more than 300 people arrested ahead of time in washington DC for activism

[Wobbo]

Comment

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2285617.stm
BBC


Police in Washington have arrested about 600 people at anti-globalisation demonstrations against meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

There were scuffles and small-scale violence as campaigners took to the streets, chaining themselves together and setting fire to tyres, in the first of an expected three days of protests."This is not a police state, we have a right to demonstrate," protesters shouted, as many of them were penned in by ranks of police clad in riot gear. Protesters have alleged that the violence was started by the police, who tried to arrest peaceful demonstrators.

Among the tactics aimed at disrupting the capital's morning rush hour, demonstrators made hoax calls to the emergency services, staged sit-ins and cycled en masse through the city. Other protesters danced through the streets with mud and leaves smeared on their faces and clothes. However, many commuters heeded advice to avoid driving into the downtown area and, with a few exceptions, traffic flow was unhindered. And finance ministers met without interruption, though surrounded by barricades of police.

- Police presence

A massive police presence has been deployed and the area around the World Bank building has been cordoned off with iron crowd-control barriers.A total of 3,200 police, including 1,700 brought in from other forces, some as far away as Chicago, have been deployed. Between 200 and 300 protesters were arrested near the White House after they staged a drumming protest against a possible attack on Iraq. And early on Friday morning about 65 protesters were charged with rioting after they broke the plate glass window of a Citibank branch and threw smoke bombs in the business district.

- Greenpeace arrest

The District of Columbia police chief warned protesters that anyone caught damaging property would be jailed. "Those people that are apprehended will be missing several protests because they are going to be behind bars," Charles Ramsey said.

Some Washington residents have complained of being manhandled by police despite not being involved in the protest. A high-profile arrest was that of John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace. He said he was merely trying to get to work on his bicycle.

- IMF appeasement

The Anti-Capitalist Convergence, which is organising the protests, called on people to make Friday a day of non-compliance and resistance to help voice their demands for the abolition of the World Bank and IMF. Their numbers have been swelled by opponents of the US threat of war against Iraq.Ahead of the meeting, the IMF seemed to make an attempt to address some of the demonstrators' concerns. Managing director Horst Koehler acknowledged that the benefits of globalisation have not been equally shared, especially within poor countries. "But the objective should not be less globalisation but more and better globalisation," he said.

[Fredrik]

Ah, True American Freedoom in action.

[Captain Red]

Xian said:
more than 300 people arrested ahead of time in washington DC for activism

what a very Xian like post.

[Wobbo]

The article didnt mention it but before this thing like two weeks ago the cops had been making plans of how to defend the meeting and deal with protestors, the qutes from the police cheif were straight out of 1984, it was almost funny. this isnt the first time Pre-emptive arrest has been used in the US by the way, i think it happend in Seattle

[fodders]

Pre-emptive arrests, pre-emptive strikes, theres a theme here.

[IMJack]

I read the entire article, and didn't see anything about "pre-emptive" arrests. The people who got busted all looked like they earned it, at least to police.

Xian said:

The article didnt mention it but before this thing like two weeks ago the cops had been making plans of how to defend the meeting and deal with protestors, the qutes from the police cheif were straight out of 1984, it was almost funny. this isnt the first time Pre-emptive arrest has been used in the US by the way, i think it happend in Seattle

If this was 1984, the protests would never have started, because everyone would have been arrested before plans were even made.

Ah, here we are:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020927/ts_nm/group_protests_dc_1
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police arrested 290 anti-globalization protesters on Friday morning, thwarting attempts to blockade city traffic during a Group of Seven meeting in Washington, D.C.

Protesters threw burning tires into the street in two locations and smashed the windows of a bank branch when police penned them within a city block, witnesses said. Two smoke bombs also exploded but it was not clear who threw them.

Surely we should hold sacred the people's right to destroy the property and disrupt the business of other people! [eye-roll smiley]

[Ultraviolet]

0h gn0, how DARE the American people disobey the government?

Christ, I wish we could resurrect Thoreau, Franklin, Paine...

[Disorder]

These activists claim to be against a war on Iraq.
Instead of protesting in peace they start a war of their own.. Bye bye activist, hello police attackdog.

[gatewatcher]

Xian said:

Among the tactics aimed at disrupting the capital's morning rush hour, demonstrators made hoax calls to the emergency services, staged sit-ins and cycled en masse through the city. Other protesters danced through the streets with mud and leaves smeared on their faces and clothes. However, many commuters heeded advice to avoid driving into the downtown area and, with a few exceptions, traffic flow was unhindered. And finance ministers met without interruption, though surrounded by barricades of police.

Yes, insane tree huggers disrupting rush-hour traffic, running through streets half-naked and prank calling 911 is perfectly fine. I'm sure everyone cares about what they have to say indeed.

[Waldon]

When people set stuff on fire on the street and break windows, they get arrested. What's so surprising about that? If they broke your windows, I bet you would be all upset the same. If I remember correctly (I read the article yesterday, memory is fading), the police did nothing to many other peaceful protesters at another location.

[myk]

Don't mention the IMF and the World Bank please, I'm having lunch.

Over here in a recent protest the cops even sent people to smash things in order to blame the activists, and the chief of police himself killed two activist leaders in a train station. He is in jail (who knows for how long) but whoever gave him orders isn't.

Waldon, oh yeah?

[Little Faith]

Activism is a dead art.

Resistance is futile. There is no rebellion taking place and there never will.


Bow down to the officially sanctioned bloodshed because it's bigger than you!

The system will destroy itself with time, but don't worry. It will destroy YOU first.

[IMJack]

Are we having a bad day, Faith? ;)

[dsm]

Stupid activists - the only thing they're after is trouble. See ya in jail dumbass!

[Submerge]

Well, protest is allowed. PEACEFUL protest. anything else should be beaten and tazered in the true american fashion.

[fraggle]

Fredrik said:

Ah, True American Freedoom in action.

I can assure you the freedoom project had nothing to do with this. And it is a worldwide project, not based in America :P

[myk]

Heh, I hadn't caught that. I'm sure it was a pun from Fredrik (not a typo?) "Freedoom" is indeed an interesting oxymoron.

[Quasar]

Raise the fist!

[Wobbo]

It is now 600 people being detained for violence that adds up to little more than two broken windows. Actaully most of the traffic and buisiness disruption was caused by police and they even announced so before the meeting. THE PROTESTORS WERE NOT PROTESTING IRAQ, but the WTO and WB meetings goping on at the time.

This isnt funny. Right now in US history were studying the causes of the American Revolution and I pointed out that the conduct of soldiers in BOston was similar to cops in DC.

http://www.kyimc.org/cgi-bin/imc.pl?where=display&article=137

sorry (specifiaclly IMJack) for not making it clear before about the pre-emtive arrests before, i thought i had the right article and i thought it would be major news

[Wobbo]

dsm said:

Stupid activists - the only thing they're after is trouble. See ya in jail dumbass!

Americans like gatewatcher and dsm hate democracy, apparently

once again, strikes are perfectly legal and the total damage caused to private property in the city was WAY less than 5,000$, any member of the world bank could pay that in his sleep. Dont be so quick to judge because of one article. More importantly, i wonder how a person like you would have felt during the Boston Tea Party, Salt March and so on. Would you say those people were stupid protestors? at the time the causes of BOTH these acts were laughed at in the media, today we know that the Sons of liberty and Ghandi's followers were right. It doesnt occur to you that third world exploitation might be a just cause too

if you two were being sarcastic, oops, sorry

[gatewatcher]

Xian said:

Americans like gatewatcher and dsm hate democracy, apparently

Uh, no. I don't care that they are protesting, whatever it may be for. When people are destroying property and running through streets naked (not to mention screwing with 911, when someone might actually need it's services), then I have a problem. I look at it like it's my buisness with with a brick through the window, or my kid seeing some mud soaked hippy's junk hanging out. It's also democratic to be able to run an establishment without fear of it being damaged, stolen from, whatever. Crazy left wing assholes who think democracy gives them the right to break laws are retarded. Like you said, strikes are legal. Riots, however, are not.

[Little Faith]

Xian said:

Americans like gatewatcher and dsm hate democracy, apparently

Eh, Dsm actually comes from Denmark.

[Sephiroth]

if i where the police i would do the same too. a few may be good and correct protestors when alone but common sence is lost in a crowd. i have yet to see or hear about a peacful demonstration, in current years. most always end in a riot. it is alright to protest, just not to start burning things and disrupting the lives of other people by blocking streets and such. a group of people is like a heard of stupid cattle, they fallow who ever seems bigest. personaly i think they should have crowd control steped up. i have not seen any recent attacks on people protesting that didnt start because a few protesters got out of hand or made threats. these people also need to under stand that DC, and at this time, is a very high security area and no chances will be taken

[IMJack]

You know what's sad? There are people who know what they're talking about, who know how to perform an effective and peaceful protest. These people likely laid out a pretty good plan for a day of demonstration.

Then there are the people who think that getting behind a "cause" gives them license to beat people up and raise hell. The real protestors, the people with brains, are swept away under the tide of the mongoloid hordes who just showed up to break shit and get on TV.

[Sephiroth]

the only protest that i know where unjustly broken up where the race marches and civil rights protests of the 50,s and 60,s. usally the people where calm and non-violent even when being attacked. yet the government beat these people anyway, even though they didn't start anything.

i say that sometimes the people who are protesting are worse than the idea they are protesting. yes many of the organisers are usally intelligent and peacful people, yet in mass humans are the dumbest creatures on earth.

[myk]

IMJack, it is not uncommon for parties interested in disuading or delegitimating protests to persuade or hire hostile individuals in order to cause havoc (either by themselves or by setting an example.) I know this not only by observation through the media but also through some involvement.

[IMJack]

myk said:

IMJack, it is not uncommon for parties interested in disuading or delegitimating protests to persuade or hire hostile individuals in order to cause havoc (either by themselves or by setting an example.) I know this not only by observation through the media but also through some involvement.

No kidding. And like I say, it's people like this that give real, smart, concerned protestors a bad name. Q.E.D. @ your post.

[dsm]

Xian said:

Americans like gatewatcher and dsm hate democracy, apparently

I beg you PARDON!?
Firstly, who the FUCK are you calling American?
Secondly, activists (my own name for stupid, stupid people who use a demonstration as an excuse to cause trouble) haven't understood a peep of what democracy is about - democracy is about voicing your opinion, not trashing people, people's cars and people's houses!
That's why I think these assholes deserve to hang with their heads down in a tree trunk, while people can throw rotten tomatoes at 'em, because violence has nothing to do with democracy.
Capiche or do I have to bring the megaphone and scream it into your ear?

[Wobbo]

Sorry, didnt know you were from denmark. If anything, then you should know better than to reduce democracy to just voting and hoping that your master does what you asked him to. especially in Aerica where where we only have TWO major parties which both have supported the World Bank and G7 meetings. Besides The CEO and buisiness owners and stockholders etc. remain in power no matter who you elect.

once again, there was very little violence at all, and 600 people did not partake in whatever TINY amount of property damage was caused. And how can you balme people who did respond violently to the worst terrorist hotspot on the planet? The violence of police is NEVER questionable, but when people that dont own stuff do it *they* are the criminals that deserve to be behind bars. Fuck that. VIOLENCE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH DEMOCRACY PICK UP A HISTORY BOOK. TURN TO ANY TOPIC ON UHHHH.. ANYTHING FROM THE FUCKING 1700S ON.

[dsm]

Xian said:

Sorry, didnt know you were from denmark. If anything, then you should know better than to reduce democracy to just voting and hoping that your master does what you asked him to. especially in Aerica where where we only have TWO major parties which both have supported the World Bank and G7 meetings. Besides The CEO and buisiness owners and stockholders etc. remain in power no matter who you elect.

once again, there was very little violence at all, and 600 people did not partake in whatever TINY amount of property damage was caused. And how can you balme people who did respond violently to the worst terrorist hotspot on the planet? The violence of police is NEVER questionable, but when people that dont own stuff do it *they* are the criminals that deserve to be behind bars. Fuck that. VIOLENCE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH DEMOCRACY PICK UP A HISTORY BOOK. TURN TO ANY TOPIC ON UHHHH.. ANYTHING FROM THE FUCKING 1700S ON.

If violence has everything to do with democracy, how come I only hear about violence used in connection with democracy when it's a bunch of mindless thugs who use it?
Besides, do you think being a police officer is so easy that you can automatically tell a violent activist from a peaceful protester when everything is chaos? People who bitch over the police making arrests while using force make me so sick that I actually feel like breaking one of my principles and actually go out and punch one of these blockheads in the face.