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• Friday, September 5, 2008 07:01 AM

  The Mayor of St. Paul is a Democrat

  @Anandamide (September 5, 2008 01:36 AM):

  "RNC Protests end with a bang and pepper spray

  "Over 100 people were arrested Thurday (sic) night in St. Paul, after being cornered by police on the Marion bridge over I-94. Journalists from at least 2 major local news stations were detained and put in plastic handcuffs, as well as medics and legal observers. Smoke bombs, pepper spray, and tear gas were used heavily on the group, who were not declared by the police to be violent in any way; they were guilty of unlawful assembly. Those carrying kerchiefs with vinegar for protection from tear gas may now be charged with federal conspiracy to commit riot charges, again with no evidence of commited (sic) violence, destruction or provocation. There were hundreds of cops swarming the area with the arrestees (sic) sitting on the ground, blocked in on both sides of the bridge. While everyone seems to be obsesseing (sic) over another unwed teenage pregnancy, the GOP turned St. Paul into a 'non-lethal' militarized zone."

  If you've got a problem with a little innocent hazing and horseplay by the St. Paul constabulary, Anandamide, you should write a letter to the guy who sets the guidelines for police behavior, Mayor Chris Coleman, a Democrat. Or you can sign the 35,000-signature petition to Coleman and other city officials suggesting that the police tomfoolery may have gotten a little out of hand in a couple of instances. Here's the link to the petition: https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr012=h934z9d3n2.app44b&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=281

  Some background on the petition:

  "Targeting the New Press

  " 'The list of those detained ranges from the well-known (Democracy Now's Amy Goodman) and well-established (Associated Press photographer Matt Rourke) -- to the bootstrapping bloggers and video makers who are covering local protests for TheUptake.org, Twin Cities Indymedia, I-Witness and other outlets.

  Police -- with firearms drawn -- raided a meeting of the video journalists and arrested independent media, bloggers and videomakers. Journalists covering protests have been pointed out by authorities, blasted with tear gas and pepper spray, and brutalized while in custody.

  " Democracy Now's Goodman reports that a U.S. Secret Service agent ripped her press credentials from her neck the moment she identified herself to him as a member of the media. Her producers emerged yesterday from their jail cells bloodied and scarred, reporting unusually harsh treatment at the hands of local and federal authorities.

  "Mayor Coleman's Silence

  "St.Paul Mayor Chris Coleman hasn't responded to repeated phone and e-mail requests for comments on the targeting of journalists. Instead he praised the work of Police Chief John Harrington and painted those arrested as a small band of outsiders and vandals intent upon committing felonies against the good people of his city. (my emphasis)

  "In less than a day, more than 35,000 people have signed a letter from Free Press (my employer) to Mayor Coleman condemning the arrests and demanding that he and local prosecutors immediately 'free all detained journalists and drop all charges against them.'

  "But when Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald pressed Harrington and Coleman to respond to widespread reports of journalist arrests, Harrington claimed ignorance while Coleman stood silent at his side."

  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/03-6

  —Associative Individualist Read Associative Individualist's other letters
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