Riot police from a number of Bay Area departments fired tear gas and other projectiles and arrested dozens of demonstrators early Thursday to break up Occupy Oakland protests that had drawn thousands of participants. Officers moved in near the protesters’ City Hall encampment, where tents resprouted after officials last week ordered them razed. The police action came after a predominantly peaceful day of protest that attracted more than 7,000 people. The evening appeared to be winding down peacefully when protesters declared victory at the Port of Oakland at 9 p.m. Wednesday–after authorities confirmed that a shift of workers scheduled to start work at 7 p.m. had been canceled. But as demonstrators massed again at the City Hall plaza, the situation devolved.- LA Times

Mood Shift: The tide has turned on these protests. Soon sympathy will wane from authorities as the economic climate across the globe further deteriorates and violence further stiffens the voice of frustration and dissent in these demonstrations. In the end, they will not roll back the old world machinery nor will they usher in the reforms most protesters envision. Instead of exorcising the corruption from archaic power structures, they will pave the road of austerity and intolerance enroute to the birth of the authoritarian state.