…and this is a 
Thugs at work
Category: Politics
Posted on: September 1, 2008 11:16 PM, by PZ Myers
Events are off to a great start at the RNC: Amy Goodman, host of the TV/radio program Democracy Now! and a well-known activist for peace and human rights, has been arrested in St Paul by our power-mad authoritarian servants of the Rethuglican Party. Apparently, she was defending two radio producers who were being arrested on the charge of "suspicion of rioting", which sounds dubious right there. 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.
Glenn Greenwald has more updates, and Lindsay Beyerstein reports on more harassment. You can protest by calling Chris Rider of Mayor Coleman's office (651-266-8535) or by calling the Ramsey County Jail (651-266-9350, ext. 0).
And more:
By the way, the best place to find coverage of the police tactics in Minneapolis during the convention is a the Minnesota Independent.
Politics
Comments
Posted by: hotdogs | September 1, 2008 11:28 PM
Whenever this sort of nonsense happens, I really wonder what the individual cops think of arresting hippies and grandmas. I mean, it's one thing for a single cop or administrator to go on a power trip like this, but for large groups of them to simultaneously crack down on harmless peaceniks? Makes you wonder what they've been told by their boss(es). I wish the newspaper would cover that angle.
Posted by: Kryth | September 1, 2008 11:29 PM
Good job, Ministry of Peace.
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 1, 2008 11:37 PM
According to Glenn Greenwald, Amy has been released, though we're still waiting to hear about the two producers (who could be held for up to 36 hours, according to the Washington Post).
Also, watch this and weep:
Woman holding out flower to riot police.
She is swiftly pepper sprayed.
Ah, America!
Posted by: I am so wise | September 1, 2008 11:39 PM
Well, this is what society gets for the limited oversight we provide of police forces.
Notice how they oppose videotaping their activities, like interrogations, but insist that those of us who question them are allied with the current "booger" man. Notice how cops at the bottom rarely suffer when the areas they patrol fall apart. Notice how many police forces require a mere GED to become a cop, make 50,000 a year with full benefits, when no other employer on the planet would consider the same.
Posted by: Patricia | September 1, 2008 11:40 PM
Our tax money goes to pay these people to 'Serve and Protect' us. Just when the hell did they forget who they work for?
I wonder if this would have happened if Jesse Ventura was still running the show. Welcome to 1984.
Posted by: Eric TF Bat | September 1, 2008 11:42 PM
I'm no Republican fanboy (note to any Americans reading: if you fail to vote for Obama, you are evil) but I'm a bit alarmed that you're eager to report on the suppression of anti-Republican protestors but didn't have anything to say about the anti-Democrat protestors. Granted any friend of McCain is an enemy of humanity, but still... was there simply no news? Or were you still recovering from the Galapagos trip?
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 1, 2008 11:42 PM
(I hope you don't mind if go off on a tear here, but it's a bit of a sore subject for me)
[Partially cross posted]
As a long time political protester, this is very very very unsurprising. After all, why do you think those Lawyers' Guild folk (member since '07) where there in the first place?
Hell, this is old (green) hat by now in Bush's America. Since 2002, I've had machine guns pointed at me, been wiretapped by the Federal government (real quote from me at the time "Wow, look, guys! The transcripts the A.C.L.U. got have me in them! I'm a celebrity! . . . Hey, I don't feel so good, all of a sudden."), been followed by F.B.I., D.H.S., and other unnamed agents, and been called a "terrorist" in a court of law by a state prosecutor (because of a "conspiracy to commit a riot," of course - those protest banners sure are riotous!), and now there's not much that'll surprise me anymore.
Glad to see other people realizing it. Maybe this time the authoritarians tipped their hands and overplayed the whole "dissent is unpatriotic" thing? Maybe Americans will realize what kind of monster has been created?
. . .
Well, probably not. Watch: a handful of teenaged self-described "anarchist" boys (always the boys!) have been throwing bricks at cops, and now everyone will just say "See! Those anti-Americans deserved the arrests!"
Sigh.
Posted by: Remy | September 1, 2008 11:47 PM
"suspicion of rioting" - gee, makes it sound so covert - hope nobody notices me rioting..
over here in Australia the gub'mint keeps sneaking through ever greater "emergency powers" for the poe-lise "but we promise not to use them unless we have to...just for conventions, papal visits, peaceful protests, ITS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!
Posted by: PZ Myers | September 1, 2008 11:49 PM
I didn't mention the thuggery at the DNC?
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 1, 2008 11:56 PM
PZ's been on it from the first.
Thuggery and ignorance, look out: he will call you out.
Also, as has been suggested before:
P.Z. Myers for president!
Posted by: Capital Dan | September 1, 2008 11:57 PM
Is Minnesota trying to become as big of an embarrassment to this country as Florida?
I think these idiot police are the ones actively trying to incite a riot with bullshit tactics such as these. And, who knows, maybe that's their intention.
Posted by: Patricia | September 1, 2008 11:58 PM
Good night sweethearts!
Posted by: Steve_C | September 2, 2008 12:00 AM
I don't think they even care if they find true criminals or terrorists. The point is to disrupt the protests and intimidate protestors and any coverage of the protests.
All of the charges will be thrown out anyway. Arrest and harass until the convention is over and then let them all go.
Disgusting.
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 2, 2008 12:01 AM
Bing bing! You win a prize. Saw it quite a bit at the RNC in '04.
Posted by: Not that Louis | September 2, 2008 12:02 AM
In an attempt to be helpful, may I recommend the news website I've been using to keep up with what's going on around the RNC: The Minnesota Independent
http://www.minnesotaindependent.com/
Hope you find it useful.
Posted by: CalGeorge | September 2, 2008 12:03 AM
A form that can be used to "Contact Mayor Coleman" is here:
http://www.stpaul.gov/forms.asp?FID=69
Everyone please blog this arrest so that it will get national media coverage.
The video has only been seen 60K times.
Posted by: CalGeorge | September 2, 2008 12:06 AM
"...make 50,000 a year with full benefits, when no other employer on the planet would consider the same."
Congress gave 50 million for these conventions. The people arresting Amy are probably earning triple overtime, on your dime!
Get mad!
Posted by: Alex | September 2, 2008 12:12 AM
Oi! #11, as a Floridian I resent that...
Ah fuck it, I agree completely. At least we shot down the Stealth Creationism bill here. Louisiana wasn't as lucky.
My favorite part about Florida law is that possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana can land you in prison. Second favorite part is our lax "execution by taser" right that the police so often exercise.
Posted by: SR | September 2, 2008 12:13 AM
This is not unique to the Republicans. The same thing happened to protesters at the DNC (see: http://www.tuccille.com/blog/2008/08/denver-police-record-this.html). It is not the specific party, but rather the growing power and arrogance of authority that is to blame.
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 2, 2008 12:15 AM
[more cross-posting]
More updates from the unstoppable Glenzilla:
The AP and Donna Brazile are involved. Maybe this will have consequences?
Posted by: Autumn | September 2, 2008 12:16 AM
Well, the cops know that if they outrage enough people, they will get to use their batons and guns. These fuckers ache for the chance to beat on people, and it's not just because they're assholes; imagine being given instructions about possibly violent protesters, anarchists, and the need to protect the convention-goers from any unrest; now imagine getting all geared-up in super-future-cop regalia, complete with fancy "less-than-lethal" ass-kickery, and a whole lot of protection for yourself: I'm only imagining it, and I want to go bust heads. The training, and the application of unnesseccary gear is all a part of the situational indoctrination. Some of those cops are good guys, but after a few hours Hate, they are ready to respond to any imagined threat.
There's a reason it's called a "police riot"- it is planned and instigated by the police.
Posted by: Cat's Staff | September 2, 2008 12:25 AM
Is there any other video of this?
When I look at the beginning of the video I see what looks like Amy having crossed into the wrong area to confront the police, they ask her to leave, they ask her to leave again, a nice officer who would rather not have to arrest her tries to lawfully escort her out of the area, she resists leaving, at which point the officer knows that he can't waste any more time dealing with this situation and she is lawfully arrested. If she and the others are charged she will have her day in court and charges will probably (I hope) be dropped.
There are many things that happen at these protests that appear heavy handed and outrageous, and it would have been nice if the police could have taken the time to listen to her complaint...but, as they say...I'm just saying....
Posted by: CalGeorge | September 2, 2008 12:30 AM
"Is there any other video of this?"
Do you seriously want the police in this country to operate this way? You think what they did is acceptable?!
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 2, 2008 12:31 AM
Cat's Staff:
I won't jump on you for it, because you do raise a valid point (viz crossing a "prohibited access line"), but the key point here is: Amy Goodman is a journalist with full press credentials prominently displayed. Not to mention a convention pass for floor access. She might as well have been, oh, Brian Williams as far as the law goes.
Also: check out the "woman with flower" video, posted above. How does that strike you as "appear(ing) heavy handed and outrageous"?
Posted by: hje | September 2, 2008 12:38 AM
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
Sinclair Lewis
Apt description of the GOP today.
Posted by: Larry | September 2, 2008 12:41 AM
George Bush's America.
Just like China but without the tanks (yet).
Minnesota cops, you ought to be ashamed.
Posted by: JohnnieCanuck, FCD | September 2, 2008 12:45 AM
Homeland security at its finest. How much more needs to happen before the US is a full police state?
Unfortunately, Canada isn't all that far behind. The RCMP has been over violent on a few similar occasions lately, too.
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 2, 2008 12:48 AM
Funny, that. I know a few of the American protesters who were arrested in China during the Olympics (Students For A Free Tibet volunteers - I tend to give them a pass on the whole Tibetan Buddhism spiritual mumbo-jumbo thing, as they (the Free Tibet activists) are rather good folk), and let me tell you this: the U.S.A. is still leagues ahead of China in regards to free speech.
In the U.S. they'll pepper spray you, handcuff you, lock you in a stinking, toxic garage for 72 hours, then make you deal with legal fees for the next five years.
In China (if you're not lucky enough to have a U.S. passport and don't look Tibetan), you're in a prison camp for years. Years. If you're not tortured and dissapeared.
We're better than that. So far.
[Above defense of the U.S. does not extend to our detention and torture of foreigners with an Arabic or Muslim background, of course. In that regard, we're no better than China.]
Posted by: Blake Stacey | September 2, 2008 12:48 AM
hje (#25):
I see you your Sinclair Lewis and raise you a Thomas Pynchon.
Against the Day (2006), p. 1076.
Posted by: Capital Dan | September 2, 2008 12:50 AM
I think we all ought to be ashamed. We kind of allowed this to happen.
Posted by: Autumn | September 2, 2008 12:50 AM
Cat's Staff,
The video shows the two closest officers making no move or vocalizations to make her leave the area; there is a car into which she is backed up when it is clear that the officers (at the word "journalist") are going to confront her (at this point, no motion she makes will be away from an officer); she seems to be asking, not the officer closest to her, but one further away, who I assume is the one in charge; she is exiting the area when the officer nearest her, as Amy is going without evident use of physical force by the officer (he is leading her out of the area with a light hold on her elbow), looks back at the presumed authority that Amy was attempting to talk to earlier, and asks "arrest her?"
It is only then that another officer declares that there is an inviolable zone.
Google is, in the hands of the police, the modern equivalent of SCMODs. (see Blues Brothers for reference)
Posted by: raven | September 2, 2008 12:53 AM
Pretty nebulous charge. You mean the cops didn't know whether they were rioting so they just arrested them anyway?
I can see how this is going. Someday soon people will be arrested for "Maybe thinking about rioting" or "Could be rioting someday" or "Might be rioting even though they are just standing there".
George Orwell had a word for this. Thoughtcrime. As usual the truth is stranger than fiction.
Oh well, so what if we live in a police state? The Gulag Archipelago is alive and well, it just moved across the ocean to the USA.
Posted by: JStein | September 2, 2008 12:56 AM
"Party of Freedom" my ass.
It's clear that these idiots want a police state, and this kind of activism just proves what we had already learned by living in the America of the Bush Administration.
Posted by: Chet | September 2, 2008 12:59 AM
Yeah, I know "Democrats are just as bad", but I honestly don't remember any raids on college student houses with machine guns, or the arrest of any prominent journalists.
This really does seem endemic to the GOP.
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 2, 2008 1:01 AM
Like I said earlier, I was once officially charged with "conspiracy to commit rioting" (the charge was eventually dropped - in fact, the judge tossed it like a salad).
Doesn't that sound familiar?
Posted by: Autumn | September 2, 2008 1:05 AM
Wait.
Stop.
Three journalists were arrested without violating any laws (no, the police do not have legislative powers to declare magical "zones of no talking") and I'm actually arguing about the specifics of one of them, as if it may, in some other universe, have been justified?
Fuck that.
It has to end.
I don't know where the line lies, but this is pretty fucking close to crossing it.
At some point, violence against the police is not only justifiable, but correct.
I'm not saying that this is that point, but I have become tired of being told that, whatever violence is visited upon us, we must give the benefit of the doubt.
The question is, when?
What must they do before citizens realise that there may be a situation in which the authorities are outside their bounds, and only a display of outrage will cause them any introspection?
How many times must we listen to those who admonish us by saying "well, those violent protesters spoiled it for us all", and not point out that some people being violent is not a valid excuse for cops just beating the living shit out of everyone they find in the general vicinity?
When will we change things?
And by "we", I should make clear that I mean "other people", since I'm a bit of a coward. The internet and all...
mumblemumble
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 2, 2008 1:07 AM
Hey pz p head, read through the comments.
You have proven my earlier point quite succinctly.
Anyway, I've got to move on now. Before more "but there are bad people out there, so everyone should just be arrested before more bad things happen!" trolls show up here.
A thought experiment for you, pz p head: there are [fill in the blank] terrorists out there, who do bad things to good people. Should all [fill in the blank] people be immediately arrested without reason (what we call here in the U.S. "probable cause") because they too are [fill in the blank], just like the terrorists?
Carry on, and thanks for the forum.
Posted by: Autumn | September 2, 2008 1:09 AM
pz p head,
You are unaware of the definition of at least one of the words in the phrase "leftist anarchists"
Posted by: raven | September 2, 2008 1:10 AM
You got off easy. Do you know what the penalty is for
"conspiracy to think about rioting maybe someday while sitting around doing nothing and watching TV" is?
Posted by: spgreenlaw | September 2, 2008 1:20 AM
@39
Autumn,
There are many sorts of anarchists, and a great many of them are leftists because they espouse socialism and group ownership of some kind. The anarcho-syndicalists/communists/mutualists/et cetera ought not to be confused with the (capitalist) market anarchists or the individualists.
Although this p head person is obviously an extra special sort of stupid, there is nothing wrong with labeling anarchists as leftists. I just wonder how he knows they are anarchists, and how they are the of socialist variety.
Posted by: DEAN CAMERON | September 2, 2008 1:27 AM
It's so much better when this blog is dealing with facts and not using terms like "rethuglican".
Posted by: S.G.E.W. | September 2, 2008 1:30 AM
Figured I'd pop back to update:
Amy's out, and gives an interview to SFGate (via the always reliable Glenzilla): link (under "Update VII": couldn't find a more direct link).
Apparently, the two producers have also been released.
Posted by: Sudo T. | September 2, 2008 1:30 AM
This is inexcusable. I could even see her press pass since it was completely visible. There is no reason that this should have happened. It seems that in both the DNC and the RNC the police have over-stepped their bounds. This is obviously a case of catch and release. I hope both RNC and DNC arrests result in heavy fines and lawsuits against the respective police forces.
Posted by: Ted | September 2, 2008 1:35 AM
I've been confused all day. Is the new definition of "anarchist" "outside the two-party system?" Because I thought socialists were rather statist themselves, kind of like, um, neocons and such.
Also, looks like there is a market for someone to design some good, defensive safety gear for peaceful protestors such as "flower-girl." Quick eye-rinse kits included.
And, I observe that terrorism works best where thuggish police responses can be counted upon. One brick, one Macy's window, and soon a few hundred non-violent citizens, observers and passersby maced and/or incarcerated.
Posted by: Autumn | September 2, 2008 1:35 AM
spgreenlaw,
I guess that you're right about the specifics, but as someone living in the South (of the US), the term "leftist", as it is so often casually thrown out, refers specifically to a centralized governmental body making the calls, not any sort of democratic agreement.
I doubt highly that Cat's Staff was carefully considering the communal tendencies of the groups he was referring to; I assume that he was merely throwing in another "insulting" term.
I mean, come on, individual liberty and freedom are liberal in the philosophical sense, but how many libertarians shout about their "liberal philoshopy"?
Posted by: The Chemist | September 2, 2008 1:37 AM
Last time I checked, being a socialist wasn't against the law.
@Capital Dan#30,
There is no "kind of", we either did or we didn't. We did. If you paid sales tax in Minnesota anytime in the last year, you did. If you paid federal taxes the last fiscal year, you probably freed up resources for those sales taxes to go to the police.
We didn't allow it to happen. We paid for it out of pocket.
Posted by: Ted | September 2, 2008 1:40 AM
@42
Dean - Well, now I'm not gonna buy your gear for two reasons:
1. Spam
2. What would the proper term be for "rethuglican?" We're not talking about Eisenhower here!
Posted by: Autumn | September 2, 2008 1:40 AM
Actually, how many libertarians will admit that they would not have a single coherent political thought without the influence of the Anarchists?
How the hell did a group of ninteenth-century Russians end up creating our current political world-view?
Posted by: moo | September 2, 2008 1:44 AM
Democracy be damned, peaceful protesters are almost invariably abused by police at the slightest provocation. It isn't just in the USA -- I've seen it here in Canada, and I would guess it is probably true in other "human-right-respecting" countries as well. If you go to such a protest, you are throwing the dice. That's just the way it is.
A lesson I find bitterly ironic is one I learned from watching the handling of the Oka Crisis in Canada (back in the 1990's). If you want the police to treat you with restraint and respect, make sure your group is large, not too peaceful, and most importantly (and Americans should already know this one) very well armed.
Posted by: Natasha Yar-Routh | September 2, 2008 1:49 AM
As a leftist anarchist let me ask if you've heard pf agents provocateurs? They were all the rage with the political squads back in the sixties. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were back in style.
I suppose we should feel lucky that no ones been declared an 'enemy combatant' and disappeared into a military brig for s few years. Well at least no one we know of has been disappeared yet.
Posted by: spgreenlaw | September 2, 2008 1:53 AM
Autumn,
Yeah, I see where you're coming from. I've gotten used to people depict anarchy as some sort of every man for himself chaos and that's not really the case, so I tend to be a bit jumpy when the word is thrown about.
And this is fairly irrelevant to your point, but most of the libertarians I know pride themselves on being classical liberals and use the term frequently.
Posted by: CalGeorge | September 2, 2008 1:56 AM
"Journalists are the eyes and ears, they are the watchdogs of democracy. Those eyes can't be closed. The ears must be listening. And when they arrest people, they are stopping those who are a check and balance on power."
- Amy Goodman, after her release
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=29751
She is the greatest.
Posted by: The Vicar | September 2, 2008 2:12 AM
According to a Minnesotan friend of mine, one of the things Ventura did during his first days in office was to have the police lock down all evidence-taking devices held by the members of a protest -- as in cell phones and cameras. Then he dressed up in riot gear and joined in on beating up the protestors. Can't prove it, but my source is someone who has been reliable on every other piece of news from the Twin Cities, including this one.
Posted by: Quiet Desperation | September 2, 2008 2:12 AM
This is a job for a hero!
Posted by: Quiet Desperation | September 2, 2008 2:15 AM
note to any Americans reading: if you fail to vote for Obama, you are evil
Please keep your religious beliefs to yourself. Thank you.
Posted by: Eric TF Bat | September 2, 2008 2:37 AM
@PZ: So you did. I stand corrected.
@Quiet Desperation: Please keep your lying, torturing, murdering Republican bastards to yourself (and don't let them keep control of your country). Then we'll talk religion.
Posted by: Ryan Cunningham | September 2, 2008 2:52 AM
Kicking in people's doors with assault rifles and carting off nonviolent protesters? Who is working to incite riots here?
HMMM...
Posted by: SC | September 2, 2008 3:09 AM
In case no one notices it at the link in the post, I had just linked several hours ago to DN!'s coverage of the police raids over at Greg Laden's blog:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/1/st_paul_police_conduct_mass_pre
A few months ago, I went to a talk here in Boston by Amy Goodman and her brother David about their new book, Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times:
http://www.democracynow.org/store/product/11/BKSUTMHC
My only criticism was that she opened with the "When fascism comes to America" line, but left off - as I heard it, and I was in the front row - the "...and carrying a cross" part, making the phrase essentially meaningless. (The talk was in a UU church, which hardly seems to warrant such self-censorship.) Other than that, very good.
The criminalization of dissent has been advancing for some time. I hope - though I realize there's probably not much cause for optimism - that this will be something of a turning point, at least in terms of the public recognition of the problem. It would also be nice if more people became familiar with the history and present of the anarchist movement, so the police and media would be less able to milk tired stereotypes...
(If nothing else, this episode has made me aware that there are at least a few other anarchist readers/commenters here at ScienceBlogs, which makes me happy. :))
Posted by: Cowcakes | September 2, 2008 3:13 AM
Now I know that I am colour blind however after what I have just seen I swear that those helmeted thugs were wearing Brownshirts.
Posted by: Jamie G. | September 2, 2008 3:14 AM
I want to comment, but what's the point, irrationalism rules the day. Not one of PZ's better posts.
@ Autumn:
Advocating violence against the police? Not smart.
Who said liberals can't be just as ignorant as fundies? I think the comments on this blog prove it goes both ways. So much for rational discussion.
Posted by: Quiet Desperation | September 2, 2008 3:20 AM
Eric TF Bat saad: @Quiet Desperation: Please keep your lying, torturing, murdering Republican bastards to yourself (and don't let them keep control of your country). Then we'll talk religion.
Oh, lighten up, silly rabbit. I was just joshing you.
You want the real truth? I'm a black hearted, ice blooded misanthrope. All this shit is just hilarious to me. The more chaos, the more the center does not hold, the more things fall apart the better as far as I care. Let it all go to hell.
Hey, maybe I *am* evil. :-) I should send an application to The Guild Of Calamitous Intent. They could assign me to arch Pope Obama. Could be tricky. He controls the Arc Of The Moral Universe, which I suspect is some sort of lightning based superweapon.
In related news: a sheriff in South Carolina now has his own tank.
http://reason.com/blog/show/128482.html
I can't wait for the 2012 conventions, and tactical nukes will be deployed to quell "suspected" rioters. Pass the popcorn. :)
Posted by: Feynmaniac | September 2, 2008 3:24 AM
When I see this shit I just start feeling bad for all you living in the US. Police thugs, religious fanatics in high office, a system serving only the rich and powerful, etc. Ever feel liking just getting the hell out of there?
Posted by: The Chemist | September 2, 2008 3:25 AM
Spare me. Shit or get off the pot.
Posted by: Peter Ashby | September 2, 2008 3:30 AM
Don't come to Limey Land then folks, or if you do fly into Glasgow not Heathrow. Down south of the border (England and Wales, not Mexico) a police creature can arrest you, just because. On suspicion of maybe commiting a crime, like interfering with a police officer doing his duty: He distracted me. Suspicion of rioting, that is so quaint.
The thing is though we know we aren't free while you used to be actually free. I am a European citizen but a British subject. That says it all. At least up here in Bonnie Scotland amongst the Tartan Tat we have managed to resist some of it. You see our rulers KNOW we will very angry if provoked. Those milksops down south only MIGHT.
Posted by: Quiet Desperation | September 2, 2008 3:31 AM
When I see this shit I just start feeling bad for all you living in the US.
That's really sweet. I may openly weep. Thanks. :-)
Police thugs, religious fanatics in high office, a system serving only the rich and powerful, etc. Ever feel liking just getting the hell out of there?
Already planning early retirement overseas in, hopefully, about 8 years when I'm 50.
Hey, thanks to some advanced military R&D where I work, I was able to obtain an image from the future that I thought I'd share:
The 2012 Republican Convention after a protest is put down.
Supposedly, though, the arrested protesters will be able to demand the right of Thunderdome at any point in their detainment.
Posted by: Quiet Desperation | September 2, 2008 3:33 AM
police creature
Police CREATURES? Is Torchwood out of control again? Have you alerted The Doctor?
Posted by: Peter Ashby | September 2, 2008 3:56 AM
Yes, police creatures. It is just as clumsy as police persons yet even more PC since it covers not only police dogs but also those members of Her Majesty's Constabulary whose species is indeterminate...
Posted by: John C. Randolph | September 2, 2008 4:01 AM
Those of you who are over thirty might remember a time when our police weren't militarized. This is one of the effects of the War on Drugs, and "civil" forfeiture laws that turn cops into robbers. When they take money from us under forfeiture, they tend to spend it on toys like military-style weapons and uniforms, and chemical and electrical torture devices.
-jcr
Posted by: DrFrank | September 2, 2008 4:01 AM
Quiet Desperation @#66
Supposedly, though, the arrested protesters will be able to demand the right of Thunderdome at any point in their detainment.
That's a thread winner right there ;)
Posted by: John C. Randolph | September 2, 2008 4:04 AM
if you fail to vote for Obama, you are evil
If you believe that voting for Obama will put an end to this, you are deluded. These are local and state cops, and if you want them to behave, then you have to participate in local and state elections and hold the people who give them their marching orders accountable when they come up for re-election.
-jcr
Posted by: Nibien | September 2, 2008 4:29 AM
Iornically, this is the exact kind of thing a fundie would say.
"You're wrong but I won't (or rather, can't) go into why. You're all dumb. Bye."
Posted by: Brock Lesnar | September 2, 2008 4:40 AM
Welcome to Iran. Errr, I mean America.
Posted by: GinReaper | September 2, 2008 4:49 AM
The problem here is that Ms Goodman is too lightweight. I mean literally, not enough pounds/kilos. If she had been a 300 pounder and sat down in the street, it would have taken 8 cops to cart her off to the copshop. Nor would she have been eligible for resisting arrest because that would be fatism. Future protests that seek to debilitate the police (operationally, not physically) only require a dozen heavyweight champions to start a sit-on. Plus, there's going to be more space on t-shirts for slogans.
Posted by: T_U_T | September 2, 2008 5:16 AM
To be fair, there really were violent riots at the rethuligan conference, so the police had really some reason to go after suspected rioters. The only question is, whether they got some real wannabe rioters, or they just randomly arrested some innocent people and the real rioters went undisturbed.
Posted by: Tony Sidaway | September 2, 2008 5:26 AM
I wonder if it might be possible to set up virtual newsrooms--blogs outside the jurisdiction of the local law enforcement that can receive footage from phone cameras during an event like this. When the police know they're being watched and they can't do anything to suppress it, they're more likely to remember to be on their best behavior.
Posted by: johannes | September 2, 2008 6:08 AM
Reminds me of Jesse Björn Buckler, editor of the German Marxist weekly Jungle World, who was sentenced to two years in prison, 6 month of these in incommunicado detention, for 'attempted rioting' (LOL, Mr. Buckler is a freefight champion, if he had really wanted to riot, it would not have remained an attempt) at the Göteborg summit.
To add insult to injury, the Jungle World considers no globals stupid hippies at best, antisemites at worst, it is therefore rather unlikely that an editor of that paper would riot on their behalf.
Posted by: Doug | September 2, 2008 6:30 AM
If there's one thing the Republican regime fears, it's a free and unbiased press. The most patriotic thing anyone can do to oppose terrorism is to vote every one of these Republican fascists (redundant) out of office.
Posted by: Ferre | September 2, 2008 6:31 AM
From where I'm looking at it (Amsterdam, Netherlands) it seems that the American people are getting a sample of their own (USA's) number one export product: Modern day fascism.
As a non American human right activist I applaud the actions against journalists and peaceful protesters by the American government, it makes our work fighting insane US policies a lot easier, more and more politicians outside America are becoming ashamed of being affiliated with a full-on fascist regime and reluctant to defend American initiated and totally counter productive policies like the war on drugs and their war on "terror" (read= people's basic human rights).
At last America is perceived as the fascist police state it really is by people all over the world who used to drink their cool aid.
Thanks again America, you gave us the stick to kick your fascist policies abroad with, no foreign politician in his right state of mind can afford to defend your policies any more, it's becoming like defending the old DDR's policies, or China's.
Sure, I'm very aware of the replies I will get for writing this, it will vary from "I didn't vote for this regime" to "I fight this regime", I heard all the apologies already but what it really comes down to is that people are responsible for their own government. "Americans" are doing this to themselves, stupid as they are.
Keep drinking the cool aid from your two sold-out-parties and keep voting democrat or republican, as a well known scientist once said; The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.
Posted by: Steve LaBonne | September 2, 2008 6:36 AM
It was inevitable that there would be repeats of the thuggishness displayed by the NYPD at the 2004 Republican convention, because aside from paying a laughable pittance to a handful of abused demonstrators there were no consequences at all for the department, city and Bloomberg. The result of that fiasco is that it's now open season.
I don't know what to do about this. So far our descent into police-state status is still widely popular (not surprising given the ignorance and authoritarian mindset of so much of our population), and as long as that is the case nothing will be done.
Posted by: Lee Harrison | September 2, 2008 6:42 AM
"Land of the free"
Yeah, right...
If you believe that, I know a guy who can make you an excellent deal on this bridge...
Posted by: Lilly de Lure | September 2, 2008 6:58 AM
Lee Harrison said:
If it goes to nowhere, I'd suggest that he speaks to Sara Pallin.
Posted by: Stephen Couchman | September 2, 2008 6:58 AM
(Because Ted was rather beating around the bush,)
Dean @ 42:
Fuck you.
Posted by: Pete Rooke | September 2, 2008 7:05 AM
I'm sorry but I fail to find sympathy for a woman who tries to create some sort of moral equivalence between our brave men in Iraq and Islamic terrorists who bring down planes. //- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkI-xCSoq3A -//
She was being a nuisance while the police, who are in a highly charged environment, were intent on combating hostile anarchists. Maybe it wasn't technically correct but it was just a common sense arrest. Wrap her up for a few hours to get her out the way and then maybe release her a few hours later with a warning.
Posted by: Fernando Magyar | September 2, 2008 7:10 AM
Posted by: Ferre @ 79,
Right, and I agree with everything you say about America, however the Dutch or most European societies for that matter, are not exactly in a positon to claim the title of holier than thou with regards to human rights either...
Posted by: Pete Rooke | September 2, 2008 7:10 AM
That sadly seems par for the course.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Posted by: Kimpatsu | September 2, 2008 7:21 AM
@Pete Rook:
You mean those brave men and women who work at Abu Ghraib, right?