Comments on: NATO protests in Chicago: Police van drives into protesters, web video reporters detained, held at gunpoint (photos+video)

By: lilbear68

lilbear68 — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:47:00 +0000

nothin will happen till ya set stuff on fire

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:41:00 +0000

How so?

I read the article and all it really reveals is that the policeman managed to get a concussion while driving a van through a crowd. Sounds less likely than sustaining injury from being run over by a van, maybe that’s just me.

Did it agitate the crowd? Of course it bloody did.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:34:00 +0000

When I was in school we learnt that mowing down people was stupid, illegal, and dangerous.

How was authoritarian school?

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:24:00 +0000

Victim blaming, classy.

Like that time a ran over an old lady – but it’s ok cause I honked my horn at least 5 times first – HER FAULT!

By: WHITE DRAGON

WHITE DRAGON — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:10:00 +0000

I think the difference is that today, the 50 trust fund anarchists are hooked up to millions of lap tops and smart-phones owned by people who agree with them. If I were a pool or 1%er , I’d be nervous.

By: hantz

hantz — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:05:00 +0000

when i was at protests i learned that police and even ambulance vehicles just drove through the crowd intentionally (who usually let them pass) just to disperse the crowd. I have to say in Germany its a common tactic and nothing unusual and people do know that. its not even about violence in that cases… people know that tactic is used by the police. …
The sad thing about this event is that everybody just talks about violence or no violence but not about why the protesters were there and why there are explicit reasons to even protest against the NATO. The decisions made in the past. (also concerning behavior of local and foreign police towards crowds is a sad development )… people should read into what the NATO is actually doing, and why it still exists. Its Resources and insurrection control. Simply defined by the status quo of western society. And this is done without conspiracy or whatever.
One thing this incident made clear again. The media still wont cover the topic and take it apart ( 4th power in state) … its just to boring and u wont get clicks or readers. …

By: travtastic

travtastic — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:59:00 +0000

When I was in school, I learned to always blame every victim.

By: Scott Frazer

Scott Frazer — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:52:00 +0000

Nah, there were actual Molotovs involved, but now the defendants are saying it was entrapment.

“The undercover officers, known to the defendants as “Mo” and “Gloves,” say they were with the defendants when they made the explosives and discussed the attacks. They say the men bought fuel, poured it into beer bottles and cut up bandanas for fuses.”

http://chicagoist.com/2012/05/21/terror_suspects_claim_entrapment_by.php

These guys were also trying about 16 other people to help create distraction raids on other properties to keep the police busy.

Out of the tens of thousands of peaceful legitimate protesters, they arrested some that seem they were actually here to do harm. Does it shock you that there might people willing to plan such a thing? Or do you just immediately distrust any arrest whatsoever?

By: Scott R

Scott R — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:11:00 +0000

The facts might be a bit more complicated than presented here.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-20/news/ct-met-nato-police-van-0521-20120521_1_police-van-protesters-police-violence

By: benenglish

benenglish — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:54:00 +0000

To both Jim Saul and occupyordie: I wasn’t asking about black block-whatevers. The person blocking the camera in the video (female, black bike helmet, face visible so apparently not trying to hide her identity) appeared to simply be one of the protesters holding back the crowd so that the injured person could receive aid. Yet she didn’t try, initially, to move the photographer out of the perimeter for the safety of the injured. As her first, instinctive act, she threw her hand in front of the lens to stop the photography. He was clearly further away than some other spectators and did not need to be moved but, after blocking his lens, she then (it appears) told the photographer to move and closed the perimeter with him outside of it.

He moved without an argument. I would not have been so polite. I almost certainly would not have punched her in the throat but the thought would have crossed my mind. I definitely would, somehow, have found a way to deeply impress upon her that her actions were extremely uncool.

By: Jim Saul

Jim Saul — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:41:00 +0000

What is dishonest is any suggestion that they are on the same side as the occupy movement, which is all about visibility.

If they didn’t want to disrupt visible protests, they would act out their violent tactics elsewhere, and they wouldn’t be targeting citizen communications.

They are seeking the spotlight.

By: occupyordie

occupyordie — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:32:00 +0000

I dont think it matters honestly, we’re imprisoning people without charges, we have state endorsed torture, we have state sanctioned killings of our own citizens (not to mention other countries’) Whether we are any “better” or “worse” than China is completely irrelevant save for the fact that people are making the comparison at all–when that has begun, it should give you a pretty clear idea that we’re heading in a very fucked up direction.

By: occupyordie

occupyordie — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:28:00 +0000

Blocking photographers is incredibly honest about their “message”, the whole IDEA of a black block is to be as unidentifiable as possible, this is simply a response to the fact that with the proliferation of media and media technology, police departments and the state are using media documentation to identify masked folks… I’m not sure what part of this you find to be dishonest. You might be offended by it, but it is nothing if not honest and perfectly in line with their actions.

By: Pickleschlitz

Pickleschlitz — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:16:00 +0000

When I was in school, I learned that when an emergency vehicle approaches with lights and siren, you get out of the way so it can pass.

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:08:00 +0000

lol. You may want use “the google” and read about what NATO is and does.

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:06:00 +0000

I vote Green and shout in the street.

By: brerrabbit23

brerrabbit23 — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:21:00 +0000

You’ve no way of knowing.

By: hantz

hantz — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:16:00 +0000

http://www.rt.com/news/greek-police-vote-nazis-350/

http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/05/11/more-than-half-of-police-officers-voted-for-neo-nazi-party/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dawn_%28Greece%29#Allegations_of_connections_to_the_Greek_Police

http://blog.occupiedlondon.org/2012/03/31/nazis-and-plolice-have-started-a-mass-operation-in-the-centre-of-athens-targeting-people-of-colour-and-antifascists-30-new-detention-centres-to-be-built-by-the-government-in-greece/

By: Baldhead

Baldhead — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:13:00 +0000

Given that this and other video footage shows people actively trying to impede the movement of police vehicles, it’s safe to say that there was no way around them- they were making it their business to be in the way.

By: Jim Saul

Jim Saul — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:58:00 +0000

There have been increasing numbers of reports coming out of protests all over the place of black-bloc attacking photographers specifically. One way to interpret that is that a hooligan is afraid of getting identified by cops in the photos.

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/05/07/black-bloc-occupiers-turn-violent-against-photographers/

Another way to see it might be hooligans afraid of getting identified AS cops in the photos. Either way, anyone trying to block photographers is presumably not honest about their intentions and message.

By: Jim Saul

Jim Saul — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:49:00 +0000

I’ve been there only a few times, and apparently I haven’t been to the right parts.

Do the bike patrols have vintage 1970′s schwinns with baseball cards clothes-pinned to the wheel mounts? Or do they just use unicycles?

By: Marja Erwin

Marja Erwin — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:44:00 +0000

… If you want to get in on the corruption, then running for office makes sense. If you want to end the corruption, then it doesn’t.

By: Marja Erwin

Marja Erwin — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:17:00 +0000

If gazpacho soup can become “pepper spray,” then beer can become “molotov cocktails.” Or they can just plant evidence, like they did to Simon Chapman.

By: donovan acree

donovan acree — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:53:00 +0000

This is Mario Savio http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8j1WmNXke-A/Td56bjKG6VI/AAAAAAAAMVM/lbx_EVJM-yo/s400/sproul%2Bplaza.jpg
He is standing on top of a police car during a protest. The police car is surrounded by the protestors. The police were not stupid enough to try to move it.

Ask yourself why that van went IN to the crowd in the first place.

By: donovan acree

donovan acree — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:47:00 +0000

@twitter-582160128:disqus ” I’m sure there was a permit filed with the City for this protest”
So, it’s your contention that we need permission to exercise our right to assemble? As I remember it, our First Amendment says otherwise.
You don’t need permission to exercise a right. That’s why they are called rights.

By: Ted Hurley

Ted Hurley — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:36:00 +0000

Dressing in a way so as to hide one’s identity sounds like the opposite of attention whoring.

By: shadowfirebird

shadowfirebird — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:10:00 +0000

inorite?

—– Original message —–

By: Adventures and Japes

Adventures and Japes — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:59:00 +0000

HOW do we know that? Exit polls?
Yuck though.

By: Scott Frazer

Scott Frazer — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:34:00 +0000

I’m not sure how you can entrap a dude into making Molotov cocktails, though.

“Seriously, I’m really thirsty and my car ran out of gas, get a case of beer, drink half of them and bring me some gas in the empties.”

By: anharmyenone

anharmyenone — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:22:00 +0000

The TEA Party movement started out with vague protests, then evolved to organized protests with speeches and specific policy proposals, then evolved to grassroots get-out-the-vote and targeted support in strategic elections (talk to people in the Wisconsin recall about the army of TEA Party volunteers and the deluge of financial contributions small and large from TEA Party people across the country). People in Wisconsin trying to recall Gov. Walker WISH that the TEA Party movement were more like anti-NATO or anti-globalization or Occupy protesters. (To be fair there are exceptions in every movement.) If you want results, it’s time to make like a Pokemon and evolve.