Permitted Dissent in the Streets of St. Paul

Published on September 1, 2008 in Government, Police

On September 1st, over ten thousand people marched in the streets of St. Paul, Minnesota to protest the Republican National Convention while demanding peace, justice and equality. The permitted demonstration, with over two years of planning, was organized by The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. The Coalition is made up of more than 130 organizations, including anti-war coalitions in the U.S, immigrant rights organizations, trade unions, low income and community groups. Read More and View Photos | More Photos

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Three People Quickly Arrested in the Fourth Sector of St. Paul

Published on September 1, 2008 in Government, Police

Shortly after 11:00am on September 1st, three people were arrested in the streets of St. Paul near Seventh and Goodrich. This portion of town has been dubbed “Sector 4″ by groups protesting in the streets on this first day of the Republican National Convention.

A group of people were followed by St. Paul police in their car. Some people in the group began to push garbage cans down a residential street. More police quickly arrived on the scene, jumped out of a black tactical van, pepper sprayed the group and then tackled three people. Three people in the group were handcuffed, searched and taken away in the back of police cars. Read More and View Photos

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Labor Organizing and Independent Media are Not Crimes

Published on August 31, 2008 in Government, Labor, Media, Police

On August 31st, members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) were accompanying their fellow worker, Erik Forman, to his first day back on the job at Starbucks in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Erik was recently fired for labor organizing, although that was not the official explanation given by Starbucks.

Police from Plymouth, a town outside of Bloomington, prevented Erik’s supporters from getting off the light-rail and entering the mall. Erik was eventually allowed into the mall so he could get to work, although he was late as a result of all the police harassment and misinformation.

My friend David and I caught up with the group of people that were turned away from the mall. David recorded a video interview with Jake Bell about the day’s events and the future plans of the Twin Cities branch of the IWW. A Metro Transit Police officer drove past us in an SUV. The interview was finished and as we were walking away, the police officer turned around and drove to the spot where the interview was conducted. At that point the officer appeared to be looking for an unattended item that may have been left behind. No such items were found, but the police officer decided to follow us for about two miles.

Neither labor organizing nor independent media are against the law, but both activities are being repressed in the Twin Cities, and elsewhere. Read More and View Photos

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Veterans for Peace Lead Funeral March in St. Paul

Published on August 31, 2008 in Counter Recruitment, Government

On August 31st, the day before the Republican National Convention (RNC), Veterans for Peace held a rally in front of the state capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota followed by a solemn march. Families of US soldiers and other marchers carried tombstones with the names of dead US soldiers. Meanwhile, the names of murdered Iraqis were read out loud and people responded, “We Remember.”

Towards the end of the march, organizers gave people the option of continuing along the police approved route or to engage in civil disobedience by towards a caged off area. A handful of people, including two women in their 70s, either rolled under or walked around the police fence and were eventually arrested. Read More and View Photos

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Keeping Santa Cruz Weird: Coonerty Gets ‘Hammer of Justice’ Award from Local ACLU

Published on August 24, 2008 in Government, Police

If the Santa Cruz chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is trying to “Keep Santa Cruz Weird”, then Ryan Coonerty was a fitting recipient for the “Hammer of Justice” award during their annual fundraiser at Long Marine Lab on August 24th. Coonerty is the mayor of Santa Cruz and either an owner of Book Shop Santa Cruz, or merely an employee of the bookstore, depending on which side of his mouth he is talking out of. His actions since becoming a Santa Cruz City Council-member in 2004, such as supporting police infiltration into community groups, should be, and in some cases have been, challenged by the ACLU. Therefore, one is left to believe that the Santa Cruz ACLU is a big supporter of irony when they award Coonerty, or just trying to do their part to ‘Keep Santa Cruz Weird.’

Coonerty, also a lecturer in the Legal Studies department at UC Santa Cruz and in the Political Science department at Cabrillo College, accepted his award while Bernard, a civil rights for the poor activist, held a sign stage left critical of his politics. The sign made three points: that Coonerty has cut public comment time for individuals during City Council meetings, banned activists critical of his policies from Book Shop Santa Cruz, and made it a crime to be in a public parking lot for longer than 15 minutes.

The Watsonville Brown Berets were recognized with the “True Patriots” award from the ACLU. The Berets displayed a banner in the corner of the room, painted that morning for Watsonville’s first Pride Celebration, that translates from Spanish to English as, “Liberation for All of the Oppressed.” Sandino and Carlie accepted the award and spoke on behalf of the Berets. In the Berets’ acceptance speech, which came after the mayor’s, Sandino spoke out against Ryan Coonerty’s repressive policies and affirmed the Berets’ solidarity with all oppressed peoples. Read More and View Photos

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