If you scare people who have not done anything the way they did it here, you will definitely prevent people from even thinking about doing anything against the establishment.

This is how the fascists have ruled in many places all over the world, but it is now that it is coming home to your backyard after learning how to do it in many countries around the world. You are lucky they are not doing what they thought the south American military, because if they did that, most of you would have been dead by now, but on the other hand, people in other countries actually stand up and put up a fight rather than go back home and write on their blog or buy 2 more "I Hate Bush" bumper stickers and mugs.

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Looks like a full dress rehersal for our future.

I better practice putting my old pink hands on my head.

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...is where are the Democraps on this issue?!

The Democrapic Convention had "free speech zones" too, where NO ONE could be heard. By the way, the lobbyists did not have to attend this area.

Get used to it. This is the future of Amerikkka.

The Deomocraps and the Repukes are opposite ends of the same stick and that is why I am voting third party for the first time in my life.

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That was a blatant breach of both the First and Fourth Amendment under the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Now we know that the republican leadership really does believe what Bush said about the US Constitution: "It's just a G-D piece of paper."

Impeachment NOW!

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Non-violent disobedience is best, but if the Nazi cops get rough, take 'em down. There are a hell of a lot more of us than them, even with Blackwater.

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When individual officers start getting sued into poverty for violating the constitutional rights of American citizens, the thugs in uniform will be a lot less likely to violate civil rights in the future.

Violent uprisings sound nice in theory but unless you got every single person in that park to attack the cops you would be outnumbered and end up in jail for a long time.


Suing these police departments and individual officers into poverty is the only real way putting an end to this bullshit.

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The girl who said "Are you serious?" in response to the arrest order really encapsulates the vast majority of Americans. We have it good, really good in this country, and our freedom to be hedonistic is great. But in exchange for enjoying our materialistic world, we've given up our most basic political rights, among them the right to assemble peaceably and protest government policies and actions.

I frankly think it's time for another revolution, something I thought Mr. Obama might give us in a nonviolent way but now realize he will not.

So maybe we need to really take to the streets again.

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This is INSANE! We are definitely FUCKED! If this is what our lovely Administration is allowing... We had all better just grab hold of both ankles, bend over and kiss all of our asses.. GOOD-BYE!

I am so sad to see our world destroyed by assholes such as "all of the police" that participated in this!

FUCK YOU!

LES SMITH

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And I don't care what flavor of red or blue you are !

A no fear establishment that is immune from scrutiny is something to be very fearful of.

It is very wrong to be right when the government is wrong.

National guard on our streets against the public ?
Our full time army now abroad being trained and desensitized to public pacification ?

Obama's proclamation to provide a new outlook for our disgruntled youth.

Familiar story, read history and the media in the bundesposte of the late 30's, for a little de ja vu.

Strange things are afoot.

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This is sad. What has our country become? This is not the America that I served ans sacrificed for. This has become "Amerika" the pitiful.

Oh pitiful, with graying skies,
and corporate waves of grain.
exploited mountains travesty,
above the fruitless plain.
Amerika Amerika,
God turned his back on thee.
and there's no good
or brotherhood.
From sea to poisoned sea.

Good night and good luck...

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Why is this big news just on the internet?
Well, to be fair, Jon Stewart mentioned the tear gas and the difficulty of crossing the street.

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The original blog post at Firedoglake didn't get that many Diggs, so here is the Digg Link for this reprint on Alternet. Digg it if you use Digg.

And email the link to all your friends. Remember, the Nazis started out as a political party. Americans, be careful what you go along with. There was nothing particular about Germans that ensures the same couldn't happen in your country that is so often referred to as Homeland nowadays. Let those who have eyes see.

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I read that the RNC "donated" over 10 million dollars worth of shiny new "riot gear" and equipment to the "twin cities" police department...just a few days before the convention got under way....

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You know this happened Rome 2500 years ago. A once proud and largely free republic, turned Empire of military might and coercion.

Their are two forms of oppression:

The first is a Quick and Violent Kind of oppression. Usually done through coups or under a nationalists slogan such as we see with Hitler or Mussolini.

The second is a Progressive and Deceptive Kind. Where we see we have rights but the following generation loses its rights and the following generation even more. These slow revolutions are more so communistic or socialistic. These are things you see in Stalin's Russia or here in America. We didnt realize we lost so much and now are going to lose even more.

So better wake up America because, its over, and we need to rise up and start the world over again. Obama is not going to give you that, but Ron Paul will!

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are coming... It's US against THEM more now than ever, and they are showing us they can and WILL be proactive in staunching protest, or anything else for that matter, which they deem unacceptable. In the past it hasn't been quite as direct, but as the economy worsens and Iran is attacked (and it WILL be, since the elite's answer is ALWAYS WAR for a bad economy, and for this reason McCain will "win" the '08 election) we WILL see MUCH more of this, possibly including martial law.

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On weekends, we drive to Washington, D.C., circle the White House and go up and down Pennsylvania Avenue with horns blaring.

Imagine thousands of cars doing that with signs on their side windows that said, STOP THE WAR!

Can you picture the chaos and media attention that would create -- weekend after weekend after weekend....

NAH, that won't work. We wouldn't want to spend the money on gasoline.

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Yeah, don't worry. When things get worse, people will start bringing guns and grenades to protests and rallies. What's a few hundred cops versus a few thousand real people, when everyone's armed? I think this is why all the NRA types have been so die-hard about their favorite amendment.. Time to take a lesson from the middle-eastern extremists, and stand the fuck up.

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Welcome to the Police-State Folks!

With the largest prison population in the world and a president and government that basicly does whatever it wants, why is anyone surprised.

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Stupid lowlife cops! Too bad the protectors didnt have a couple of Claymore mines setup to "take them out" when they approached. Fight fire with fire!

Jiffers
Online Privacy Center

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...but then again, I and a large group of peaceful protesters were threatened with arrest in largely the same manner in the state of Washignton a few years back. But we were at least blocking a public street. What the fuck is up with them just arresting hundreds of obviously demonstrably peaceful protesters?? And I use the term lightly since it didn't even look like those people were protesting. This seriously fascist and scary. What the fuck have we come to??

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some of y'all act all shocked like this is something new.

its not. it happened in NYC in 2004 at the RNC. 1800 people were swept up in mostly unjustified mass arrests. it happened in smaller doses at the DNC that year. and at the conventions in 2000. Not to mention the anti-globalization protests in Seattle, DC and Miami in 99, 01 and 02 (DC)and 03 (miami). actually, pig repression at protests can be found in virtually decade, over almost every issue, throughout our history. we like to think we are free, but we are not.

i had dinner the other night with a guy who thought the video of the pigs pepper spraying a girl in St. Paul was FUNNY. most of my classmates have no clue this shit happens.

most of our so-called countrymen could not give two shits, cause they don't protest.

for a country founded by protesters and dissenters, there is profound ignorance, hostility and apathy surrounding the culture of dissent in this nation.

its cause the bosses want everyone either shopping or passively watchin' different spectacles on the different boxes we are all offered. and cause its easy, most of us OBEY, WORK, BUY, CONSUME, DIE. after all the treadmill of obedience and consumption is safer and easier than actually standing up to unjust authority.

i'm not sure what the answer is anymore, i'd like to say revolution, but not many people are down for that (and some that are, want it in a direction that is repulsive - i.e. race war).

good luck.

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Police slam CodePink protester to the ground

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Amazing. Only the news that's fit to print, or in this case, broadcast.

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dare them to try and arrest me and my friends. We are not a bunch of kids or families. or try arresting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. they will turn the police into little girls.

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It was obvious that they were also taunting the plice who were there in line minding their own business. They were in line, for crissakes, and those people needlessly harassed them by all of that milling around. Do you know how hard it is for plice to resist arresting people doing that?

The plice have been highly trained to recognize passive aggression and act accordingly, before things can get ugly. The plice had every right to arrest these extremist and the President has every right to charge them with being enemy combatants. Send the mo'fo's to Guantanimo...that will learn them to fuck with the plice and Natural Guard.

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, or of the press, OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES!

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Jeeze!

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since they have consistently elected political leaders that have removed their Bill of Rights, under the guise of the drug war.

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The actions taken by the police and enabled by the Mayor are as simple as Fascism 101.

To arbitrarily detain and release citizens and restrict the press are but two fundamental elements of fascism designed to spread a submissive chill of fear over the populace.

Justice William O. Douglass wisely noted that, "As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such a twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become the unwitting victims of the darkness."

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I'm not saying that I'm agreeing with the actions of the police, but I will say that this video doesn't exactly show enough to come to a completely perfect conclusion. It shows bits nd pieces, has some random guy narrating and thats about it. There could be so much more to this story and these arrests that we have not heard about. Be angry if it was exactly as the kid said, but I don't know if I'd start talking about rioting to beat the police next time unless i was absolutely sure.

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Just wait.


FREE AMERICA

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

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If you know any of these cops, expose them. Post their names, faces and addresses on the WWW, in local papers, anywhere. Tell people what they did. Eventually, even the slow ones may get the message that Only Obeying Orders ceased to be acceptable in 1946, and that Protecting and Serving The Community may sometimes involve telling the order-givers where to get off.

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Does anyone remember Chicago in 1968? It was labeled a "police riot" as the cops made the mistake of attacking media people too. It seems the only thing PDs have learned since then is to keep their hands off the media. I'm in favor of prison sentences for ALL the police who participated in this fiasco. Give 'em a taste of their own medicine!

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I wish people could see the immigration issue is being used buy the corporate elite to destroy the poor and middle class work force of the US.

I'm married to someone from Latin America. Many people from Latin America can see this. People should check out the Minute Men and see how many members actually are from Latin America, or African America for that matter.

As far as doing something about this issue, people need to mobilize to get the police chief fired.

The governor election is between Al Franken and Norm Colman. I'm not Republican or Democrat, but in this case I would say the best bet is Al Franken. People should put this video on a page, go hand out flyers for it, and campaign for Al Franken.

If people will actually get their asses off the couch and mobilize, we can beat this. Going door to door is the only way to beat the corporate media. Elderly people vote more than anyone else and they aren't online enough. They get their news through the MSM, so we need to break through that.

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For 10 million dollars (or some other unaffordable amount) per individual unlawfully arrested. That should stop future episodes of fascism. Somewhere there must be a lawyer willing to take this case.

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Quit complaining! Sometime you got to lock up people to keep America free!

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The really sad part about all of this is this event is just what you see. It's really nothing compared to the everyday crimes that are committed by despotic zealots upon the masses from their protected perches everyday around this country. Phony corporate rules and regulations illegally supported by renegade police. Just try being poor to see what happens to your freedoms. Oh, and by the way you won't have much choice about that either as you'll soon discover your true worth. The phony notion of your success they sold you on paper isn't worth spit.

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What was that name we had for the Police back in the 70's?
Oh' Yeah-Now I remember...
Fucking PIGS!!!

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