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According to an article in today's Philadelphia Inquirer, at least 6 state troopers were arrested at while blockading an intersection.

According to the article, the troopers and protesters were held on misdemeanor charges of obstructing the highway and conspiracy.
Assistant District Attorney Trevan Borum, who is one of the prosecutors in the cases, said the defense concerns about entrapment were groundless.
He said the troopers had not led any protests, but had responded to a request from demonstrators to join in the so-called "lock-downs" of an intersection.

I participated in several street blockades at R2K. I wasn't arrested (but was thrown in a paddy wagon for walking down a street the next day) Based on my experience, the troopers' claim that they "responded to a request" from protesters to join a blockade is specious. I seriously doubt that the 6 troopers simply plopped down in the street and linked arms with the demonstrators.

Each street blockade was composed of at least one "Affinity Group, (AG)" which had organized at least 24 hours prior to the actual sit-down. From my experience, no AG solicited recruits from passers-by during the blockades. Furthermore, each street blockade was planned through consensus of each of an AG's member. In other Words, they weren't spontaneous events as the Inquirer reporter seemed to assume.

So what probably occured was the troopers had infiltrated an AG, participated in planning meetings and strategy sessions and alongside "legitimate" protestors before the event. Hence, the entrapment argument proffered by defense attorneys representing the "real" protestors may have some merit.

Sincerely,
Vergil

And just because this guy is with 2600, does not mean he's in the right.

True. However, that still doesn't automatically mean he was in the wrong, as some people seem to believe whenever the name "2600" comes up.

Every American has a right to peaceable assemble. They don't, however, have a right to block intersections, and so forth.

...oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were talking about Shapeshifter for a moment, not people who were actually seen blocking the intersections.

From the 2600 article:

[The cop] claimed to have seen McGuckin in a crowd of people talking on a cell phone. The officer claimed he saw the defendant point in a certain direction and that the 10-15 people in his group moved in that direction. However, the officer failed to capture any of this on his video camera. (my italics) He claimed that McGuckin then proceeded to the corner of 12th and Arch where he again spoke on his cell phone.

At this point, Parisi described a demonstration on 13th and Arch where protestors blocked an intersection for around 20 minutes. The implication was that McGuckin was coordinating this demonstration, even though he was never even seen by the officer at this intersection nor was he overheard saying anything to anyone. (again, my italics)

That's worth $500 000 bail? Remind me never to litter in Philadelphia; they might shoot me on the spot.

There is absolutely no evidence ShapeShifter blocked a road, nor any that he actually co-ordinated any protests. A cop only saw him speak on a cell phone, then point in a direction. None of this was captured on the video camera the cop was using.

Also, seeing that he DID make bail, it obviously wasn't an impossible hardship.

That was never mentioned anywhere.

Neither this AP story nor this/a& gt; Philly.com story mention the videotape angle, and why the prosecution didn't use any of it that showed Shifter (a single shot of him walking down a sidewalk).
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Try

here

I hope you apply the same level of skepticism towards all media stories.

* His support of school vouchers, which allows public money to be directed toward religious institutions.

* His instatement of an official Jesus Day

They weren't riots in Seattle, unless you mean it was the police who were rioting. Of course, the police then provoked riots, but hey, let's blame that on the protesters too

The point about the Starbucks windows was that the response was over the top, and that the property damage wasn't that significant. You are correct about the media coverage and the general public response, although I'm not sure you're really focusing on the clear connection between those two things. If the media only covers the window-breaking, how are the general public even supposed to know about the other stuff? The answer, unfortunately, is: they're not supposed to know.

You're probably very correct about LAers being tired of violent protest. However, a few things: not all property damage is equal; broken windows do not equal mass arson. Out-of-control mobs are apparently very much in the eye of the beholder... there weren't too many 'out-of-control mobs in Seatlle, unless you count the ones fleeing being teargassed for peaceful assembly. Also, it's not that difficult to create an 'out-of-control mob' using police violence. I don't think it would be too easy to stand calmly while getting tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, beaten, and charged at.

Lastly, a key point arising from all of this is the concerted effort by the police (and the media) to make the protesters appear a lot more violent than they are. That's a big reason why the puppet-making factory got shut down: colorful, playful puppets and similar props give the whole thing a carnival atmosphere and reinforce the message that the protests are non-violent. The police are well aware of this, and of their need to portray the protesters as (essentailly) 'terrorists', so that's why the puppet-making area was a target.

Oh, and here's a quick rant. To anyone who believes all the bullshit about the 'dangerous weapons' found in the factory: are you out of your minds? Giant slingshots? Poisonous spiders? What? This is America! If the protesters were truly interested in violence, they would have guns! And they wouldn't store their armory in one highly-publicized, very open-access space! The police will use anything as a justification, and there is a pattern here: in the DC protests, the puppet-making space was shut down and they found 'weapons' there too: prominently a single 'Molotov cocktail' that later turned out to be a plastic bottle with paint-stripper in it (fairly obviously necessary since they paint the puppets). But no, you can all just go on believing that these people are ingenious and insane violent types who want nothing more than to be able to blow up police cars with venomous spider-filled gas/paintstripper bombs fired from giant slingshots and/or juggling equipment.

Unbelievable. Oh, and hey, I guess you all believe there really was a sniper at Kent State that day (here's a sample link from google if you don't know what I'm talking about:link). I hope you never encounter a dishonest cop, a bent judge, a twisted justice system, a biased media oulet, or political repression. That's not sarcasm, either; I really mean it.

Here's an interesting quote from an article in today's Philadelphia Inquirer that fits somewhere in this debate:

Consider some numbers collected by Philadelphia Federal Reserve economist Len Nakamura for an upcoming article in the Fed's Business Review. In the United States last year, there were 7.6 million people working as what Nakamura calls creative professionals - engineers, architects, scientists, designers, entertainers and so on.

That's more than six times the number of people working in such jobs in 1950. And as a proportion of the total workforce, the number of creative professionals has about tripled.

Aside from the higher wages they command and the greater amount of training they require, people in these jobs share another trait, Nakamura says: They are able to earn a living largely because of property rights - patents, licenses, trademarks and the like - which give them (or their employers) at least temporary monopolies over the product of their work.

I'd guess this applies, directly or indirectly, to most /. readers as well.

These are the same people who won't let their citizens encrypt their own data (which is like saying you can't lock your house, in case the government would like to rifle through your papers). Yet, they had the nerve to refuse extradition of the murderer Ira Einhorn, because they felt it was "unjust" that we tried him in absentia. It was his choice! He ran from the law! Naturally he ran to France, land of the free (criminals). That's where all the good murderers and pedophiles (Roman Polanski) go. Now the commonwealth of Pennsylvania had to place Einhorn in double jeopardy (admittedly, in his own favor) and withhold the death penalty in order to meet France's "demands". They are without honor, and we should immediately reneg on this "agreement".
More info

This is an account of the Delta Force and Army Rangers in Mogadishu, Somalia on the day a dozen Americans and perhaps 500 Somalis died. The "D-boys," basically Navy Seals with JEDI-like technology, consistently and vastly outperform the more numerous but conventionally armed Rangers. Adimittedly, the Delta Force is an elite unit, but Army Rangers are no slouches. The communications/computing technology, in the hands of properly trained troops, made a huge difference on the battlefield. Had they had the GPS techonlogy integrated into individual soldiers gear, several American (and many Somali) lives would have been saved.

Read it for yourself: http://www.philly.com/packages/somalia/nov16/defau lt16.asp

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