maybe several things

Copy of a myspace bulletin a friend of mine put out, here so people without myspace can see it and see these ridiculous and terrifying videos.

maybe you didnt know, but some shit is going down in the twin cities, and did go down last week in Denver.


am i the only one who feels like an ass for going about my day from 9-5 as if nothing is wrong in the country today, then coming home and seeing this? am i the only one who feels like an ass for sitting at my computer feeling disgusted by videos of infringement upon rights and not doing anything about it? cause that's how i feel. i want to do something and i want videos like this first one all over the MSM (main stream media), but i dont know how to make it happen. i need help.



Democracy Now! radio host Amy Goodman and two producers were arrested while covering demonstrations at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn. Goodman was released after being held for over three hours, but is still waiting to hear when Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar would be released.


"They seriously manhandled me and handcuffed my hands behind my back.
The top ID [at the convention] is to get on the floor and the Secret Service ripped that off me. I had my Democracy Now! ID too. I was clearly a reporter.
"


Video of Nicole Salazaar being arrested. This is disturbing.



Before arresting a member of the women's peace group, CODEPINK, police officers here shoved the woman to the ground with a raised baton, left her on the ground in pain for several minutes, and when she began answering questions to reporters nearby, an officer pulled her roughly away by the elbows to arrest her, according to eyewitness accounts at a press conference held outside the jail.



A woman pepper sprayed at close range for a long time.
With one arm and a flower extended, silently and walking cooperatively in the same direction as the policemen, she is sprayed.
Even with her back turned and her hand covering her face, she is still sprayed.


..

..
Watch as these two young journalists are surrounded by cops and...just plain and simple told to sit down and cooperate as they are arrested. I see nothing here but the intent to exercise their first amendment right.



On Wednesday, August 27, police officers brutally arrested two teenage girls, ages 15 and 17, near Senator Obama's Denver hotel.
The young women, Julia Giacopuzzi and Jayne White, were writing messages in sidewalk chalk on the public sidewalk when the police officers rushed in and violently arrested the girls without warning or provocation.


Throughout the DNC, the youth of Survivors were using sidewalk chalk throughout the city of Denver with the permission of City Attorney David Fine and Denver Deputy Chief of Police John Lamb.
It was understood by the young women that sidewalk chalk was an accepted medium, and they were given no warning by the police before being cuffed and dragged away.



Protesters led by an anarchist group face-off with police near the DNC in Denver, CO Monday August 25, 2008. Police in riot gear used tear gas, batons, and other means to subdue the protesters in downtown Denver shutting down city blocks for hours.
Garrett Hubbard/USA TODAY
A loud and one might say obnoxious crowd, depending on your political views, but as one protester says, "non-violent." See for yourself what happens.
Watch at 1:44 as one single man left by himself is surrounded and beaten by officers.



around 4:24...


Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel. Police on the scene refused to tell ABC lawyers the charges against the producer, Asa Eslocker, who works with the ABC News investigative unit.


A cigar-smoking Denver police sergeant, accompanied by a team of five other officers, first put his hands on Eslocker's neck, then twisted the producer's arm behind him to put on handcuffs.





HOW IS THIS OKAY? Admittedly, not all protesters at either convention were peaceful but from what I understand, none of the people in these videos (save the Anarchist group) threatened violence or threatened the safety of the police or other civilians, directly or indirectly.

I hope you read your First Amendment today.


Quotes from bloggers commenting on various articles

"Modern Definition of Martial Law:
Martial law is when military-like actions are taken upon a nations own citizens and constitutional and human rights are violated on a regular basis as part of a standard operating procedure (SOP).


It is when you cannot protest without a "permit" and your freedom of speech is silenced.


It is basically what they call a "police state". It is when the "police" are trained by and act like federal officials/military police rather than the civilian peace keepers they are supposed to be.
"

""as someone who witnessed firsthand the RNC protests and police presence in new york in 2004, i can attest that cops become monsters.
also, ever heard of phil zimbardo?""

""Most of the estimated 10,000 people in the march were peaceful, but small groups that police said numbered about 200 broke windows, slashed tires and harassed delegates.


Source: http://www.
sfgate. com/cgi-bin/article. cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/31/politics/p095313D30.
DTL

... So out of 10,000 people you have the police's own estimate that only a maximum of 2% of them are protesting in unacceptable ways. Call me an apologist but I don't think such a low percentage of douchebaggery requires the amount of excessive force we've seen.
""

"I'm scared. I'm just a teenager and. I mean. I feel torn between being happy to be alive at this time of the world and be scared to death. I feel like we're on an edge in this country; we can either become a police state or we can move past things like this.
"

"Guys, we have to do something about this. The more and more videos I see the more I am sick to my stomach. There has to be something done about police brutality and NOW. We NEED to get stories heard and out to major media and at least try to put an end to all of this bullshit.

It isn't right. I am utterly terrified of the people who are supposed to be protecting me.
"










feel free to pass along. PLEASE pass along. whether obama or mccain or your grandmother becomes our President, this still needs to be addressed. police brutality (and by this i mean the use of unnecessary force) is not a matter of political party.