Skip to content

Last Night of RNC: Police State, Protesters Locked out of City, Journalists Arrested

September 5, 2008 by Anonymous

When you wake up this morning and read the headlines about McCain's speech, the latest horserace tally, and political predictions, I want you to be aware of events you may not read about, events that illuminate the real state of our democracy, events that brought me to tears (and it wasn't just from the gas). I want to tell you about battle that raged on the streets of St. Paul- A battle waged by the police, backed, funded, and organized by the Department of Homeland Security, a battle against peaceful protesters, war veterans, concerned citizens, and journalists.

I have been working with a documentary film team in St. Paul led by Joan Sekler and based out of The Uptake, a film collective with an office right outside the exclusion zone by the Excel Center. Around 4:00pm I left the office with two other filmmakers to film a permitted peace rally and march at the state capitol. After a few speakers went on, it became obvious that police in riot gear were surrounding us. Unfortunately, this was not unusual.

I ran over to film a golf cart full of police rushing onto the grass. The cop in the cart yelled into a megaphone, "YOUR PERMIT TO BE IN THE PARK ENDS AT 5:00PM! YOU HAVE NINE MINUTES TO DISPERSE! YOU MUST VACATE THE PARK!" Almost instantaneously people started to run out of the park in fear and police in gas masks started to move in. The protesters caught the police off guard as they headed towards the bridge into St. Paul, not the direction for the permitted march, but the path for previous marches. The protesters did not make it to the bridge, as they were cut-off by hundreds of police in full riot gear. This was the site of a standoff that lasted for hours. Many protesters were arrested for sitting peacefully in the street. During this confrontation a journalist from The Uptake was detained.

The police were demanding that we travel west. Protesters started running west and almost made it over the second bridge, but failed. Not only independent media, but also mainstream media were trapped outside of the city. The mainstream media were in the shoes of independent media now! It started to get dark and we headed to the third bridge. By the time I got there the police were in full force. The streets were barricaded with snowplows. The police attempted to tell us that no one, including media, were allowed on the bridge. They claimed there was a bomb on the bridge. No bomb squad ever arrived. No suspicious package was ever identified. All the bridges to the city were blocked. No one could get in, even those with official RNC press credentials or those trying to get to work.

Further west I saw police vans flying and people running. Sounds of explosion rocked the night air. I headed in that direction as I received a twitter, "THE PRESS ARE NO LONGER SAFE!" Other texts rolled in reading, "Fox News gassed" and "KARE 11 reporter arrested." As the explosions grew louder, I saw bluish-purple gas rising from behind a building. I ran into the Sears parking lot where the action was. Police were everywhere. It was impossible to know where to go or where to go. There were small packs of them and the National Guard everywhere I turned.

Somehow I feel in with a pack of riot police on a mission. I filmed as few of the grabbed a young girl by her shirt as she tried to run away from the violent scene. She kept running and they chased her in a circle around me. One cop threw her on the ground with his club and struck her. Next he pepper sprayed her point blank in the face. She got up and they started pushing her. She tried to run, now blinded. Once again they pushed her to the ground. She was crying and had lost her shoe. They pepper sprayed her again. She got up and ran. They just let her go. I helped her wash her face and find a medic.

Next I filmed the back of a row of police shooting what sounded like rubber bullets. The police quickly turned and screamed, "GET THE MEDIA OUT OF HERE! GET THE MEDIA OUT OF HERE!" I turn and ran. Some of the cavalier corporate journalists shouted back, "We are media! Who are you targeting? We pose no threat to you!" I decided it was time to leave the situation. As I was leaving I saw a woman who looked like she was in her 70s. She had had been shot by a concussion grenade. She wasn't part of the march; she had been shopping at Sears.

Before I left I saw police had some people surrounded. They were sitting on the ground with peace signs raised. By this time it was really dark and we couldn't film. Some media tried to turn on lights and the police wouldn't let them. Anytime someone turned on a light the police pointed the pepper spray at her.

I left with the film crew because our batteries were out and it was dark .We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant and ended up getting a ride back into the city from the owner. She dropped us off on the other side of the city: the contrast was surreal. On the other side of the city Republicans partied with American flags, high heels, and festive music. We had entered another world. The police were not wearing gas masks or riot gear! We passed a man complete with buttons, credentials, and a white, plastic hat, he was lighting a cigar with his wife next to him in a red sequin blazer happily buying a McCain-Palin shirt. Here you would be hard pressed to find someone that was not white or wealthy.

Is this what the Republicans mean by "Country First?" I ask then, what country? Whose country? Nationalism is undemocratic and terroristic at home, as it is abroad. Let this serve as a warning, a warning of the fascist state they are building on our soil, not to mention what they hope to do throughout the world. I truly believe that the police never intended to let the protesters march to their Freedom Cage inside the city. I believe their intention was to completely lock dissent out of the city- at all costs. And to that I say, Mission Accomplished. The north side of the city was a total war zone. And is characteristic of some wars, one side was not armed. This war was waged against war veterans, journalists and citizens so that the Republican convention could go jollily on without the Republicans having to confront those outraged and displaced by their delegation of power. For more info and video, please visit independent media sites such as http://theuptake.org/ and http://twincities.indymedia.org/

~colleen mihal

Comments

Post new comment

  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
Sorry we have to ask, but are you a spammer?
three + = seven
Solve this math question and enter the solution with digits. E.g. for "two plus four = ?" enter "6".

Open Newswire

Nov. 20-22 Mass Mobilization to Close the SOA
17 hours 6 min ago
Anonymous

November 20-22, 2009: Vigil and Nonviolent Direct ActionConverge on Fort Benning, Georgia
Join the Mass Mobilization to Close the School of the Americas and to Change U.S. Foreign Policy

In less than 2 weeks, thousands will converge on Fort Benning, Georgia to say no to military coups, military violence and the training of repressive forces at the School of the Americas. Join union workers, students, religious communities and grassroots activists from across the Americas from November 20-22, 2009 at the gates of Fort Benning to commemorate the martyrs and to take a stand for justice. It is up to us to change oppressive U.S. foreign policy since we can only hope for as much as we are willing to work for.
Click here to visit the new November Vigil Rideboard. (see links to transportation, hotel & other logistical information on the bottom of this posting.)

Speakers and MusiciansAmong the many featured performers on the stage at the gates of Fort Benning and in the Columbus Convention Center will be the Indigo Girls, the Hip Hop groups Rebel Diaz and Kuumba Lynx, Emma's Revolution, Candy Garcia, the lead vocalist of the Salvadoran folk band Grupo Musical Horizontes and many more.

The high-profile line up of speakers includes Bernardo Vivas of the Cacraica Community for Self-Determination, Life, and Dignity (CAVIDA) from Colombia, South Bronx community organizers and immigrant rights activists Victor Toro and Nieves Aires, Catholic Worker and Plowshares activist Liz McAllister, Bertha Oliva, the coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras and others who are active in the resistance against the SOA graduate-led military coup.

Anti-Militarization Convergence: Panels, Workshops, Film Screening and Benefit Concerts

The Shortwave Report 11/06/09 Listen Globally
1 day 14 hours ago
Anonymous

 Dear Radio Friend,
The latest Shortwave Report (November 6) is up at the website
http://www.outfarpress.com/outfa... in both broadcast quality (13.3MB) and quickdownload or streaming form (4.9MB) (28:59)
(NEW! If you have access to Audioport.org there is a higher quality version posted up there {26.7MB} http://www.audioport.org/index.p...)

War Criminals and their agent control 344 Members of Congress.
2 days 5 hours ago
Anonymous

War Criminals and their agent control 344 Members of Congress.

The War Criminals [Israeli government] have ordered that Congress vote against Goldstone’s report on their War Crimes in Gaza.

344 obeyed.

The names of the 344 Members of Congress who take their orders from War Criminals are listed below.

If one of them is your representative – report him or her to the local FBI as a victim of blackmail by the AIPAC and/or a receiver of corrupt monies from AIPAC.

Names of corrupted Congress Members:

Zhibin Gu: Chinese multinationals vs global financial crisis: finance, trade, politics and management
3 days 6 hours ago
Anonymous

Get onground knowledge and analysis from business and investment guide book: China’s Global Reach
Borderless Business, National Competition, Politics, and Globalization (book excerpts)

by George Zhibin Gu

Afterword
China, United States and Global Development
by Andre Gunder Frank

Part III

China’s New International Experiences

SUMMARY

(1). China, India and many other later developers have rather limited strengths to compete in a highly competitive world market dominated by a few well-developed nations today. Their best strengths come from a low-paid labor as well as hard work. Even so, they are able to provide massive low-priced goods and services. It turns out that this price gap is nothing less than survival.

(2). Gaining competitive advantages through low-pricing tags has been common throughout history. One example is the British competitiveness following the industrial revolution. For long, the British dominated the world commerce through their massively produced, highly competitive textile, steel, and consumer products, among others. China, India and other underdeveloped nations could not compete at all. This naturally changed the world production map in favor to Europe.

By early 20th century, the center of economic gravity moved to the US, as the nation was able to produce the biggest, cheapest volume of products and hence gained world economic leadership. For example, Ford was able to produce the cheapest cars in biggest volume. Through such mass production, the US has become the biggest economic power over some 100 years.

Again, Japan Inc. suddenly rolled its products all over the globe, which began in 1960s. In fact, made-in-Japan products had a low pricing advantage. For example, in 1970s, all the US TV manufacturers went bankrupt, even if the Japanese TV makers had no technological advantage over their US counterparts back then.

Reject Corporate Options for Health Care
3 days 9 hours ago
Anonymous

Fourteen Reasons to Reject Corporate Options for Health Care

If a Critical Mass of the public actually knew what the Health Care Brouhaha involved, Liberals and Conservatives would unite in opposing current and planned policies. Imagine....

1) Private insurers are businesses that must grow. Their inclusion in any national program guarantees endless cuts in service, and endless hikes in costs to the public.

2) Private insurers, being businesses, have motive and duty to provide as little service as possible at the highest price possible. This is an adversarial situation with the public.

3) A significant chunk of what was ostensibly customers’ health care money goes to contributions to political candidates that many may not care to support. Mandatory purchase of private insurance would have our government---our sworn and paid representatives---compelling citizens to provide revenues to candidates preferred by private insurers. There is no Public Interest health-related justification for mandating this part of an insurance policy.

4) Significant revenues supplied by insurance customers go to lobbying for legislation that favors the private insurance interests rather than the interests of the public. Again, no health-related public interest exists in this part of an insurance policy.

5) Large percent of the cost of a policy goes to other non-health-related things such as advertising, CEO bonuses, corporate jets, business conventions, and corporate headquarters upkeep. No health-related justification exists for mandating that citizens pay for that along with the actual health benefits.

Venezuela: The error of being Lusbi Portillo
3 days 23 hours ago
Anonymous


* The latest demonstration of political criminalization of autonomous social movements by the Venezuelan government is exposed by Rafael Uzcategui, a member of the anarchist collective El Libertario.

As this text is written, Lusbi Portillo, professor at Zulia University (in Maracaibo) and environmental activist in solidarity with the indigenous movement is in hiding to protect his life and physical integrity. During the events of October 13 in the Sierra de Perijá two yukpas were killed and five more wounded in a conflict arising from the demarcation of indigenous land. The regional police announced that an arrest warrant against the professor for “drug possession” was imminent. This is not the first time the professor is criminalized for his active solidarity with the demands of the original peoples, but because the way the events are evolving – an investigation of the events has been decreed “national security” by the authorities – he decided to take preventive measures by going into hiding.

The environmental activist increased his activities in the indigenous struggle as a reaction to the government’s announcement, by the President of the Republic on November 13 2003 to triple coal exploitation in the Zulia region to 36 million metric tons per year. Lusbi Portillo’s first “error”, from the point of view of the immobilizing polarization that controls the nation’s political scene, was to uphold his values and demands in spite of the official discourse that promised to satisfy them some time in the future. Regardless of his expectations and personal sympathies, Portillo did not sell out nor agreed to lower his priorities, preserving his autonomous social character, thus keeping his ability to organize for the solution to the problems in spite of the electoral situation.

FERNANDO LUGO SE ALINEA CON ALVARO URIBE
4 days 4 hours ago
Anonymous

Contradiciendo a su propaganda, divulgada hasta el hartazgo por la prensa mediática, Fernando Lugo autorizó secretamente el ingreso de tropas norteamericanas al Paraguay. El hecho demuestra una vez más la inconsecuencia del obispo-presidente, quien llegó al poder en ancas del respaldo mediático de ultraderechas y ONGs vinculadas a la embajada norteamericana. Ver:

http://www.diariosigloxxi.com/te...

http://www.viejoblues.com/Bitaco...

http://www.aporrea.org/tiburon/a...

http://www.cubanuestra.nu/web/ar...

 

A Science of Intuition
4 days 12 hours ago
Anonymous

(Commentaries on Science, Religion, Spiritualism, Politics and The Resource Based Economy)

Many are well acquainted with “The Modern Scientific Method”, it's the dominant norm of all discovery. It is the underpinning of all Western Philosophy from the end of the days of Monarchs to the modern days of Oligarchs. Of course this wasn't always the case, before the Modern Scientific Method existed a more Associative Method of both reasoning and discovery based on religion. The Scientific Method arose as a reaction to the Associative Method, which dominated before. The Scientific Method was more flexible and fluid then the old Religious Associative Method. Since all things discovered or concluded by science were open to change and progress it certainly trumped the non-changing religious conclusions. The Modern Scientific Method had many advantages over the old associative method... of declaring truths followed by creating chains of association to go along with those truths, then they were later linked back to their starting point, ie: original declared truth. The Modern Scientific Method still differed from the original or “Ancient Scientific Method” in a few ways. In this work we will compare and contrast the Scientific Method used by The Ancients; such as The Greeks, Chinese, Indians, etc. and compare it with the Modern Scientific Method to see the differences. We will show how the Observation and Intuition were used in conjunction with each other by ancient people's. While in contrast to todays world where Modern Science simply writes off Intuition as Mysticism and lumps it together with the Associative Method expounded by Nicean, as well as other Dogmatic and Orthodox Abrahamic Faiths.

CUBANUESTRA.FERNANDO LUGO, DEL FASCISMO AL CHONGUISMO‏
5 days 4 hours ago
Anonymous

El poder tiende a corromper, el poder absoluto corrompe absolutamente.

Lord Acton, historiador inglés

 

No sin razón se ha dicho que en Paraguay, alcanzar el poder es antes que nada, empezar a asistir a reuniones donde nadie tiene opinión diferente a la de uno mismo, además de renovar guardarropa y cambiar de mujer, domicilio y vehículo. De esta manera, el mandón de turno demuestra la capacidad de pocos de hacerles creer a muchos lo poco que importan.

El obispo Fernando Lugo y sus secuaces han confirmado la regla con su alegre conducta, al punto que muchos han logrado escandalizar a los mismos inventores de la corrupción, sus antecesores colorados, quienes gobernaron con un estilo fascistoide por seis décadas al Paraguay. La realidad del “proceso de cambios” es innegable: todos los nuevos funcionarios han cambiado el tren de vida miserable por la opulencia.

La actual coyuntura recuerda aquello que con certeza expresó Abraham Lincoln: Casi todos podemos soportar la adversidad, pero si queréis probar el carácter de un hombre, dadle poder.

 

EL CHONGUISMO

 

De acuerdo al diccionario Latinoamericano, Chongo en Argentina es una palabra empleada exclusivamente en el mundillo homosexual. “Se emplea para designar a cualquier otro varón atractivo. Emplease también para indicar al joven que mantiene un alto porcentaje de relaciones heterosexuales, muy apreciado por conservar sus dotes masculinas y ejercer el rol de activo durante un contacto sexual”. Ver:

 

http://www.asihablamos.com/?word...

 

The Untold Story of the Cuban 5
6 days 14 hours ago
Anonymous

The Untold Story of the Cuban Five
Part 1: Forbidden Heroes

AdaptiveThemes