It seems to me that the level of video documentation of yesterday's events provides the opportunity to try to piece together a more complete picture of what transpired. Late numbers from the Twin Cities Indymedia site show 256 total arrests, with 119 of them for felonies.

By putting in a general call for video from yesterday, a central group could sift through the scenes of damage and try to match the arrest record mug shots with actual acts of property damage or assaults that may have been caught on tape. At a second level, the number of damage sites could be tabulated to try to account for the number of arrests made, to see if there is any kind of correlation.

Very interesting information potentially could be gathered from such an effort. Are there potentially identifiable persons who are on video carrying out acts of destruction but not found among those arrested for property destruction? Alternatively, are there people arrested for whom there is substantial footage preceding the time of arrest with no evidence of violent behavior?

What I am trying to get at is that those who carried out acts of property destruction or assaults obviously deserve to be arrested and prosecuted, whether they were doing so as an act of protest or as undercover embedded agents attempting to entice others to do the same. With the level of video documentation potentially available, some progress towards understanding the relative contributions of these two groups of violence-makers could be made.

Does I-Witness have the resources for such an undertaking? Is there a more appropriate group?

Many charges are being bandied about in the heat of yesterday's action. A more thorough analysis might allow a better understanding of what transpired and the relative contributions of organized groups on either side or deranged individuals on either side. As with the anthrax case, I believe that all the evidence in existence should be brought together and examined in the most dispassionate manner possible to provide the clearest possible picture of what really transpired.

We're ok. Trees down in neighborhood and we have no power....I'm on generator power now.....and no A/C. Still raining like a cow pissin on a flat rock.

Pooped. Little sleep last two nights and I've been like a one-armed paperhanger today.

Posted to me at 9:20pm.

Holly, I hope you've heard from someone near your mother.

and others with his skill and platform to become more conversant with these issues and the intersection between policing a free society and the civil liberties advocacy.

Professor Goldstein even has a website:

http://www.popcenter.org/learning/goldstein_interview/

I'd be happy to point him in the direction of other fine experts in the field. I agree we are in new territory the Framers could never have invisioned. They didn't even have police back then.

They could have beaten her to the ground and arrested her. It was at their discretion and they have almost total discretion as to how they handled each case.

-- L.W.M.

If you watch that video you will see that after the woman has been blasted with spray she turns around and walks well away from the riot police. What happens then? The same ninja who blasted her the first time blasts her again from the rear, not unlike shooting someone in the back. Was that what you would consider reasonable "discretion"? Was that necessary? Or was that a display of an "asshat" disguised in the uniform of authority getting his rocks off?

-Anybody see any video of her having been "pushed to the ground"?-

Ever hear of a police arrest in your entire life in a street protest where an arrestee was not pushed to the ground and cuffed?

Ever?

SOP.

Dude, it's everywhere. America does not have exclusive dibs on police brutality.

Never has.

You just restated my post in a shorter form.

Very perceptive.

"I think my nuanced interpretation of the video ..." elephantdung

You are the only one who does. And since when did you start thinking?

If you watch that video you will see that after the woman has been blasted with spray she turns around and walks well away from the riot police. What happens then? The same ninja who blasted her the first time blasts her again from the rear, not unlike shooting someone in the back. Was that what you would consider reasonable "discretion"? Was that necessary? Or was that a display of an "asshat" disguised in the uniform of authority getting his rocks off?

-- Kitt

I saw your comment over at Open Left and I responded.

The world is full of "asshats". Quite a few of them end up in politics and policing. That's why my background in the one area has served me well in the other.

I am merely analyzing, explaining. I'm neither defending or condemning.

In any event, the Republicans are thanking you today for making their case about responsibility. Dumbasses. -- shooter242

You mean like their brilliant move of chosing Sarah Palin for the VP slot? McCain's already making noise she wasn't "his" pick.

Forget for a moment the incidents in St. Paul. Precisely when has the modern GOP actually taken responsibility for anything they've had a hand in? I'd really like to know they aren't a complete batch of losers, if only so I have some small hope for the future.

Shooter would be a libertarian if he wasn't canny enough to realize they haven't a snowball's chance in hell of ever having any real political power. So he's a Republican because he's a cheap bastard and wants a free ride. All the militarism and unnecessary wars are just his trade-off and the price of his free ride comes out of someone else's blood skin and bone. He's never been in the military, after all, has he?

I was referring to E's misinterpretation of what actually happened on the video, not why it happened. You could be right about the order, I have no idea. Your misinformed comment gave E an opening to justify his non-response. Maybe you should think more before you attack me. What you are doing is no less childish than some of the "demonstrators", who at least have the excuse of high hormonal levels.