool when the video went around the world and people were duped into thinking there was a vibrant revolutionary movement forming. That's the kind of thing that can get a young anarchist stud laid.

So, sorry, it's not as meaningful on the ground.

It is the responsibility of the people of Oakland to police their police department.

The people of Oakland are the ones paying these boneheaded donutheads.  It isn't going to make much of an impact if pressure is placed upon the Oakland Police Department by people in other parts of the country insisting the department correct its ways.

We, The People "own" the police departments. They our the minions of we, the people and we pay their salaries, medical, dental and pension benefits.

Tha t is where the power is - the local citizen majority - and not anyoe else.

The citizens of Oakland can tell their police depatrtment what they expect of them and if they don't get in line, a citizen majority can take their police  paychecks and benefits away from them.

So many take it - the violece - thinking the power is in some distant place and they can do nothing.

A sort of parallel Occupy Movement could very well rally the support of the majority of the citizens of Oakland to  get their police in line, behave themselves and to police appropriately.