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This just in from: Call Mayor Chris Coleman: 651-266-8510 We are sending you this message because the situation in St. Paul is very grave and we're concerned that the real story is not being told by the mainstream media. Over the past few days, the heavily armed and extremely large police presence in St. Paul has intimidated, harassed and provoked people; and, in a number of instances, the police have escalated situations when they used excessive force. They have used pepper spray, including spraying at least one person just inches from her face as she was held down on the ground by several police officers. They have freely swung their extra long night sticks, pushed people around, rode horses and bicycles up against peacefully gathered groups, and surrounded people simply walking down the streets. On Tuesday evening, they used tear gas on a small group of protesters in downtown St. Paul. The massive police presence and the uncalled-for actions by the police on the streets has not been the only problem. The police raided a convergence center and several locations where people are staying over the weekend and they have stopped and searched vehicles for no clear reason. On Tuesday afternoon, they literally pulled the plug and turned off the electricity at a permitted outdoor concert. The timing of this led to a situation where hundreds of understandably angry people ended up joining a march being led by the Poor Peoples Campaign for Economic Human Rights, a march that organizers were insisting be nonviolent. In other words, the police set up a dynamic that could have turned ugly, but the skill of the organizers kept things calm and focused. All of this - and much more - needs to be understood in the context of the overwhelming presence of police. Police from all around the Twin Cities have been put to work, and they have also brought in police units from around Minnesota and from as far away as Philadelphia, PA. The National Guard and state troopers are in the mix, to say nothing of the Secret Service, Homeland Security and who knows who else from the federal government! We are very concerned about what this all means about the right to protest, the right to assemble, and the right to have one's dissenting voice heard. We are worried about what it means about the growing militarization of our nation and the ongoing assault on the Constitution. We shudder to think about how the influx of new weapons and armed vehicles and everything else will be used in the neighborhoods of St. Paul and Denver: both communities each received $50 million from Homeland Security to purchase the equipment and pay for the policing during the conventions. There are still two more days of the Republican Convention in St. Paul -- two more days of protest and possibilities of police misconduct, over-reaction, and excessive use of force. We urge you to call the Mayor of St. Paul right now! Let him know that people around the country know what's happening! Urge him to stand up for the Constitution and to take action to end the militarization of the downtown areas of his city! Urge him to reign in the police and help bring civility to the streets of St. Paul! Mayor Chris Coleman: 651-266-8510 And call your local media outlets to demand that they tell the real story of what's happening in St. Paul this week. Peace, Leslie Cagan, UFPJ National Coordinator The Editorial Board of OpEdNews calls for immediate action. Write your newspapers, your Members of Congress, and most importantly, call the political authorities in St. Paul and demand the police brutality in St. Paul cease and desist immediately. We've set up an action page - with just some quick information and a few clicks, we'll send the letter for you. In the first comment to this article, we've provided several Minnesota phone numbers. FreePress.net has also called for your signatures, acquiring 38,000 so far, which they will send to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, St. Paul City Attorney John Choi, and the Host Committee of the Republican National Convention. Sign the Letter: Drop All Charges Against Journalists. Seventeen year old Keith, a pacifist his mother says would "never hurt anyone" experienced what it is to assert his First Amendment rights in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Republican National Convention yesterday. Paul Schmelzer reports: Smith-Tourville is seeking legal advice from Coldsnap Legal Collective. They told her that as a minor, state law says that Keith should've been put in contact with his parents. "Keith repeatedly asked to call his parents," she says. "He said he can't even count how many times he said, 'Can I call my parents?'" End the brutality now. In 2004, Rady Ananda joined the growing community of citizen journalists. Initially focused on elections, she investigated the 2004 Ohio election, organizing, training and leading several forays into counties to photograph the 2004 ballots. She officially served at three recounts, including the 2004 recount. She also organized and led the team that audited Franklin County Ohio's 2006 election, proving the number of signatures did not match official results. Her work appears in three books.
Her blogs also address religious, gender, sexual and racial equality, as well as environmental issues; and are sprinkled with book and film reviews on various topics. She spent most of her working life as a legal investigator for private lawyers, and five years as an editor. She currently serves as a senior editor at OpEdNews.
All material offered here is the property of Rady Ananda, copyright 2006, 2007, 2008. Permission is granted to repost, with proper attribution including the original link.
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." Tell the truth anyway.
And The FBI Ordered It! I feel sure that the FBI's involvement was mandated by Homeland Security. Over the years, I know that the FBI has spied on several non-violent groups, however, unless the dynamic at the FBI has changed, they were ordered to conduct these illegal surveillances by senior FBI Brass, likely ordered by DHS or the White House itself. The FBI is one of the few stand-up law enforcement agencies we have, and I die a little inside when I see them involve themselves in illegal activities. I used to work with them, and based on personal knowledge, they were the most professional and strict agency in the federal register, and actually mumbled in anger when they were assigned to tasks that they didn't belong in the purview of the FBI. We need new leadership, and St Paul sends the chill bumps of fascism down the backs of anyone that is watching and witnessing the behavior that is befitting Russia or China. This is not the Unite States I grew up in, and you can't tell me that one attack by radical Islamists has essentially won the war on terror by allowing the US to tumble into fascism as a reaction to an attack that Americans are ready to accept as well as we can and begin the task of revitalizing our country. Bush and Cheney are still poking Russia, they blew the North Korea nuclear disarmament, are trying to start a war with Iran and it's time to run them out of office before World War III is on our doorstep. Believe me; they still have plenty of time. William Cormier by
William Cormier (133 articles, 7 quicklinks, 18 diaries, 329 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:09:30 AM
This quote summarizes the nature of my concerns and the content of personal experiences which stir my activism:
Confirming: The FBI *did* order it! Check this out: http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/16960prs20031123.html FBI document and report posted to ACLU's website: FBI document orders the police to curtail protests, calling video taping of police misconduct "intimidation tactics" and "illegal", etc. http://www.opednews.com/articles/FBI-police-ordered-to-curt-by-Kathryn-Smith-080903-477.html The article I wrote containing the above link and further information by
Kathryn Smith (99 articles, 2 quicklinks, 42 diaries, 433 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:41:23 AM
Michael Cavlan , RN, was an Official Green Party Observer for the 2004 Ohio Re-Count.
Greetings From Occupied St Paul Folks I have so much to report but I have been far too busy, running as a Street Medic. for the record, the police are especially targeting independent journalists, street medics and peace keepers. Unbelievable folks, let me tell you. by
Michael Cavlan (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 278 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 3:29:10 AM
electronic technician, truth seeker
Mike Keep up the good work, can't wait for details from you. by
Bob Gormley (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 939 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 6:09:56 AM
I'm a 61year old white guy, Veteran of 66-68, operate my own business with my wife and love to travel. Built a big sailboat in the 70's and went sailing for a few years, which ruined me for real work. Now, I fly hot air balloons for a living. Have been initiated as an Andean Paq'o. Yes, I am a liberal.
Remember Gandi Long ago Gandi proved that peaceful resistance is the only effective way. To sit in front of British troops and not resist being shot until the troops were sickened by the carnage broke the British Army's grip on India. Giving resistance and violence will only provide the excuse for our government to apply more force. That organizers of the protests cannot provide effective leadership and not self-police the idiots that get the news-time negates all of their efforts. Violent efforts to overthrow any government, even if successful....generally winds up with a govenment that was worse than was in place by
Roger (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 392 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 6:13:48 AM
but we just need security for the conventions... we are in a state of emergency, we need to make sure the streets are secure.. C'mon people, you can give up a little freedom for a little security, right? Dr Franklin stated, clearly, that if we allow policies like this to stand, we will lose freedom AND security. Another of his quotes that I use frequently... "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard, to remain stupid." Let's not work hard.... Instead, we need to fight for our freedoms.. ALL of our freedoms, because our government is our servant, NOT our master. Ciao, CZ by
steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 691 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 7:17:36 AM
Whole Heartedly Agree For once Steve I am whole heartedly agreeing with you. by
E. Nelson (26 articles, 2 quicklinks, 24 diaries, 288 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 7:39:16 AM
Midwesterner, veteran of VietNam era naval service, I still feel an obligation to defend the Constitution against "all enemies, foreign and domestic."
It interests me to note... that the term of art used to describe the enemies of plutocracy, "Anarchists", has been resurrected from the last reprehensible Guilded Age. The corporate press are quite content to allow the real enemies of the American people to dictate how they will report these incidents by adopting the line verbatim. Next stop, the Haymarket Riot, replete with unjust executions, and Sacco and Vanzetti from there. How safe are we now, since we've allowed our rights to lapse in the name of security? by
John Sanchez Jr. (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 1292 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 8:37:09 AM
mad bomber anarchists propaganda du jour (and last century, too)... how planning to sit on the street and stop traffic raises to the level of terrorism defies reason. whether we agree or disagree with anarchy, I sense that Nestor has it right when he says that what will be put on trial is their political beliefs, not their dastardly plans to stop traffic. by
Rady Ananda (127 articles, 289 quicklinks, 37 diaries, 1124 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:39:42 PM
I am an American born citizen of the United States of America.
We are screwed We, the patriot movement are screwed. I forced myself to watch the Palin speech last night and her remarks about Obama and his wanting people to have their rights read to them. I mean, WTF!!! Where's Habeas Corpus at in her mind and the minds of the god-dam zombies in that crowd? This is the mentality we're up against and it's nation wide! People, we will be fighting fellow Americans in the war on truth and freedom, period. These people will come out of their houses when we are fighting for their rights and attack us, period! These god-dam zombie sheep will fight for FOX news, period! They have bought into the propaganda machine and the lies and the fake protection from a fake enemy, PERIOD!!! WE ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE HERE!!!! PERIOD............... by
Hal Smith (4 articles, 1 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 67 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 9:03:52 AM
Midwesterner, veteran of VietNam era naval service, I still feel an obligation to defend the Constitution against "all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Take comfort from the fact... that they couldn't fill their convention venue, even for what was likely the most significant speech of the entire production. They wish they were preaching to the choir, it was really more like the octet. by
John Sanchez Jr. (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 1292 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 10:20:59 AM
I just called... no one answered, so it only took 30 seconds or so to leave a message--name and phone number, and expressing concern about the un-American activities I'm reading about and "hopefully the mayor can have a hand in toning things down a bit." by
Daniel Geery (26 articles, 74 quicklinks, 123 diaries, 746 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:10:57 PM
thanks for calling and for the news that no one's answering. this sort of thing makes me wonder where the flashpoint is going to be, if not St. Paul by
Rady Ananda (127 articles, 289 quicklinks, 37 diaries, 1124 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:32:06 PM
I've called several times with different results... Mailbox full. No answer. New office hours: 8am to 3:30pm by
Amanda Lang (23 articles, 13880 quicklinks, 431 diaries, 593 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 4:49:50 PM
hear no evil I guess we were stonewalled; thanks for trying, Amanda. The WSJ, like most MSM, falsely blames the violence on the protesters. I've just seen too many videos to buy that load of crap. This is probably one of the better Uptake videos: Video of Clashes Between St. Paul Police and RNC Protestors Bubble ... now tell me, who looked like they were itching for a fight - fully armed men in riot gear or citizens in shorts and T-shirts? by
Rady Ananda (127 articles, 289 quicklinks, 37 diaries, 1124 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 6:44:23 PM
"It is not enough for a people to gain its liberty. It must secure it. It must not intrust it to the Keeping, or hold it at the pleasure, of any one man. The Keystone of the Royal Arch of the Temple of Liberty is a fundamental law, charter, or constitution; the expression of the fixed habits of thought of the people, embodied in a written instrument, or the result of the slow accretions and the consolidation of centuries; the same in war as in peace; that cannot be hastily changed, nor be violat...
The Wicked Husbandmen "A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." by
Keystone (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 173 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:47:30 PM
a riddle ok, so I can interpret the first part to mean that we citizens have not been involved enough in our democracy, so the thugs took over. and we must take it back, and redistribute the wealth... but I can't figure out what is meant by this part: The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." by
Rady Ananda (127 articles, 289 quicklinks, 37 diaries, 1124 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 5:00:50 PM
randall is a married carpenter in wisconsin very very much an outdoorsman, who's family goes back, over 120 years in the same town in n. wisconsin. who is concerned about global warming after the realization of the major changes in his own town's weather,and knowing nobody can stop it now. whether you believe in GOD or we are just animals something is happening? JUSTIFICATION IS COMMING!!!!!
meaning jesus christ by
skiidogs (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 152 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 6:56:40 PM
Re: St. Paul is a police state - Take Action Now by
Munich (0 articles, 74 quicklinks, 13 diaries, 916 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 2:06:24 PM
Graduate of MIT and Stevens; 50 years as systems engineer on cutting edge projects, civilian and military; Fifth Air Force, WWII; sworn defender of the Constitution
Suggested action E.g. in case of attack on Iran... Don't go into the streets and get detained... Stay home... General strike! by
abacus (2 articles, 2 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 62 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 7:26:36 PM
Jennifer Epps is an anti-war protester, feminist, environmentalist, and activist with the L.A. Area Impeachment Center. She is also a screenwriter, stage director, and former film critic.
This is completely unacceptable but it could get even worse Rady, Thank you so much for posting that dire call for help. It is truly an outrage the full-on police state activities in Minnesota and we cannot allow this to be seen afterwards as any kind of model. So far it seems the Sheriff is nothing but proud of himself. These law enforcement people have to be brought up on charges. There needs to be solidarity protests in the streets in other cities. The police oppression has been so gargantuan, when the number of protesters themselves was so relatively small overall, that it is absolutely not credible that they could have for even a second felt that the protesters actually posed a real threat. I think this is PRACTICE, because if Bush attacks Iran, they are surely also planning concomitant crackdowns on dissent. We must do everything to bring this to the public's attention. And moreover, law enforcement agencies cannot be utilized for political warfare! I think those apathetic Democratic leaders who hide their heads in the sand and whine that Bush hasn't really committed any crimes have to look at who ordered these orchestrated, unconstitutional assaults. AND PROSECUTE. by
Jennifer Epps (4 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 20 comments)
on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 2:57:45 PM |
