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G-20 Pittsburgh Summit - America's sons and daughters feel the hard bite of martial law
I participated in several events during the G-20 protests and saw very little trouble and a strong military presence. Gun boats, military helicopters, swat teams and an audio cannon (the first time the LRAD series device has been used on civilians in the U.S.). The paramilitary units were ready for a fight that never materialized, at least not anywhere near the official G-20 protests.
I had my End the Fed banner and regalia (I was disappointed that there were so few "End the Fed" protesters). I only participated in several approved and scheduled events which is a big reason why I didn't see any trouble. The large G-20 march on Friday was the last protest event scheduled. The march was well organized and very orderly, I don't think there were any arrests.
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW - The greatest potential for tragedy occurred Friday, when several thousand marchers walked for miles through militarized streets, often inches away from baton-wielding police encased in body armor. Not a pane of glass was broken.
"I got to tell you," Huss said, "to have a parade from Oakland to the North Side like we did, and not have any damage is a credit to the protesters and those that were in that march, and our police agencies."
After 48 hours as one of the biggest targets in the world, Pittsburgh emerged Saturday morning looking no worse than it does after a Steelers Super Bowl victory. The masses didn't storm the gates. Terrorists didn't strike. The city didn't burn.
A lower-than-expected influx of protesters meant police had the guns and the numbers. About 6,000 officers deployed throughout the city, compared to 5,000 protesters. Crime was "way, way down" during the summit, he said.
The G-20 attendees were whisked out of town as their event officially ended early Friday. The Friday march was the last G-20 event, it ended peacefully but the worst was about to happen Friday night.
Most of the problems occurred outside the "downtown area", six miles from the summit, on the college campus of the University of Pittsburgh. On Thursday, the students found themselves in the midst of a huge military siege as waves of paramilitary police swarmed onto the campus and through-out the Oakland area (Carnegie Mellon University, Carlow and Chatam colleges are also in Oakland). Nothing illegal happened that would necessitate dispatching paramilitary riot squads. They were sent anticipating trouble - a self fulfilling strategy.
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW - A clash between protesters and police escalated Thursday night in Oakland as curious University of Pittsburgh students ventured to the demonstration. The protest began near Schenley Plaza at about 9 p.m. and moved throughout Oakland. Police arrested 42 people, bringing the total number of those arrested during the G-20 to 66.
As of Thursday, 42 of the total 66 arrested were almost all students on or by their campuses - away from the G-20.
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW - Authorities arrested 110 protesters in Oakland on Friday night during a demonstration that participants described as a stand against police brutality.
The late-night standoff came after police arrested more than 60 people Thursday night during demonstrations that turned violent on Forbes Avenue by the University of Pittsburgh. It also brought the total arrests during the Group of 20 summit to 193.
"This is a rally against police brutality," said Tom Judd, 24, of Rhode Island. "The police were very aggressive here (Thursday)."
Out of the total 193 people arrested, 152 of them were virtually all young students arrested on or by their campus. Most of them were arrested after the G-20 - they were not protesting the G-20, they were protesting against police brutality - that's the real story that needs to be told.
PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE - At the park, he said, "People were playing duck-duck-goose and talking. Mostly, I think people were there because the events that had happened the night before ... " he said.
"We weren't doing anything. We weren't confronting them. We weren't even protesting." He said the police didn't give the order to disperse "until they had surrounded most of the park." Many people then left. He said a group was pushed across Forbes Avenue and into the Cathedral of Learning lawn. He said some were turned away by police on Fifth Avenue.
"No matter where you went, there was no way to leave," he said. "A lot of people were saying, 'I'm just trying to leave.'
Drew Singer, editor of the student newspaper The Pitt News, watched the events from a window in the William Pitt Union, which has a view of Schenley Plaza. Two Pitt News photographers were among those arrested. "There were way more police than there were civilians, nonpolice," he said.
While there may have been protesters, he said, "I personally didn't see a single protester. "We kept asking them how we could leave, or if we could leave," she said. "Most of them were unresponsive. Some of them just said no." She was on a police wagon and then a bus for about five hours without water or a bathroom break, though many girls with her were asking for both, she said.
"A few police officers were nice," she said, "but for the most part, they were not." She said one of the officers was "taking a lot of pride" in taking mug shots next to female detainees, and that other officers frequently used profanities specifically derogatory to women.
The sad part is that there is so little outrage. Hordes of paramilitary police were cut lose on our sons and daughters under the brutality of an unnecessary martial law. Are we de-sensitized and ambivalent to police violence and martial law? When I see the images of innocent, young girls being gassed and roughly subdued it makes me feel ill in a way that's hard to describe.
The moral fabric of our society is coming undone. We no longer care that we are enslaving our children and future generations to debt that they will never be able to repay. We don't seem to mind that college students have become the victims of police brutality. No one bothers counting the number of young American's coming home from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in coffins yet alone the massive amount of foreigners were are killing. Will we ever take a moral stand?
Larry
END the FED before it ENDS US
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[ Ed. Note: Removed post complaining that a previous post was flagged. It is our policy to encourage all users to flag posts which they find objectionable, and it is not appropriate to rebuke the community for having flagged a post.]
CloudfireOnFire.com
Question: How many people does it take to resist tyranny in the twenty-first century?
Answer: We don't know . . . It was never tried . . . .
CloudfireOnFire.com
[ Ed. Note: Removed post complaining that a previous post was flagged. It is our policy to encourage all users to flag posts which they find objectionable, and it is not appropriate to rebuke the community for having flagged a post.]
With the utmost humility, and profound respect for the moderator, I submit that it may not be allowed, but from a moral standpoint, it is appropriate . . . Indignation, when confronted with willful attempts to suppress useful, accurate information that may support us in protecting our freedoms is a normal, healthy response of an honest, freedom loving individual.
CloudfireOnFire.com
When I see the images of innocent, young girls being gassed and roughly subdued it makes me feel ill in a way that's hard to describe.
Larry,
The whole scene nauseates me as it is nothing more than oppression and intimidation.
The scenes with the young women enrage me, I am not sure why moreso than the ones with men, but it does. As I viewed the various clips from the G20, I think ironically of Lee Greenwood's "Proud To Be An American." The nausea grows.
The scenes with the young women enrage me, I am not sure why moreso than the ones with men, but it does.
Hi, Mark;
I can't say that I feel rage, but I do feel disgust. What a cowardly way to behave . . . Conveniently, the face shields of riot police obscure their faces, so that one cannot even see them, face-to-face . . . Depersonalization is important to the process . . . One actually wonders if they are human anymore . . . . Video clips like this make me give Icke's reptilian hypothesis a second look, lol.
CloudfireOnFire.com
C1oudfire,
I feel disgust, sadness, loss, betrayal and, yes, rage. The scenes we see from "protests" continue to show an escalation from the law enforcement sector. This is not a comforting trend, in my eyes.
The videos of the overwhelming numbers of these faceless automatons is truly chilling.
C1oudfire,
I feel disgust, sadness, loss, betrayal and, yes, rage. The scenes we see from "protests" continue to show an escalation from the law enforcement sector. This is not a comforting trend, in my eyes.
The videos of the overwhelming numbers of these faceless automatons is truly chilling.
Hi, Mark;
I have long been aware of the malevolent intent of powerful entities . . . But I don't think I'll ever . . . . Nay, I hope that I'll never get used to the passivity with which people accept oppression in exchange for moral license . . . . When I see these clips, and witness the lack of outrage, in response to them, I feel ashamed of my fellow Americans, in particular, and of the human race in general . . . . And that does not except this community, at the moment . . . Where is everybody? Hovering over their nest eggs? Shame . . . . is what I feel . . . . I'm ashamed of the riot police, who haven't the moral fortitude to know better than to manhandle a petite young woman who is harming no one. I'm ashamed of the people who stand by, and watch it happen. And I'm most ashamed of people who distort and supress information like this . . . .
CloudfireOnFire.com
My 2 Cents...
http://www.chrismartenson.com/forum/suggestion-moderators-regarding-flagging-posts/28400
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As there has been some angst recently concering the flagging of posts I suggest the following.
I can understand the flagging of post that contain personal attacks, banned subject matter, inaccurate or totally off topic subject matter.
Yes and there is a section for 'controversial subjects'.
But the flagging of posts that contain factual, relevant information has me somewhat perplexed.
The post I'm refering to is concering the G20 meeting in Pittsburg.
Now I know the emphasis of the website are the three 'E's and based upon that very premise I would have thought almost nothing could indeed be more 'on topic' than the G20... why?
What is the G-20?
"The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was established in 1999 to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy."
Now some may argue that the the title of Larry's post "G-20 Pittsburgh Summit - America's sons and daughters feel the hard bite of martial law" was, in itself, controversial. But the reality is parts of Pittsburg were indeed under effective martial law and I have seen the footage of University students being targeted by the security forces while on their own campus.
From what I have seen, I would have to say very few people actually deserved the treament they received as, for the most part, they did not appear to be antagonising the police or military. I didn't see anything that could have been considered rioting.
If Larry's post was flagged because it was considered controversial then I guess any post that mentions Government control by Wall Street or insider trading or 'The Feds' vanishing trillions or Chris Dodd receiving special deals from Countrywide should also be flagged... YES?... NO?
Well aren't they controversial topics too?... AND extremely relevant to this fundamental subject matter if this site?
As for Cloudfire's post concering her objection to the 'flagging' then being deleted.
This, to me, was even more disturbing than the flagging itself.
"It is our policy to encourage all users to flag posts which they find objectionable, and it is not appropriate to rebuke the community for having flagged a post."
Answer me this... is it reasonable for the community to not know why a post was flagged especially if it was flagged by just one person and the rest of the community has not objected to the post? Especially if that post is then deleted or removed to the 'dungeon'?
Anyway here is my suggestion.
NOTE: The exception to this is if the post has clearly violated the rules then of course the moderators should take action irrespective whether the post was flagged or not.
If someone wishes to 'flag' a post they should be required to give a reason why and that reason should be included as part of the flagging for all registered users to see.
Up to this point the 'flagger' can remain anonymous.
Then the members should vote whether they deem the flagging resonable or not.
If it is decided the 'flagging' is justified then the moderators can either delete, or remove the post to the CT thread.
If the flagging is deemed by the majority to be unreasonable then the flaggers indentity should be revealed.
Not in order to be chastised, but just to ensure that if you really believe you are justified to flag a post then don't hide because it doesn't give the (original) poster a right of reply and it approaches a 'kangaroo court' kind of mentality.
Hopefully this should prevent a few from simply flagging a post just because it irks them, but doesn't actually break any of the rules.
I don't think there are enough flagged posts to cause too much work for anybody and this procedure, if anything, should ensure against frivolous flagging of posts and thus reduce the frequency of them.
rowmat
Thank you Larry for giving us this info.
I remember growing up watching movies where the Nazi's or Soviet's would stop people and ask for their "Papers" and think what sort of crazy world that these other people live in. It is now happening before our eyes and our so called "Free Press" is out to lunch.
It also reminds me of Tiananmen Square in 1989. Can you imagine how much damage this stuff does to the US's reputation and how much play these videos will be getting in places like Russia, North Korea, or China?
I weep for my country!
What is the Philosophy of Liberty? http://www.isil.org/resources/introducti...
[ Ed. Note: It is our policy to encourage all users to flag posts which they find objectionable, and it is inappropriate to rebuke the community for having flagged a post.]
. . . This is news . . . cold, hard news, to be sure, but we not only have videotapes of these activities and news reports from multiple press sources, but also an eyewitness account by someone, whom we know, who was there. Larry should be commended for bringing this evidence of the threats to our freedom to our attention . . . and his courage in stating the obvious connection between our circumstances and moral decay should be applauded . . . . Shame on all of you who choose to look the other way . . . You're no better than people who walk past a beaten man, lying in the gutter . . . . "Don't get involved", you tell yourselves . . . .
For heaven's sake, Look at yourselves, People!
CloudfireOnFire.com