Having publicly praised the ‘work’ of the Oakland Police Department et al. for vandalizing the Occupy Oakland encampment, Think Progress carries the report that Oakland Mayor Jean Quan Says She Will Minimize Police Presence And That She Supports The Movement.

It is too late for her 180° turn. She is toast as a politician. She should have reviewed the videos before issuing her ‘Heck of job, Brownie!’ statement to the media. She has lost all credibility with her base.

I have seen people saying that flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets were used on the Oakland demonstrators, and I didn’t see any more evidence of that, than evidence of protestors throwing rocks and bottles at the police.

I did see a lot of tear gas canisters thrown, and the obvious results of using 12 gauge ‘bean bag’ rounds. The tear gas produces a flash and a bang when it ignites, and this is a typical “bean bag” injury.

They have reduced the powder load on the ‘bean bag’ rounds, and no longer fill them with #9 shot, but the procedure is no closer that 20 feet, and go for the abdomen. The picture shows someone who was probably closer, and was hit in the head. The rounds can break bones, which is why you don’t fire at the head or the chest where there is little tissue to cushion the shock to the bone. That said, someone hit in the abdomen at up to 30 feet can have internal injuries. and bleeding. These weapons are ‘non-lethal’, not ‘non-wounding’.

Frankly, the claims of demonstrators throwing rocks and bottles would have been more believable if the police were carrying the plastic shields to protect themselves from that threat. They apparently didn’t think they were necessary.

Position: 20.5N 87.2W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [360°] near 7 mph [11 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 70 miles [110 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 15 miles [ 20 km].
Minimum central pressure: 996 mb ↑.

Currently about 20 miles [ 30 km] West of Cozumel, Mexico.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Northeast Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Punta Allen to San Felipe.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

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