Protest // Current

Palin Stiffs her Own Fans and Gets Booed

Palin fans in Noblesville, Indiana bought her book and suffered three hours in line in... more

JonRaymond
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51 minutes ago
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2 comments

UC Berkeley: 60 Plus Protesters Take over Wheeler Hall

After the UC Regents approved the 32% hike in tuition fees yesterday, Berkeley... more

sgssunshine
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10 hours ago
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1 comment

Vietnam Vet on Hunger Strike Against Afghanistan War ( Day 9 )

He's starving himself for peace. A Vietnam veteran is fasting in Washington trying to... more

Jenime
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13 hours ago
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Outside the Box TV covers the AL GORE Protest in Portland, Oregon on 11-18-09

Al Gores lies on global warming were confronted by a wide variety of protestors armed... more

Jenime
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14 hours ago
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US Protest by 9/11 Responders

Hundreds of emergency workers who responded to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the... more

Jenime
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1 day ago
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UC WIDE PROTEST: Regents increase fees by 32%: Berkeley uproar; 14 ARRESTED in UCLA; 1 TAZER

http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2009/11/18/committee-finance-approves-32-percent-fee... more

jahona42
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1 day ago
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Auditorium vandalized before Al Gore visit in Portland

Graffiti was sprayed outside Keller Auditorium in Portland where Mr. Gore is scheduled... more

JanforGore
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2 days ago
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3 comments

An Arkansas 10-year-old says he won't pledge to the flag until gays and lesbians have equal rights

~y2009m11d17-An-Arkansas-10yearold-says-he-wont-pledge-to-the-flag-until-gays-and-lesbi... more

uroborus8
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3 days ago
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Hundreds Converge on Goldman Sachs DC Headquarters

Today, hundreds of workers, clergy members, community leaders, and other taxpayers... more

WakeUpPeople
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4 days ago
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10 Yr Old Wants Rights For Gays & Lesbians or He Won't Pledge Alliegance to the Flag

Is it me or are kids a lot more well spoken these day?

Jenime
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4 days ago
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55 comments

Marc Emery Rallies at MP Offices Across Canada

CANNABIS CULTURE - Supporters of Marc Emery showed up at their member of parliaments'... more

copperdragon
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9 days ago
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Did Michele Bachmann break House rules?

Did a rally geared at saving government resources actually misuse them? Could be,... more

Future_America
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9 days ago
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Healthcare Hunger Strike: 2 of Lieberman 9 Still in Jail

Kai Newkirk, 29, is an uninsured American who believes that health care is a right. He... more

JonRaymond
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10 days ago
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UAF Protest BBC Over BNP on Question Time

Thursday 22 October 2009: Unite Against Fascism (UAF) protested the BBC studios in... more

JasonNParkinson
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11 days ago
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What is History?

The Results of a creative assignment for my History Class. Covers a lot of stuff.... more

CounterCultureWarrior
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11 days ago
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Iran, 30 years after occupying the US Embassy

Nader Hashemi on the latest protests in Iran

therealnewsnetwork
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12 days ago
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A curious property evident in the discussion of insurrection in the United States is that it gets more respect the further it occurs from home. Anarchists who would never dream of complaining that the Thessaloniki Food not Bombs is being neglected while its members amuse themselves burning banks, who could never conceive of suggesting that the Somali pirates stop seizing ships for ransom in order to start a bike repair collective, have no problem criticizing their own friends and comrades for shortchanging local projects to attend semi-annual mass mobilizations. This is a shame, because a look at the broader picture reveals that summit demos are taking an ongoing toll on the ruling class, even when they are tactically unsuccessful.

Just for starters, any city hosting a summit has to impose de facto martial law for the duration of the meetings. Miles-long steel security fences, bag searches on the subway, black helicopters in the sky, armor-clad riot cops on every corner, among other measures, make a mockery of the myth of "civil rights." By employing such repressive tactics just to keep a few summit delegates from being confronted by those they claim to be helping, authority reveals its true nature, undisguised by the usual lies and propaganda. People who claim that we should abandon summit protests because we can never replicate the WTO (World Trade Organization) riots in Seattle are missing this point. While it's true that the cops will never again allow themselves to be defeated on the street the way they were in Seattle, the things they have to do to win in the short term erode the perceived legitimacy of the entire ruling system in the medium term. If all they had to do was stop the protests they could just shoot the protesters. But since they must also maintain the illusion of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, their problem is complicated immensely. They have no good options, so it's not a matter of whether we will win, only of how.

Their situation becomes all the worse when, after turning the host city into a militarized encampment for a week, the cops can't even stop a few kids in black from breaking windows. The resulting frustration often leads them to attack and arrest defenseless groups and individuals who have minimal connection to the protests, further compounding their problems when the videos hit Youtube. Then to justify their own brutality, the cops make an example of a handful of protest organizers by hitting them with ridiculously inflated charges, usually for actions that most people would consider perfectly innocuous. As an added bonus, the lawsuits generated by blatantly unconstitutional arrests and searches strain city budgets, consume prosecutors' time, and extend their PR nightmare. For authoritarians, the only thing worse than appearing brutal and repressive is appearing brutal and repressive and ineffectual. Cops, by their nature, will fall into this trap every time, as long as we show up and set it for them.
full article at link......A curious property evident in the discussion of insurrection in the United States is... more