Had I the means to attend the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis Saint Paul, I would have gone for the opportunity to protest the event.
Now, the first few days of the RNC were scaled back as Hurricane Gustav approached New Orleans, and threatened to induce Katrina level damage to the city. I was momentarily thankful that I had not attended the protests, thinking that the scaled back convention would have been a waste of a very long trip. I thought nothing more of it, until today when I learned that Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now had been arrested for approaching a policeman outside the convention. Video of the arrest of Amy Goodman and her producer Nicole Salazar are easily obtainable on the internet. Nicole Salazar describes being "stomped" by police while trying to flee the area. Later, Amy Goodman tries to approach police in riot gear to question them about the arrest of her two producers. Both Salazar and Goodman clearly identify themselves as press, and are both displaying their high-ranking press passes, which entitled them entrance to the convention itself.
Descriptions of police actions included the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and concussion grenades. I never heard of a concussion grenade before, so I attempted to research. What I found was this video from Current TV. I have not been able to find a very good definition of a modern concussion grenade.
I am deeply outraged at the numerous civil rights violations perpetrated by the police on this occasion, however this seems to be the mounting trend. Also, I question how the FBI or the Secret Service invading protest groups is anywhere near constitutional. Though I find it amusing the first groups apparently targeted for infiltration appear to be Vegan Organizations.
On a final note, Coverage of the Protest, and the accusations of police brutality have been severely lacking from mainstream media. Protests in general is something, I think mainstream America should be aware of, but is seldom considered newsworthy for the mainstream media.
