Some Things Never Seem To Change

Why is it OK for the people in power to beat up and detain the less powerful who are simply trying to tell their side of things? Why is it OK for the powerful to use violence, but not OK for those who are powerless?

From Climate talks deadlocked as clashes erupt outside by Charles J. Hanley:

Police fired pepper spray and beat protesters with batons outside the U.N. climate conference Wednesday, as disputes inside left major issues unresolved just two days before world leaders hope to sign a historic agreement to fight global warming.

Hundreds of protesters were trying to disrupt the 193-nation conference, the latest action in days of demonstrations to demand "climate justice" — firm steps to combat global warming. Police said 230 protesters were detained.

Hundreds of protesters marched on the suburban Bella Center, where lines of Danish riot police waited in protective cordons. Some demonstrators said they wanted to take over the global conference and turn it into a "people's assembly." As they approached police lines, they were hit with pepper spray, and TV pictures showed a man being pushed from a police van's roof and struck with a baton by an officer.

Clearly, no one is representing these protesters at this conference. Why not?

McBush - The Two Headed Devil

A few interesting personal observations on The Republican National Convention from Zombie Robot Frosting.

From Protesting the Republicans by William Hessian:

The Republican National Convention (RNC) came to my state, and thought that we were just going to sit back and let that happen. Nope. We were going to make signs, march, yell things and protest. So we did, and I did.

The nights before the convention I created my McBush outfit. Claws, two headed Bush McCain devil heads.

We chanted "stop using fear!" when we passed groups of police holding weapons. Most of them were behind fences, holding tear gas bazookas or batons. The cops were everywhere. I saw hundreds of them, most in full riot gear. The protest was extremely well organized and quite peaceful. The four hours I spent protesting I did not see any damage of property or violence of any kind. Apparently the Anarchists after we went home did some damage and arrests were made. Too bad they made it out to be worse than it was on the news. Only a handful of young kids did any damage, the rest of the 20 thousand protesters did it in a very organized manner.

Read (and see) more here.

Preemptive Strikes Come Home To Roost

“Shoot first, ask questions later” seems to be the Bush Administrations motto both abroad and now here at home. The same twisted moral logic that led to illegal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq (“preemptive strikes”) seems to have now come to St. Paul, Minnesota. It doesn’t matter whether you are innocent or not, the Bush Administration just wants to kick your ass.

Interestingly this latest ramping up of the United States police state was predicted five-and-a-half years ago by FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley.

From Storm Troopers at the RNC by Ray McGovern:

Ten days ago, as the nation focused attention on the hurricane nearing the Mississippi delta, another storm was brewing far upstream in St. Paul, Minnesota — a storm far more dangerous, it turned out, but one by and large overlooked by the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM).

When I flew into St. Paul on the evening of Aug. 30, I encountered a din in local media about “preemptive strikes” on those already congregating there to demonstrate against the Iraq war and injustice against the poor in our country.

St. Paul’s Pioneer Press expressed surprise that “despite preemptive police searches” and arrests, a group calling itself “the RNC Welcoming Committee” was still intent on “disrupting the convention.”

A headline screamed, “Preemptive Arrests of Protesters in Twin Cities.” But it was the article’s lead that hit home: “Borrowing from the Bush administration’s ‘preemptive war’ playbook, police agencies in the Twin Cities have made ‘preemptive strikes’ against organizations planning to protest at the Republican National Convention.”

In the following days I was to see, up close and personal, a massive and totally unnecessary display of ruthlessness.

What struck a bell was that this domestic application of the doctrine of “preemption” was totally predictable — indeed, predicted by those courageous enough to speak out before the U.S. “preemptive” attack on Iraq.

Ironically, it was FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley, living in the St. Paul area, who served warning of precisely that in her hard-hitting Feb. 26, 2003, letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller, three weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Read the rest here.

Amy Goodman Explains Her Arrest

Police Go After Iraq Vets And Other Protesters

“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” George Washington

What happens when you go overseas and serve your country to protect our freedoms, only to come home and find those freedoms evaporating away?

From Protesters face police raids at the Republican Convention:

In developments which have been largely ignored in the US media, police have staged preemptive armed raids targeting protesters and alternative media around the Republican National Convention - including thousands of people demonstrating about war world poverty throughout the week.

Up to ten thousand marchers, many veterans of Iraq and past wars, joined peaceful protests on Monday. Their cause has gone largely unreported, however.

“We joined up with an altruistic vision of promoting freedom and justice around the world,” said Vince Emanuel, a Marine lance corporal who did a tour of duty in Iraq from August 2004 to April 2005, explaining why he was joining the protest.

He added: "What we saw was the killing of innocent people and the destruction of property ... for a lot of us it was very disenfranchising."

The veterans group tried to hand a message to the campaign of Republican White House candidate John McCain calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, reparations for the Iraqi people, and full medical benefits for veterans. No one from Mr McCain’s campaign would received them, Mr Emanuel said.

Read more here.

Michelle at Vital Source has more here.

Also, I’ve noticed several comments on several sites where the writer complains that the “Liberal Media” and the “Liberal Blogs” didn’t cover the demonstrations at the Democratic Convention. (The point being that liberals don't want to acknowledge criticism.) First, I don’t think this is true. Some did write about it. And second, the more important point is that both Conventions had demonstrators. Many Americans are not satisfied with either party. After the 2006 elections, we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan! Can we really trust the Democrats as the party of change?

Following Orders

The Nuremberg Defense comes to mind. It also comes to mind when I think of how it is possible for illegal wars to be carried out.

From Pig Nation by Dennis Perrin:

…when it comes to police academies, it's clear that the war is domestic, the population The Enemy. At least, that's the impression I get after Denver and currently in St. Paul. What goes through these cops' minds when they bash a CodePink activist to the ground, calling her "bitch," which happened in Denver, or when they manhandle someone as small as Amy Goodman, which just happened in St. Paul? Not to mention all the anonymous people beaten, pepper sprayed and arrested in between? I mean, these big bad Alpha pricks dressed in riot gear, backed by massive force, beating the shit out of women? What the fuck is wrong with them? Obviously, they feel it's okay, as their superiors make excuses, citing "security risks," and St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman -- a Democrat -- brags about police "restraint."

Welcome to Pig Nation, a bi-partisan production that will receive more of our money regardless who wins the White House.

Just know that I write my ass off for zero money, still perform blue collar work to pay the bills, and that my book, while selling well, has yet to net me a dime. The advance was laughably low, and already spent on gas. Meantime, I see others making a living writing socially acceptable, even "edgy" prose for larger outlets. So why the fuck am I wasting my time doing this for free?

Oh yeah. Because I care. For what that's worth.

Mr. Perrin:

If you had a comments section on your blog I would write to you and encourage you to continue writing your blog. While I don’t agree with everything you write, your blog demonstrates some of the most independent thinking that I have come across on all of the web. I for one appreciate that. For what that’s worth.

Hopefully, independent thinking will become contagious. Independent thinking coupled with independent actions on the part of a few police people and a few soldiers could help to put an end to some of the current atrocities that anger so many of us.

We all need to stand up for what's right.

Freedom Of The Press?

“There can be no press freedom when journalists exist in conditions of corruption, poverty and fear.” Aidan White

“If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

The revolution may not be televised, but it might be YouTubed.

Amy Goodman Arrested at RNC:


From Update: Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC:

Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful detention of Kouddous and Salazar who were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.

“The press is like the peculiar uncle you keep in the attic - just one of those unfortunate things.” G. Gordon Liddy

From PZ Myers (Writing about Amy Goodman):

She has been charged with "conspiracy to incite a riot".

She's a well-known peace activist, people. Non-violence and all that. And now the cops are claiming that she is working to incite riots? Be honest: the police are just trying to silence democratic voices.

The American Police State

And the Right has the nerve to label the Left as communist, while the Right uses Stalinist tactics more and more every day.

From Massive police raids on suspected protestors in Minneapolis by Glenn Greenwald:

Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.

Read the rest here.

There is also more here and here.

And Emptywheel makes an excellent point:

If the Bush DOJ approved the use of terrorism techniques to prepare for the convention--in spite of the fact that such an approval would violate DOJ guidelines--we'd have a crystal clear example of why it is inappropriate to interpret terrorism as broadly as the Bush Administration has been pushing to do.

The Republican National Convention is off to a great start, before it even begins.


Update 08-31-08:

Glenn Greenwald has more. The FBI is involved in this. From Federal government involved in raids on protesters:

Any rational person planning to protest the GOP Convention would, in light of this Government spying and these police raids, think twice -- at least -- about whether to do so. That is the point of the raids -- to announce to citizens that they best stay in their homes and be good, quiet, meek, compliant people unless they want their homes to be invaded, their property seized, and have rifles pointed at them, too. The fact that this behavior is producing so little outcry only ensures, for obvious reasons, that it will continue in the future. We love our Surveillance State for keeping us safe and maintaining nice, quiet order.

What's next? The Republicans deciding that Bush gets to stay in power for another year or more because of all the National Security threats we face?

First they will cancel the Republican convention. Then will they cancel the election?

In China "Free Speech Zones" Are Called "Protest Zones"

From China Nabs Another Gold Medal: Government sets new record for jailing Olympics protesters by Ken Silverstein:

The New York Times reported yesterday that the Chinese government had refused to allow a single demonstration in any of the official “protest zones” it had created for the Olympic games. Now two elderly woman have been sentenced to a year of “re-education through labor” for seeking a permit to demonstrate.

The women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits to the police this month in an effort to get permission to protest what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing…Although it is unlikely that women as old as Ms. Wu and Ms. Wang would be forced into hard labor, many of those sentenced to [re-education] often toil in agricultural or factory work and are forced to confess their transgressions.

Two other rights advocates from southern China “have not been heard from since they were seized last week at the Public Security Bureau’s protest application office in Beijing,” the Times reports.

Read the rest here.