You think this was bad? It gets worse.
Do not play the movie (below the fold) without your finger/mouse on the volume button of your computer.
Above: footage from ongoing protests at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. Police and US military have blocked off a security zone in the city, expelling all homeless people from the area, and with the exception of Burmese Monks, anarchists, anti-capitalists and others downtown is reported to be largely empty. Confrontations between police and protestors have already occurred. Tear gas (possibly OC gas) and LRAD sonic weapons have been used against the protestors- the same crowd control tactics used in Iraq.
Send me an email if you notice the video getting pulled. That has been the pattern so far.
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*Please note:
Links to books and other items on this page and elsewhere on Greg Ladens' blog may send you to Amazon, where I am a registered affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps to fund this site.
Was this done preemptively or in response to something the protesters did? In that video it looks like tear gas wasn’t released until after those guys rolled a dumpster down the street.
Clarification: by “this,” I’m referring to clearing out that part of the city.
Sonic injury as tested successfully, and validated by the US Supreme Court, by the Navy– used on whales protesting violation of their mating and feeding grounds.
It’s no coincidence that Pittsburgh is a Republican stronghold, like most of PA outside of the east Scranton-Philly north south corridor.
A bunch of amped up right wingers pissed off the anarchists didn’t misbehave as much as they would have liked, and they had all these new toys they didn’t get to use, so they found a reason.
While certainly there needs to be police on hand to control these idiots who are there simply for the chance to act like a jerk, all police and whomever else is involved with that duty should be made very well aware that there will be fast and severe punishment, including jail time for this kind of behavior. There also needs to be agreed upon rules and guidelines set by the G20 (yeah right, like it’s going ot happen) for conduct by host cities. Why is it that every single event like this and political convention this happens? Because law enforcement goes into it looking to bust heads from the get-go
The anarchists would do well to learn police procedure and tactics and use it against the police themselves.
It’s all standard tactical stuff. And that piercing alarm, that’s a regular sound and can be countermeasured with the proper electronics.
LRAD vs billyclubs? I’ll take the LRAD please.
Bickle @ #4
What behavior are you referring to exactly? The techniques seemed to work quite well at keeping things from escalating to the point of injury.
It seems clear that more permits should have been issued, though it is not totally clear to me if this was purely an issue of govt delay or late filing by protest groups. Here is hoping that the next large event to draw protests is better managed to allow for a more free atmosphere, but the 0 major injuries, and minimal property damage both seem to speak well for the city.
1. Pittsburgh is NOT a “republican stronghold.” It is socially conservative but has consistently voted Democrat for some time now. For instance, Wikipedia tells us that the ratio of Democratic to Republican voter registrations in Pittsburgh is 5:1, and the mayor’s office has been held by a Democrat continuously since 1934.
2. I lived in Pittsburgh for five years and that video is NOT of downtown Pittsburgh. It could be one of the neighborhoods to the east of downtown, however.