I’ll be on Portland’s KBOO 90.7 FM this morning (8am Portland time, 11am DC time) to talk about the police state showing its true color in Minneapolis this week at the RNC. There’s live streaming on the previous link (click in the top right corner of the KBOO page).
Hmm, if ya’ll see this in time you could even post a comment as you’re listening, if there’s something you think should be discussed…
I heard you on the show. Some great points. I went to college in Minneapolis - at the University of Minnesota before moving to Portland. At that time some people used to refer to our beloved town (and believe me, we really did love our town for many of its other fine cultural points) as “Many-ass-police”. After hearing the show i logged on to Democracy Now! and saw the video of Amy Goodman’s arrest. Since i know her to be mild-mannered and well-informed of her rights, i am appalled at her treatment. I guess the Twin Cities are still living up to their unflattering moniker.
Thanks Nico. I hadn’t heard that about Minneapolis. The brief time I was there (actually, for a speaking event organized by some of the “RNC 8″ who are facing absurd felony charges now), the town, as a whole, felt very laid back. Even in terms of general police misconduct, though, the events of this week are over the top.
What do you make of the items the police found in homes of the RNC Welcoming Committee, though?
From http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=73913 :
Fletcher’s statement also included a list of items found in the searches, including PVC pipe, chicken wire and duct tape – believed by police to be intended for locking protesters together in human barricades called “sleeping dragons” – five-gallon buckets of urine, throwing knives, flammable liquids, homemade caltrops (devices used to puncture tires, presumably bus tires), bolt cutters, sledgehammers, protective padding, and plastic buckets cut into shields.
The first thing I’d say is that WorldNetDaily isn’t a news outlet, it’s a right-wing PR organization. That being said, I’ve seen similar accounts in other sources, and I take it all with more than a few grains of salt. For instance, in my basement I also have PVC pipe, duct tape, flammable liquids, a variety of nails in different sizes, bolt cutters, a sledgehammer, and protective padding. And if the police gathered it all up and put it before TV cameras, it would be a nice media stunt, but at the end of the day it’s still stuff in most people’s basements. Even if all of these things were used for “sleeping dragons” or other forms of non-violent civil disobedience, it’s exactly that: non-violent civil disobedience (not “rioting”). And if there was anything resembling a “shield,” well, given the conduct of the police at the DNC, and previous mass protests like the FTAA and RNC in NY, I would probably want a plastic shield, too.
I knew you’d help me out, Will. Thanks!
No problem, Tracy! And for folks reading, if you haven’t checked out Tracy’s blog, please do:
http://www.diggingthroughthedirt.blogspot.com/
Aw, that’s so nice of you!
Thanks!!