While law enforcement authorities in Florida braced for violence following George Zimmerman's vindication, it was 2500 miles away in Oakland, California that store fronts were smashed, walls vandalized with graffiti, and small fires ignited in the streets. All in all, a fairly calm reaction. So why Oakland? First of all, the news of the verdict came early enough in the evening (7 PM) on the West Coast for demonstrations to be organized. Plenty of time for calls, tweets, text messages, and blog posts to mobilize the usual suspects. The East Bay is home to organized bands of far leftists who use any excuse to bring violent demonstrations to the streets. The Occupy encampment in Oakland took place at the very same spot, Frank Ogawa Plaza, that last night's demonstrations began. Henry Lee and Vivian Ho of the San Fancisco Chronicle reported: about 125 protesters gathered at Frank Ogawa Plaza outside City Hall before marching through downtown, starting small fires and smashing...(Read Full Post)