Comments on: Germany: Riot police clear Occupy Frankfurt (photo) http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Fri, 24 May 2013 21:01:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Ipo http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427857 Ipo Fri, 18 May 2012 21:32:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427857 Watson is not liable for extradition to Japan as Japan does not have extradition treaties with Germany or Costa Rica.  Still, that's fishy.  In 2002 a Costa Rican judge dismissed the charges after documentary footage revealed no wrong-doing.  The charges, however, were re-issued in October, 2011. Watson is not liable for extradition to Japan as Japan does not have extradition treaties with Germany or Costa Rica. 
Still, that’s fishy. 
In 2002 a Costa Rican judge dismissed the charges after documentary footage revealed no wrong-doing. 
The charges, however, were re-issued in October, 2011.

]]> By: Antinous / Moderator http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427822 Antinous / Moderator Fri, 18 May 2012 20:57:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427822 <blockquote>feel free to find another job.</blockquote>And some people would do that rather than violate the civil and human rights of their fellow citizens.

feel free to find another job.

And some people would do that rather than violate the civil and human rights of their fellow citizens.

]]> By: Ipo http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427817 Ipo Fri, 18 May 2012 20:51:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427817 Occupy protests attracted its large share of chronic troublemakers, some of which got paint on their uniforms. Occupy protests attracted its large share of chronic troublemakers, some of which got paint on their uniforms.

]]> By: rexfury http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427573 rexfury Fri, 18 May 2012 16:12:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427573  The thin blue line is the thin blue line, and your friend will never have to answer the call to defend a colleague and friend against accusations from a third party.  But all of this tends to ignore the fact that as a policeman, when a lawful order to remove people from a protest, you're contractually bound to follow that order or feel free to find another job. Also, American Police don't see themselves as separate from society, but they're usually in contact with the worst, most violent and depressingly poor and ignorant parts of society, not to mention targetted.  They're paranoid and sometimes more inclined to act with wilful intent due to a misguided sense of 'right' and occasionally ignore sociopaths in their ranks, but they're still largely bound with keeping society together.  The thin blue line is the thin blue line, and your friend will never have to answer the call to defend a colleague and friend against accusations from a third party.  But all of this tends to ignore the fact that as a policeman, when a lawful order to remove people from a protest, you’re contractually bound to follow that order or feel free to find another job.

Also, American Police don’t see themselves as separate from society, but they’re usually in contact with the worst, most violent and depressingly poor and ignorant parts of society, not to mention targetted.  They’re paranoid and sometimes more inclined to act with wilful intent due to a misguided sense of ‘right’ and occasionally ignore sociopaths in their ranks, but they’re still largely bound with keeping society together.

]]> By: donovan acree http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427474 donovan acree Fri, 18 May 2012 14:25:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427474  It's true. I am jobbist. I feel that anyone who seeks to become a cop is probably an ass-hat. Non-asshat cops are most likely a myth or at best they are new recruits who have yet to be fully initiated in to the ways of thuggery, abuse, and cover up.  It’s true. I am jobbist. I feel that anyone who seeks to become a cop is probably an ass-hat. Non-asshat cops are most likely a myth or at best they are new recruits who have yet to be fully initiated in to the ways of thuggery, abuse, and cover up.

]]> By: donovan acree http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427463 donovan acree Fri, 18 May 2012 14:19:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427463 Cheap bait? You can try to defend German police if you want to. I advise you educate yourself on the truth, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR23/002/2010/en/a713144c-f16a-4a12-84c1-2b9b6ecae901/eur230022010en.pdf According to the Amnesty International report they do torture and kill those in detention. I never said the USA was any better. It's probably much much worse. But pretending that there isn't a systemic problem within the German police is simply incorrect. Finally, the use of firearms is not at issue here. That's just a red herring. What is at issue, is the systemic problems of abuse and cover up in the German police system. Cheap bait? You can try to defend German police if you want to. I advise you educate yourself on the truth,
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR23/002/2010/en/a713144c-f16a-4a12-84c1-2b9b6ecae901/eur230022010en.pdf
According to the Amnesty International report they do torture and kill those in detention. I never said the USA was any better. It’s probably much much worse. But pretending that there isn’t a systemic problem within the German police is simply incorrect. Finally, the use of firearms is not at issue here. That’s just a red herring. What is at issue, is the systemic problems of abuse and cover up in the German police system.

]]> By: Fnordius http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427278 Fnordius Fri, 18 May 2012 07:29:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427278 Living in Munich I have to disagree. Though the Munich cops have a reputation for being rough, they have learned their lesson after the famous Munich Kettle incident at a G8 conference. Providing security for the annual Munich Security Conference and having to deal with 100 skinheads versus 3000 protesters has also sharpened their sense of what is allowed and what isn't. Not to say that there won't be abuses, but not at the level we have seen in New York and Oakland. EDIT: It was a G7 conference in 1992, not G20 as I originally wrote. Living in Munich I have to disagree. Though the Munich cops have a reputation for being rough, they have learned their lesson after the famous Munich Kettle incident at a G8 conference. Providing security for the annual Munich Security Conference and having to deal with 100 skinheads versus 3000 protesters has also sharpened their sense of what is allowed and what isn’t.

Not to say that there won’t be abuses, but not at the level we have seen in New York and Oakland.

EDIT: It was a G7 conference in 1992, not G20 as I originally wrote.

]]> By: LennStar http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427260 LennStar Fri, 18 May 2012 06:48:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427260 A park is a place where people come together to do things that people do if they come together. But first of all it is an open space, a center of what beeing a citizen means. And if citizens feel the need to protest something crappy whith simply beeing there in the open space, well, thats what the name comes from. From the latin civis which is the same as the greek polites, which meant  "to participate  in decisions and ruling". A park is a place where people come together to do things that people do if they come together.
But first of all it is an open space, a center of what beeing a citizen means. And if citizens feel the need to protest something crappy whith simply beeing there in the open space, well, thats what the name comes from.
From the latin civis which is the same as the greek polites, which meant  “to participate  in decisions and ruling”.

]]> By: benher http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427252 benher Fri, 18 May 2012 06:24:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427252 This weekend is going to be awesome. This weekend is going to be awesome.

]]> By: Cowicide http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427222 Cowicide Fri, 18 May 2012 05:03:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427222 " ... occupy attracted its <b>small</b> share of chronic troublemakers. ... " Fixed that for you. ” … occupy attracted its small share of chronic troublemakers. … ”

Fixed that for you.

]]> By: Rachael Hoffman-Dachelet http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427114 Rachael Hoffman-Dachelet Fri, 18 May 2012 02:04:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427114 Germany is just as subject to baloney conservatism as the US is.  However, there is much much much less of the "othering" in Germany than in the US, people with blue color jobs are socially just as respected as people with academic jobs.  One of my closest childhood friends is a German police woman, and she is a smart, liberal, well-read, compassionate woman.  She sees herself as a part of society, and my impression is that American police see themselves as separate from, or above, the rest of society.  Which is not to say that Germans don't love order and some are jerks, but I don't think that you can compare German police to American police, even a little. Germany is just as subject to baloney conservatism as the US is.  However, there is much much much less of the “othering” in Germany than in the US, people with blue color jobs are socially just as respected as people with academic jobs.  One of my closest childhood friends is a German police woman, and she is a smart, liberal, well-read, compassionate woman.  She sees herself as a part of society, and my impression is that American police see themselves as separate from, or above, the rest of society.  Which is not to say that Germans don’t love order and some are jerks, but I don’t think that you can compare German police to American police, even a little.

]]> By: LikesTurtles http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427099 LikesTurtles Fri, 18 May 2012 01:52:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427099 Depends on the individual protesters. Like any protest, occupy attracted its share of chronic troublemakers. There are some people who have a permanent 'f... the police' attitude or are against the who concept of policing. Depends on the individual protesters. Like any protest, occupy attracted its share of chronic troublemakers. There are some people who have a permanent ‘f… the police’ attitude or are against the who concept of policing.

]]> By: LikesTurtles http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1427097 LikesTurtles Fri, 18 May 2012 01:49:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1427097 Occupy in each city is a bit different but for quite a few, two of the biggest issues were the right to have settlements in the parks for as long as anyone wanted to stay there and 3am bongo playing.  Sounds silly but Google 'occupy bongos' and you'll find it was an issue at an amazing number of the occupy sites.  None of this means that occupy was about nothing but turing parks into housing developments and bongo centers. Read the message boards/twitter feeds of just about any occupy group and you'll see that there was quite a bit of disagreement in the ranks about these issues. It was common enough though that it has become one of the defining characteristics of occupy groups as perceived by the public. Occupy in each city is a bit different but for quite a few, two of the biggest issues were the right to have settlements in the parks for as long as anyone wanted to stay there and 3am bongo playing.  Sounds silly but Google ‘occupy bongos’ and you’ll find it was an issue at an amazing number of the occupy sites.  None of this means that occupy was about nothing but turing parks into housing developments and bongo centers. Read the message boards/twitter feeds of just about any occupy group and you’ll see that there was quite a bit of disagreement in the ranks about these issues. It was common enough though that it has become one of the defining characteristics of occupy groups as perceived by the public.

]]> By: hymenopterid http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426984 hymenopterid Thu, 17 May 2012 23:17:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426984 I don't think the sole point is that people should be allowed to live in parks.  I think the parks are being used as staging areas so that people can assemble and discuss ideas which are not commonly addressed through traditional political channels.  In that light I don't see it as being too different from other impromptu political assemblies.  The Constitutional Convention and the Oath of the Tennis Court come to mind. I don’t think the sole point is that people should be allowed to live in parks.  I think the parks are being used as staging areas so that people can assemble and discuss ideas which are not commonly addressed through traditional political channels.  In that light I don’t see it as being too different from other impromptu political assemblies.  The Constitutional Convention and the Oath of the Tennis Court come to mind.

]]> By: teapot http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426981 teapot Thu, 17 May 2012 23:14:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426981 Don't mean to hijack this  thread but Germany is doing dodgy shit these days. Sad to not see anything on BB about them arresting Paul Watson on behalf of the government of Costa Rica for an incident that happened 10 years ago which did not cause any injuries or property damage. I'd expect Germany to have enough balls not to do the Japan's bidding. Lame Germany, Lame. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/sea-shepherd-leader-fears-for-his-life-20120517-1ys4h.html Don’t mean to hijack this  thread but Germany is doing dodgy shit these days. Sad to not see anything on BB about them arresting Paul Watson on behalf of the government of Costa Rica for an incident that happened 10 years ago which did not cause any injuries or property damage. I’d expect Germany to have enough balls not to do the Japan’s bidding. Lame Germany, Lame.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/sea-shepherd-leader-fears-for-his-life-20120517-1ys4h.html

]]> By: Zak McKracken http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426978 Zak McKracken Thu, 17 May 2012 23:11:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426978 That "history" comparison is crap. Still, there are cases of just the same type of behaviour we're seeing from riot police around the world. Water-hosing and pepper spraying people for no reason, and worse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qK8FNSapCA Before the G8 Summit in Germany in 2007, several people were arrested and their computers confiscated on terrorism charges because they were probably planning (nonviolent!) protests, and I personally almost witnessed (it happend just minutes after i passed the spot) a cossroads being hosed, with tens of injured. The good news is that the two policemen in the video above _have_ been punished (although no enough, some say), and the guy responsible for the water-hosing in my town was at least demoted. Everyone trying to decide whether "German Policemen are good" or "evil" is . .. jobbist? Like racist, only with jobs. "The Police" consists of individuals, and some of them are assholes, some are angels, most are just trying to get along. As a Policemen in Germany there's a lot more than I like that you can get away with, but you can't get away with everything. At least. And I think there's a certain amount of realization within the Police that protesters are individual people, too. Which is why I'd like protesters to realize that the same goes for policemen. EDIT: I just read a bit about how the clearing went and a few other details. Not nice. It's amazing what lengths authorities will go to in order to conform to stereotypes. That “history” comparison is crap.
Still, there are cases of just the same type of behaviour we’re seeing from riot police around the world. Water-hosing and pepper spraying people for no reason, and worse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qK8FNSapCA

Before the G8 Summit in Germany in 2007, several people were arrested and their computers confiscated on terrorism charges because they were probably planning (nonviolent!) protests, and I personally almost witnessed (it happend just minutes after i passed the spot) a cossroads being hosed, with tens of injured.

The good news is that the two policemen in the video above _have_ been punished (although no enough, some say), and the guy responsible for the water-hosing in my town was at least demoted.

Everyone trying to decide whether “German Policemen are good” or “evil” is . .. jobbist? Like racist, only with jobs. “The Police” consists of individuals, and some of them are assholes, some are angels, most are just trying to get along. As a Policemen in Germany there’s a lot more than I like that you can get away with, but you can’t get away with everything. At least. And I think there’s a certain amount of realization within the Police that protesters are individual people, too. Which is why I’d like protesters to realize that the same goes for policemen.

EDIT: I just read a bit about how the clearing went and a few other details. Not nice. It’s amazing what lengths authorities will go to in order to conform to stereotypes.

]]> By: Zak McKracken http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426967 Zak McKracken Thu, 17 May 2012 22:54:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426967 Agreed. Whether it was right or not to clear the site (the protesters lost several court cases trying to have their demonstration allowed), the police consists of people too, and they don't love this type of job. So I think it's fair to show respect to these people and in turn be able to expect respect from them. I don't think I like this paint thing. I _am_ sure I would like this paint thing as a kind of retaliation against policemen who overstep the line. But in this case ... you can't punish the police for being the police. I want nicer people to join the police, so be nice to them as long as they are. Agreed.
Whether it was right or not to clear the site (the protesters lost several court cases trying to have their demonstration allowed), the police consists of people too, and they don’t love this type of job.
So I think it’s fair to show respect to these people and in turn be able to expect respect from them. I don’t think I like this paint thing.

I _am_ sure I would like this paint thing as a kind of retaliation against policemen who overstep the line. But in this case … you can’t punish the police for being the police. I want nicer people to join the police, so be nice to them as long as they are.

]]> By: Laura http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426963 Laura Thu, 17 May 2012 22:50:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426963 The article in the Frankfurter Rundschau sigdrifa linked to is a pretty good report on what happened, why it happened, and how different parties affected by the protest evaluate what happened, something that I have not found in the context of any US based protest so far. It says that over the last couple of days several hundred (at some protests 300, at others 700) people demonstrated peacefully without permission. Police presence was massive, but only very rarely the police became active. One time the police protected the protesters from an attack of six presumably right-wing extremists. The protester seen in the image was arrested along with two others because they splattered the police with paint. On Saturday, a permitted mass protest will take place. Although commenters on the article state that they are surprised/shocked by the violent police tactics, I know that the Germans are very very sensitive to police violence or any kind of power abuse by authorities and I assume that whatever happened doesn't compare at all to the level of violence applied by the NYPD. (I am a German living in NYC and an occupier.) The article in the Frankfurter Rundschau sigdrifa linked to is a pretty good report on what happened, why it happened, and how different parties affected by the protest evaluate what happened, something that I have not found in the context of any US based protest so far. It says that over the last couple of days several hundred (at some protests 300, at others 700) people demonstrated peacefully without permission. Police presence was massive, but only very rarely the police became active. One time the police protected the protesters from an attack of six presumably right-wing extremists. The protester seen in the image was arrested along with two others because they splattered the police with paint. On Saturday, a permitted mass protest will take place.
Although commenters on the article state that they are surprised/shocked by the violent police tactics, I know that the Germans are very very sensitive to police violence or any kind of power abuse by authorities and I assume that whatever happened doesn’t compare at all to the level of violence applied by the NYPD.
(I am a German living in NYC and an occupier.)

]]> By: Spriggan_Prime http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426933 Spriggan_Prime Thu, 17 May 2012 22:26:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426933  Thank you!  Thank you!

]]> By: Antinous / Moderator http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426897 Antinous / Moderator Thu, 17 May 2012 21:42:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426897 Can't tell if intentional reference to Greased Pig Contest. Can’t tell if intentional reference to Greased Pig Contest.

]]> By: hassan-i-sabbah http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426877 hassan-i-sabbah Thu, 17 May 2012 21:17:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426877 Santorum! Santorum!

]]> By: ffabian http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426876 ffabian Thu, 17 May 2012 21:11:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426876 "Historically, the Germans have not exactly been known for their compassion or regard for humanity." I'll take your (rather cheap) bait. Do you really want to compare the police of the FRG (with a democratic tradition of more than 65 years) to gassing jews in Auschwitz?  When comparing different countries policies against fascist Germany you should have a good look at the post-9/11 USA. At least in Germany they don't torture or kill or hold secret trials or use indefinite detention anymore. They learned from their past - a trait the US seem to miss entirely. Also: BB Article: German police fired 85 bullets in 2011 http://boingboing.net/2012/05/09/german-police-fired-85-bullets.html “Historically, the Germans have not exactly been known for their compassion or regard for humanity.”
I’ll take your (rather cheap) bait. Do you really want to compare the police of the FRG (with a democratic tradition of more than 65 years) to gassing jews in Auschwitz? 

When comparing different countries policies against fascist Germany you should have a good look at the post-9/11 USA. At least in Germany they don’t torture or kill or hold secret trials or use indefinite detention anymore. They learned from their past – a trait the US seem to miss entirely.

Also: BB Article: German police fired 85 bullets in 2011 http://boingboing.net/2012/05/09/german-police-fired-85-bullets.html

]]> By: RedShirt77 http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426866 RedShirt77 Thu, 17 May 2012 21:00:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426866 The occupy needs a new tactic, the protests have become too tied to a debate on if people should be able to live in parks. And really I think the answer is no, people should not be allowed to live in parks. It defeats the point of a park. On the other hand wealth inequality Is a big and important issue that is getting lost in the jobs or gay marriage debate that consumes our national discourse. The occupy needs a new tactic, the protests have become too tied to a debate on if people should be able to live in parks. And really I think the answer is no, people should not be allowed to live in parks. It defeats the point of a park. On the other hand wealth inequality Is a big and important issue that is getting lost in the jobs or gay marriage debate that consumes our national discourse.

]]> By: xian http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426858 xian Thu, 17 May 2012 20:39:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426858 I'd like to see the vaseline or crisco form of this protest. I’d like to see the vaseline or crisco form of this protest.

]]> By: nox http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426849 nox Thu, 17 May 2012 20:26:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426849 Almost makes you wonder if they realize the irony of them disassembling a group of protesters arguably on their side.   Almost makes you wonder if they realize the irony of them disassembling a group of protesters arguably on their side.  

]]> By: sigdrifa http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426843 sigdrifa Thu, 17 May 2012 20:22:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426843 I find the whole thing particularly disturbing since I lived in Frankfurt for 9 years. Moved away a little over three years ago, but I still feel connected with the city in a way. I look at the pictures and I think, oh my God, I know where that is. Been there lots of times... I find the whole thing particularly disturbing since I lived in Frankfurt for 9 years. Moved away a little over three years ago, but I still feel connected with the city in a way. I look at the pictures and I think, oh my God, I know where that is. Been there lots of times…

]]> By: sigdrifa http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426834 sigdrifa Thu, 17 May 2012 20:17:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426834 More pictures here: http://www.fr-online.de/blockupy-frankfurt/blockupy-proteste-polizei-raeumt-den-roemerberg,15402798,16061306.html (article in German, but a slideshow is embedded.) More pictures here: http://www.fr-online.de/blockupy-frankfurt/blockupy-proteste-polizei-raeumt-den-roemerberg,15402798,16061306.html (article in German, but a slideshow is embedded.)

]]> By: bcsizemo http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426833 bcsizemo Thu, 17 May 2012 20:15:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426833 They could have at least turned the fire hose on them.  I bet that paint is going to feel real good once it's hard and crunchy. -that's like half sarcasm...I hope the police at least hose them down some before putting them in lock up. They could have at least turned the fire hose on them.  I bet that paint is going to feel real good once it’s hard and crunchy.
-that’s like half sarcasm…I hope the police at least hose them down some before putting them in lock up.

]]> By: donovan acree http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426823 donovan acree Thu, 17 May 2012 20:05:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426823 I'll take that. Betting that the German police will abuse and use excessive force is a no brainer.  Amnesty International has already released the report 'Unknown Assailant - Insufficient investigation into alleged ill-treatment by police in Germany' in regards to 3 deaths and 12 cases of abuse following police action. Historically, the Germans have not exactly been known for their compassion or regard for humanity. I’ll take that. Betting that the German police will abuse and use excessive force is a no brainer.  Amnesty International has already released the report ‘Unknown Assailant – Insufficient investigation into alleged ill-treatment by police in Germany’ in regards to 3 deaths and 12 cases of abuse following police action. Historically, the Germans have not exactly been known for their compassion or regard for humanity.

]]> By: Noctilucent Studios http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/riot-police-clear-occupy-frank.html#comment-1426804 Noctilucent Studios Thu, 17 May 2012 19:47:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=161510#comment-1426804 Agreed...a fantastic form of protest. Here's hoping it spreads! Agreed…a fantastic form of protest. Here’s hoping it spreads!

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