Police use 'chemical munitions' at RNC

[texas grass]

Police use 'chemical munitions' at RNC
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:08:21 GMT
St. Paul police have used tear gas, pepper spray and flash grenades against protestors on the second day of the Republican National Convention.

Several loud bangs heard outside the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, on Tuesday morning were revealed by security officials to be police setting off 'chemical munitions' to disperse a crowd.

Commander Doug Holtz of the Joint Information Center in St. Paul, a coalition of secret service and law enforcement officials, told ABC that police had used 'distraction devices' which he said included tear gas and 'flashbangs' which produce intense light and a deafening bang.

Police also used pepper spray and made three arrests during a protest of about 2,000 people to highlight poverty and homelessness.

The march, which was organized by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, was shadowed by hundreds of law enforcement officers in riot gear and on horseback.

On Monday, St. Paul police arrested nearly 300 people including AP photographer Matt Rourke and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman along with two of her producers.

Goodman was arrested as she asked police in riot gear about the status of producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Footage of her arrest, seemingly only for inquiring about her colleagues, was the number one viewed Youtube video on Tuesday.

Gena Berglund of the National Lawyers Guild said the police action was 'completely out of proportion'.





2 days in a row, the republican convention is acting like nazis go hitler

what happened to the right to protest
and what happened to freedom of press

[killerweed420]

Saw Amy on tv last night. I hope she files a civil rights lawsuit against them.
I enjoy seeing rioting in the streets. It shows some people still care enough about the country to get there fat ass off the couch and do something about it.

[daihashi]

Saw Amy on tv last night. I hope she files a civil rights lawsuit against them.
I enjoy seeing rioting in the streets. It shows some people still care enough about the country to get there fat ass off the couch and do something about it.

Rioting? You enjoy seeing people get violent and breaking the law? You like seeing people feed off their own emotion escalating issues higher and higher within themselves?

I enjoy seeing protests, I don't enjoy seeing riots.

Different strokes for different folks I guess eh?

[TurnyBright]

Protests (in the vein of the RNC sort) are totally silly. If you want to join a big mob of people acting angry and doing nothing but disrupting the peace, go to one of those things.

If you want to actually protest something or make a social point, try penning an eloquent statement and publicizing it, or start a blog and wax on about your beliefs. If you're good enough to find enough like-minded people and to have them find you, then you've got a base for change.

We have too much media and not enough underground demagoguery.

[flyingimam]

Protests (in the vein of the RNC sort) are totally silly. If you want to join a big mob of people acting angry and doing nothing but disrupting the peace, go to one of those things.

If you want to actually protest something or make a social point, try penning an eloquent statement and publicizing it, or start a blog and wax on about your beliefs. If you're good enough to find enough like-minded people and to have them find you, then you've got a base for change.

We have too much media and not enough underground demagoguery.

hi5 man! right on the money!

[Markass]

Instead of taking it as a sign that people are unhappy with the way things are, they're adopting the old saying..."Those who are not with us are against us"

[daihashi]

Instead of taking it as a sign that people are unhappy with the way things are, they're adopting the old saying..."Those who are not with us are against us"

No.. it's that there is a right and wrong way to do it. The convention was a ticket only event. It is not unusual for security to guard an events premises. When you see police geared up guarding the place you would have to be a damn idiot to actually Riot.

What do you think it's going to accomplish. Watching people feed on their own emotions doesn't prove anything to me except that there is no room for logical thinking. If it did prove something I would probably vote democrat more often as they too seemingly feed on their own emotion and the emotion of the crowd.

A perfect example of this is Obama and everything awing about how they are "inspired". He is pulling that emotional string and so many Americans are following. Don't you think there is a reason why his speeches sound more like a preacher giving a sermon than a speech by a politician? He's playing to your emotions subtely and subconciously. But everyone will have differing opinions on this so it's moot to even argue.

People think with their heads and if a protest ever wants to be taken seriously they should leave their emotions out of it. It isn't as if this was a peaceful civil rally that Mr. King Jr. or other civil leaders would be proud of.

Violence only begets violence. I see that those people are unhappy.. but I also see those people as idiots who are probably only hurting whatever cause they stand for.

[texas grass]

A perfect example of this is Obama and everything awing about how they are "inspired". He is pulling that emotional string and so many Americans are following. Don't you think there is a reason why his speeches sound more like a preacher giving a sermon than a speech by a politician? He's playing to your emotions subtely and subconciously. But everyone will have differing opinions on this so it's moot to even argue.


you should be looking at the republicans at this. all they talk about is god this god that. god told me to do this and to do that. they are preaching sermons on a political stage. isnt that against the constitution


of course every political speaker will sound inspiring to the person they relate to, but to say hes preaching a sermon is a complete joke

[McDanger]

you should be looking at the republicans at this. all they talk about is god this god that. god told me to do this and to do that. they are preaching sermons on a political stage. isnt that against the constitution


of course every political speaker will sound inspiring to the person they relate to, but to say hes preaching a sermon is a complete joke

Actually the Constitution protects this. What it says is that the government cannot establish a national religion. Talking about God at a political event is not establishing a religion, or stopping anybody else from their beliefs. You are proof of that.

[daihashi]

you should be looking at the republicans at this. all they talk about is god this god that. god told me to do this and to do that. they are preaching sermons on a political stage. isnt that against the constitution


of course every political speaker will sound inspiring to the person they relate to, but to say hes preaching a sermon is a complete joke

I'm glad you took the most pointless (in relation to the topic at hand) thing out of my post and decided to comment on it. Good job, really relevant :thumbsup:

I would like to see all the videos you can come up with showing republicans saying that God told them to do something. I bet in all seriousness you do not actually come up with as many as you believe there to be in your head. :hippy:

[DaBudhaStank]

I'm kind of surprised that people actually STILL protest. I mean, your prostests dont mean anything. There really isn't any point in screaming if everyone you want to listen has ear plugs in. THEY. DO. NOT. CARE. ABOUT. YOU. I'll say this right now; if you honestly think that what you think or do makes the slightest bit of difference in how the country is operated and run, you're a damn fool.

The only ones who have even a tiny bit of influence on what happens in this country are politicians, and they aren't actually people in the first place.

[Psycho4Bud]

2 days in a row, the republican convention is acting like nazis go hitler

what happened to the right to protest
and what happened to freedom of press

What happened to the rights of shop owners that had their window busted out?
What happened to the rights of the tax payers that had street benches destroyed?
What happened to the rights of the cops that were attacked on day one?

There is the right to have a "peaceful" protest, NOT to go on a rage of destruction to innocent people or their property. To bad the shop owners didn't exercise their rights to protect their property.

If a group of assholes decided to go into your yard, bust out the windows to your house, beat on your car; what would you do?

Have a good one!:jointsmile:

[flyingimam]

What happened to the rights of shop owners that had their window busted out?
What happened to the rights of the tax payers that had street benches destroyed?
What happened to the rights of the cops that were attacked on day one?

There is the right to have a "peaceful" protest, NOT to go on a rage of destruction to innocent people or their property. To bad the shop owners didn't exercise their rights to protect their property.

If a group of assholes decided to go into your yard, bust out the windows to your house, beat on your car; what would you do?

Have a good one!:jointsmile:

all this is true, but sometimes as i have been witness a number of peaceful protests, police are the ones who kinda trigger the violence by preventing the crowd from peacefully getting passed a certain point or by pushing the crowd to stay in a certain area or street... and i gotta admit some hot headed youngsters or extremists get aggravated by such acts and then things escalate...

that said, many times rioters start shit up, so one must check all the events to blame some1 for violence... still i dont find damaging public or private property any useful to make a point, unless its a brutal revolution that sweeps everyone and everything at the moment! thats how revolutions are sadly, explosive!