Nearly six months later, two Occupy benefit albums struggle to break even

Silver shows off his work, the site where Audio Occupation is available for download

In May, Rob “Reason” Silver, a part-time record producer from Oakland, and Jason Samel, the owner of a small insurance brokerage in New York, announced their nearly identical but independently conceived plans to bring a new element into the national Occupy protest—marketability. Both had come to the conclusion that there was potential within the anti-capitalistic, determinedly decentralized protest to sell a product that could help raise funds and draw in new supporters. In May, both men launched Occupy benefit albums.

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Timeline of Occupy Oakland

This was the Occupy Oakland camp in front of Oakland's city hall, until the campers were evicted and tents taken down by police officers on October 25.

The Occupy Wall Street movement began in September in New York City, and soon protesters were setting up camps in cities across the country. The Occupy Oakland camp was set up on the afternoon of October 10 and occupied the plaza in front of Oakland’s city hall for two weeks. On October 25, campers were evicted and since that morning, there have been a series of actions from both city officials and protesters. Click through the timeline to see the sequence of major events surrounding the Occupy Oakland movement.

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Thousands meet to rally in support of general strike

Occupy Oakland activists launched the first of three rallies at 14th and Broadway Wednesday morning, with Angela Davis and others speaking. Occupy Oakland, along with out-of-towners and employees from local unions, will meet at the intersection again Wednesday evening to converge on the Port of Oakland and attempt to shut it down.

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Unions urge support for Occupy Oakland day of action

Since Occupy Oakland protesters announced they would hold a general strike on November 2, unions from across the city and the state have sent a flurry of endorsements in support of what they are referring to as a “day of action,” rather than a strike. In the final moments before Wednesday’s events, union organizers have been working to encourage members to participate.

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Five Occupy Oakland campers speak about why they joined the protest

"Endism Road," one of the makeshift wooden walkways at the Occupy Oakland camp that has been putting down roots over the past two weeks in the downtown Frank H. Ogawa Plaza.

There used to be grass here, but it didn’t last long―not after the bodies started multiplying and the make-shift community started growing. Now the space is covered in mud and heaps of hay. And a runaway pancake that slid off of someone’s blue-plastic plate. And a stray sock, and a boardwalk of planks. And feet. Hundreds of feet. This used to be Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, but not any more. Welcome to Occupy Oakland.

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Saturday’s Oakland protestors filling the streets — video

After police served Occupy Oakland campers an eviction notice last night, demonstrators took to the streets, marching in a circuit around Lake Merritt this morning, October 22. The march lasted about three hours and remained peaceful. It appeared to span a wide range of age, race, religious and political differences. When asked about the possibility of eviction, one man, who only gave his first name Ethan, said, “I’m not going to fight them, but I’m definitely not going to leave.”

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