Well imagine that! Guess what: I've been on the music scene here for over 20 years, my first gig was opening for the Minutemen, and I still play with a punk rock band, and YOU'RE reciting lyrics from Bye Bye Birdie. Yet, you tell me I'm not for real because I said punk rock goofballs. Grin. You're a dink. And you can't outparty me. And I'm a democrat.

She...

interfered and resisted. That always leads to an arrest, especially in a charged environment.

She got what she wants. Free publicity for her unknown program.

Your statement is the embodiment of much that has been barbarian and evil in history.

http://twincities.indymedia.org/livewire/2008/sep/update-46

"update from coldsnap: amy goodman has been released. many other journalists, legal observers, medics and friends still inside."

Fair points, all. Again, I wasn't trying to condescend or trivialize... just making the point that it's easier to come up with justifications when you don't have skin in the game.

When was the last time there was a protest in the U.S. where participants "were armed, with the intent of causing harm to civilians?" It seems to me that this myth of the "violent protest" has been trotted out so often that even you, at some level, seem to be buying it. Has anyone - other than protesters I mean - actually been hurt in a protest lately? (That's a real question, BTW.)

For what it's worth, I couldn't agree with you more that the time of the public protest has come and gone. It's preaching to the choir and turning off everybody else, counterproductive as hell, and dangerous to the participants besides.

You just justified the Israeli treatment of Gaza on Israeli terms! That was amazing, absolutely breathtaking. I gotta go to work, but if any non-Zionists want to correct him, I think this is where he goes wrong.

The IDF, in fact, can't draw a distinction between armed combatants and peaceful protesters. The reason they can't is because they occupy Palestine militarily.

The Israelis must differentiate. And the Israeli occupation is illegal, remember?

From the Israeli perspective, everyone must be treated on some level as an enemy combatant, because they are in fact, from a de jure persepective.

SAY WHAT? No, the Israelis must not, must not, must not treat Palestinians as enemy combatants. Don't you think that?

Israel exists on the sufferance of the UN, and they are required to uphold certain UN declarations on Human rights, not to mention the innumerable resolutions which have been approved which tell the Israelis what they must do. And treating the Gazans as enemy combatants is, I am very sure, not one of them.

all rights to assemble are by definition nullified

OH MY GOD!!

Are you by any chance a Zionist? If you are, there's no need to go over this ground again, and I'd be glad to drop it.

Free publicity for her unknown program.

-- tiberius

Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. Pioneering the largest public media collaboration in the U.S., Democracy Now! is broadcast on Pacifica, NPR, community, and college radio stations; on public access, PBS, satellite television (DISH network: Free Speech TV ch. 9415 and Link TV ch. 9410; DIRECTV: Link TV ch. 375); and on the internet. DN!’s podcast is one of the most popular on the web.

http://www.democracynow.org/about

until the evidence used to obtain the warrents is made public and redeems the police ... which seems doubtful.

By appearances, the raids on at least 6 buildings were used to intimidate, disrupt, restrain, and generally fuck-with several DIFFERENT groups, some of whom, like Bread-not-Bombs and another whose name I cannot recall, appear to be dedicated nonviolent proponents.

The "police" imho attempted to smear ALL of these groups, lump them ALL together.. which is one of those "privileges" that the "authorities" have ... the power to smear

Their often cited inventory of "item seized" is both pathetic and distorting -- which house belonging to which group had which items????

Given the rapidity with which the convergence center was "released" for use, and several of those arrested ... it's hard to imagine some hard-wired-conspiracy was "thwarted"

The police are not free to ignore "intelligence" of an imminent threat. I've been surprised and pleased to see people released and the convergence center reopened.

I'm planning on sending the National Lawyers Guild a check ...

check out their website ...

=========================================================

Plate, your picture gallery was not available when I tried to check it out... will check later .... thanks for your efforts!

namaste.

almost too much to bear.

Buck up, tough guy:

About 2% of NPR's funding comes from bidding on government grants and programs, chiefly the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; the remainder comes from member station dues, foundation grants, and corporate underwriting.

http://nprstations.org/conferences/treasurers_report_may_2005.pdf

It's the latte-swilling Islamophiles and their allies at the nonprofits and, um, corporate board rooms that are supporting this commie propaganda.

The public fisc is safe.

you couldn't have demonstrated my point any better. Thank you.

Man I was just probing a little til you hauled out your boner fides you cirruculum vitals, if you get my drift.

You are right, I'm over the hill, old hat, nye kulturny a has-been and over the hill. You are the coming thing, the man produced by the hour, up to the minute, every day, early to bed and early to rise.

You have eclipsed me already, my audience response meters show that. If you would let me slink off with my dignity intact, I would be very grateful.

And what earthly reason would the the officers have to arrest the two Democracy Now! producers? You want me to believe they were rioting, or causing a disruption, or even demonstrating? -- macgupta

I don't know. Do you? They might have been in an area that they were not spposed to be. They might have been diong something that they were not supposed to be doing. -- Elephantman

These areas seem very fluid in nature, and subjective at best.

I am strongly inclined to believe there were "protesters" (as opposed to provacateurs) who engaged in monkeywrenching stupidities. The question is, why are contemporary public political protests so devoid of "legit" members who can stop this crap? Why aren't there enough adults on scene trained in flashmob with cameraphones techniques to trap vandals a/o infiltrator-provacateurs on flash memory for the ages?

Why are public political protests the sole province of pampered young idiots from the white middle class?

Really -- any of these antique commenters who personally remember the 60s can tell you -- it was things like the Poor Peoples' March on Washington that changed America forever. Not any of the fuckwads on the streets of Chicago in 1968.

Given what happened in New York in 2004, nothing going on here should come as a surprise. Including the desire of Sheriff's department honchos to justify the expense of all their pretty black toys to the political elite.