There is plenty of rally-related detritus downtown now. I got into a heated argument with skate punks the other night when they invaded my personal space, and I thought: "Is there any group more deserving of societal collapse right now than the #OccupyPortland crowd? I say give them EVERYTHING they want to ensure that society does crumble around their dumb, coddled a#ses."

Power to the people, bro!

A mason jar?

Nice try, Jack, but it's really not a whole lot "dicier" that is was before the occupy crowd came along. In any 24 period in that particular park, it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for someone to "flash" a gun. Have you actually been to the camp and talked to the people? If you have, I take back some of what I've written.

not a whole lot "dicier"

But somewhat dicier? So you admit that what I wrote is accurate?

I don't go downtown unless I have to. And my reluctance is even greater with the current circus in progress.

it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for someone to "flash" a gun.

And we should believe this because you said so?

Please go troll elsewhere.

Before clicking the link I thought you were talking about a LarsLarson scurry-through. Though I surely thought he hasn't got the guts, or brains, to meet '99% normals'.

The only 'dicey' doings in the group(s) is undercover black-op agents, mercenaries, going there to provoke and incite mayhem. If disorder trouble happens you can be certain by the m.o. that the 1% hired it to happen, before you ever hear a version in 'Official Media'.

You can be "certain" since Portland has its resident JTTF causists 'tasked with terror' now, jointly with the PPD. And here's a newly assigned Special Agent-in-Charge at Portland's FBI bunglelow. This week, knowledgeable sources (former co-workers) identified (known-name) CIA operatives infiltrated in OWS/Liberty Park groups; (but publishing the names is a felony); this week, black-hooded 'anarchists' (suspiciously police-like) led attacks from the crowds at Greek police and torched buildings in Athens. [ http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/19/us-greece-idUSTRE79H1FI20111019 ]

Occupy Everywhere groups more and more pre-occupy broacast airtime and are pre-empting regularly scheduled propaganda programming planned for the 'news' block. The kabuki 'Deficit Standoff' staged this summer was an example of a pre-planned block of 'news'; now it's crowded out of the play list. The kabuki 'Jobs Bill' standoff, as phony as a pro wrestling bout, was scheduled for the October block of 'news' -- a Hollow Promisator vs. Wily Obstruction re-match. For the preliminary card, Fox's Weeklong Attack On Government Regulations Was Dreamed Up By Roger Ailes, MediaMatters.org scorekeeper, September 26, 2011.

Occupy Everywhere is occupying 'news' oxygen, and 1% wish that 99% of citizens would stop, breathing, without saying anything. Method-acted fright might make a person clutch their breath. So far the sequence in PDX has been: a cordoned march from the Waterfront, catch-and-release derelict arrests, traffic stops, power outage, sex offender scare, alcohol and drug prohibition, a child lost (or snatched?!), and now, seemingly right on schedule a certified sideshow-crazy gunslinger struts in same as LarsLarson does downtown any weekday. What's next, a bio-warfare plague virus?

Pushers of fear addiction have to deliver larger and larger dosages to bring the fright. Buzzing off Occupy Everywhere out of sight, out of mind, and back into the regularly scheduled programming. Like, there's an app for that.

Tensk continues to verify that the first amendment is alive and well.

I went to Occupy Portland for the first time last night, long after dark to help out. I got there late because the friend that was to go with me, was late and I was afraid to go alone. Which is my general stance, when going to downtown.

I will say that I felt safer than I do on the average MAX train, in Portland's living room, or even in front of my house sometimes at those same hours. So it begs the question, how does an assortment of folks: activists, lifestyle travellers, families, chronically homeless (some of mentally ill, etc.) somewhat irritating young folks, accomplish what we have failed to do elsewhere in the city?

The "incident" seems somewhat suspicious for a variety of reasons, some of are NOT politically correct so I will not share them.

I blame all this occupy stuff on the fact that the Grateful Dead stopped touring...

Here's what I can say, based on being there for one initial General Assembly, being one of the 10k or so in the initial rally and march, and visiting the Occupy camp and being at GA's more recently:

Many have been drawn into the camp because they are number one attracted to the benefits of an anything-goes situation, which in turn they themselves are building by their presence. Those who are truly part of the Occupy Portland effort -- to support and reflect the presently undeniable national and global expression of pressure against the financial elite -- are finding themselves increasingly outnumbered by the party patrol. Of course there is overlap, and of course there is a range of ideas about the immediate militancy of the project. Last week, strategy won out over instant militancy with the consensus to stop blocking off Main St there at the Elk statue. A very good move, I think.

It's obvious that Occupy Portland people truly don't want to have their action screwed up by people who are coming there insisting on a rules-free zone to be rowdy in.

It's also obvious that Occupy Portland people are painfully aware of how this is repulsing so many of the thousands who initially were so supportive.

The best thing to do, I figured, was to go down and participate in some way, and at least be able to know something first-hand. The GA's the past few days have been frustrating as it's proving impossible for a small, involved group at the GA to come up with a solution that the many people in the camp who don't attend the GA will care about. Every Assembly I've been at, some frustrated person has brought up some variation of the question, "why are all these people in the camp and not here at the General Assembly?" For three days running, the debate has involved schemes to split the GA into two meetings, specifically one during the day concerning "camp issues." I believe these are well-intentioned attempts (and a hope against hope that the people there for the party and not the revolution will somehow start helping out!) because there's no internal policing of the members, by design: everybody is welcome.

But, alarming reports of individual aggression and problems are misleading. It's perfectly clear to me that what OP has going on down there is, in a word, very "Portland." Our city's approach has more or less been hands-off, give 'em enough rope, I'd say, and how this plays out will be something the global movement can probably learn from, to its benefit.

The cause, let's remember, is self-evidently moral at heart. What finance and global corporations now are able and willing to do in pursuit of profit, by the laws they themselves have influenced with their vast fortunes, is wrong pure and simple.

Most of us were thinking a mass movement against the finance elite couldn't happen in fat, apathetic, over-entertained America -- it's magnificent to see that we underestimated ourselves.

I was trying to decide what the 99 per cent should adopt as a goal. Rather than demonstrate against all evil, just pick one example and concentrate the protest against that. For example, if a large per cent of the 99 percent boycotted just one of the major banks, it would bring the bank to its knees.It just like Gandi with salt. A boycott would send a message to all corporations to be responsive to the customers. As consumers, the 99 per cent have all the power.