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Protesters Say They're Proud Of RNC ActsSep 7, 2008 12:20 pm US/Central MINNEAPOLIS (AP) For two years, demonstrators had been looking toward the first four days in September -- when they'd take to the streets of St. Paul to speak out against the war in Iraq, the Bush administration and the Republican agenda. **SNIP** She pointed to Thursday night, when hundreds of people stayed on the streets of St. Paul, even after police told them to leave. Nearly 400 people were arrested, including Sundin. "I think it made a very strong statement," she said. **SNIP** "We think we were able...

I've got this thing about demonstrators: They turn me off, big-time. Pro, anti, protester or counter-protester, street theater just leaves me cold. It doesn't matter whether I agree with them (pro-lifers waving bloody pictures) or disagree (Code Pink waving their bloody hands), they generally appall me. Interrupting people is interrupting people. Shock is shock. There's nothing redeeming about it. Peaceful, dignified marchers, showing respectful solidarity in a cause, are one thing. But screamers indulging the urge to Act Out are another altogether. Perhaps the moment that tore it for me and protesters forever occurred in 1982, when my newspaper was...

Day 4 Day: ThursdayLocation: CapitolArrests: 400 Arrests Mark Last Anti-War March Of Convention Percussion grenades, tear gas and nearly 400 arrests marked the final anti-war march during the Republican National Convention. More than 800 arrests were reported during a week of sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent dissent. Anti-war protesters rallied Thursday at the state Capitol and then planned to march to Xcel Energy Center, where Sen. John McCain was due to accept the GOP presidential nomination. But their permit had expired, and police -- in riot gear and using horses, snow plows and dump trucks -- blocked their way. For...

The youngsters are among almost 5,000 residents who in some cases are being offered £500 rewards if they provide evidence of minor infractions. One in six councils contacted by the Telegraph said they had signed up teams of "environment volunteers" who are being encouraged to photograph or video neighbours guilty of dog fouling, littering or "bin crimes". The "covert human intelligence sources", as some local authorities describe them, are also being asked to pass on the names of neighbours they believe to be responsible, or take down their number-plates. Ealing Council in West London said: "There are hundreds of Junior...

A photo of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his Code Pink bundler, terrorist supporter Jodie Evans, has finally surfaced. Ironically, it most likely was released by Code Pink.The photo is included in a video report by WCCO-4 in Minnesota about Evans and her Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin infiltrating the Republican National Convention the night of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech Wednesday night.The WCCO reporter, Esme Murphy, included the unsourced photo of Evans and Obama to illustrate Code Pink's claim that they go after both sides. Murphy describes the photo as a Code Pink member "interrupting Obama", yet...

Code Pink protestors were given or surreptitiously obtained media passes to infiltrate and protest a pro-life event held near the Republican National Convention. (Report by Fred Lucas and Jonathan Schulter, CNSNews.com.) VIDEO

.....Why were you here in the Twin Cities? And how did you get into the Excel Center? I was here in Minneapolis for the IVAW convention and thought I’d stick around for this. Well I’ve been a Ron Paul supporter since the beginning of this campaign. Since before this campaign started, actually, I’ve been a fan of Paul. So I’ve got a lot of friends in the Ron Paul crowd. And he’s got a lot of delegates in there. More than the Republican Party is willing to admit. And the fact that I got into there is proof of that....

Code Pink protesters got into the Republican National Convention during Governor Palin’s acceptance speech Wednesday night.

The three adult children who took turns disrupting John McCain's acceptance speech last night, now being heralded as heroes by some left wing blogs, are off-springs of the steady lineage of vitriolic shrill that's come from Al Gore (of "He lied to us; he preyed on our fears" fame), Teddy Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, et al, for they have helped sustain and sanction their growth. With each spewing of distain and hatred for Bush-Cheney, a divot is taken out of the fairway of what civility there was left in American political discourse. And, while partisans might meet...

You MUST see this video. It is hilarious. The people in it are actually serious. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ed0_1220618296

H/t Kimberly M. Did the Code Pink members who interrupted John McCain's speech last night use MSNBC press badges to get into the hall? Not according to Code Pink itself, which claims the two women "obtained passes to the convention from disaffected Republicans." Right. There is another much more intriguing explanation out there. According to Shay at Booker Rising, which describes itself a newsite for black moderates and black conservatives [emphasis added]: "I took the shuttle bus back to Minneapolis, and I overheard a convention organizer named Phil telling a convention delegate that the protesters on Wednesday night got through...

A protester holds a flower out to riot police outside the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 4, 2008. Police offered her a vase for her flower and then arrested her for possessing a Minnesota Yellow Gerbera Daisy, which is on the state endangered list. Illegal harvesting or sale of the flower carries a $30,000 fine and two years in prison. Semi-literate Code Pink Activist Janet Macaroni holds up a sign in support of "WAR" before collapsing from the weight of her handmade vinyl banner. Anti-war protester Jessica OrganicGrapeJuice is assisted by bicycle police after she puts...

It’s a shame there are so many stupid people in this country. What’s scary is that these people have the same number of votes as you and me. One. (Well, one legal vote any way.) Watching the political conventions these last two weeks, we’ve seen just how stupid these idiots are. While many political protesters were content to demonstrate their displeasure with America in an orderly fashion, still more of those in the hate-America crowd felt the need to go above and beyond the scope of simple political protest, escalating their actions to criminal acts against people and property. Granted,...

By the time Sen. John McCain finished his speech and delegates let out of the Xcel Energy Center, downtown was so devoid of activists that a large diverse crowd gathered in Rice Park couldn't even muster a unified cheer, despite many signs indicating anti- Republican sentiments. In short, a stranger might not know this is a democratic town. The end came after protestors who had rallied at the Capitol grounds made several unsuccessful attempts Thursday night to reach the X, site of the Republican National Convention. Large rows of armed law enforcement officials, many on bicycle or horseback, stopped them...

They have disrupted McCain's speech several times. I've never seen anything like this during a convention. I wonder how they managed to get in. To me this is scary. What if these people were there to do something other than shout? I'm sure these people will be the headline on MSNBC and the New York Times....

Code pink and the next John Kerry woooopppppeeeeeee

As part of their recruitment drive, leaders of the anti-war, anti-American activist group, Code Pink, showed up at the Republicans' national convention in St. Paul yesterday and performed an act of political theater that got them arrested. Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, who really ought to be dressed in bright pink straitjackets, disrupted the acceptance speech of vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and were led away. Benjamin and Evans wore pink slips upon which ''Palin Not a Woman's Choice'' was written and tried to wave a banner that read, ''We need a Peace VP.'' (Sean Hackbarth has a...

More held as convention protests continueTally grows to 315, expected to rise Gary Emerling Thursday, September 4, 2008 ST. PAUL, Minn. | Another day brought another series of protests during the Republican National Convention, as law enforcement officials remained on guard in a week filled with violent activity. National Guardsmen in full riot gear took up posts around the Xcel Energy Center following two days of protests that saw hundreds arrested, traffic disrupted and tear gas in the streets. Officials said 315 people had been arrested as of Wednesday evening, up from 280 on Monday. Secret Service spokesman Darrin Blackford...

ST. PAUL -- Fox News "opinionater" Bill O'Reilly finally got his man. Barack Obama appears on his show this evening at 9 p.m. after an earlier taped one-on-one session with the self-proclaimed king of pithy comments. Here is a clip of Obama and O'Reilly going to eyeball to eyeball on tonight's show which is sure to raise a lot of eyebrows among the left and the right

Local prosecutors brought felony charges against 21 people for protesting the Republican National Convention, and federal prosecutors announced that they have charged another man with possessing explosives he said were intended to bomb tunnels under the convention site. Demonstrations this week have been the most violent at a national party convention in recent memory, with protesters smashing windows, slashing tires, throwing bags of urine and excrement and physically confronting Republican delegates in the streets. **snip** Several journalists, including an Associated Press photographer and the radio host Amy Goodman, were also arrested, some charged with inciting a riot. The city attorney...

Day 3  Day: WednesdayLocation: Target CenterTime: 10:40 PMArrests: 102 Video Despite band's plea for peace, 102 arrested after Rage Against the Machine concert Even though fans who attended Wednesday's Rage Against the Machine concert were asked not to cause trouble when they left Target Center, scores of people didn't comply with the request. Trouble did break out on downtown Minneapolis streets and police arrested 102 people who had attended the concert, according to the Joint Information Center which is coordinating security in connection with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Of those arrested, 87 people were tagged with...

ArcXIX is the Kos diarist who started all this stuff on the Palin family and the baby. ArcXIX has pushed the story that Sarah Palin's youngest child is really Bristol Palin's child. If you go here, you will find a profile of a user at the 1up.com website. If you follow the Google Cache, that was oddly changed on August 31, 2008, you will notice that the user's AIM user ID is ArcXIX. Is 24 year old Charles Hartley the diarist? Is this the person who started all the trouble for the Palin family? And if so, is he connected...

I just talked to an insurance adjuster in Minneapolis on the phone. During our discussion, the subject of the demonstrations there during the convention came up. She told me that the anarchist who was video taped smashing the large plate glass window was arrested, and found to be a 23 year old kintergarden teacher. I don't have the resources to verify this. Can anyone help me out?

This is a rewrite from several sources for Free Republic Sep 4, 7:23 AM (ET) In MINNEAPOLIS A man named Matthew DePalma of Flint Michigan has been charged with a scheme to use bombs to attack the main arena of the Republican National Convention. He was also charged Saturday with possessing unregistered firearms. He was caught using undercover police sources.

Just saw this short segment from Fox showing interviews with RNC protesters. They are clueless.

PORT MORESBY (AFP) - Environmental group Greenpeace said Thursday that its activists had boarded a logging ship in Papua New Guinea to prevent it exporting timber to China. Greenpeace Australia Pacific said four activists climbed on a loading crane aboard the ship Harbour Gemini at Paia Inlet on PNG's southwest coast to stop logs being loaded. Greenpeace argues the ship is being operated by Malaysian-owned logging company Rimbunan Hijau, which it accuses of breaking PNG's forestry laws. "We need to urgently protect these ancient forests to save our climate," Greenpeace campaigner Sam Moko said in a statement. "Greenpeace is asking...

Convention protesters cling to free speech rights, more than 300 arrested | IDS | Date: 9/4/2008 ST. PAUL, Minn. – Katelyn Peck, a 20-year-old junior from California State University, stood with about 25 other protesters in a sea of pink. Pink dresses and umbrellas, jeweled crowns, sequined cowboy hats and pink banners formed the group’s attire, while one woman in the lead blew a whistle and ordered the march forward as mobs of media and citizens traipsed around them. The peace group, CODEPINK, danced, sang and marched to declare their distaste for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential candidate...

Eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, a self-described anarchist organization, each one faces four charges for their alleged plans to disrupt the convention. Each individual was charged Wednesday with second-degree furtherance of terrorism, conspiracy to riot, conspiracy to commit civil disorder and conspiracy to damage property. Those arrested were Robert Joseph Czernik, Monica Rachel Bicking, Erik Charles Oseland, Garrett Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanial David Secor, Max Jacob Speckton, Luce Guillen-Givens, and Eryn Trimmer. The eight were arrested after Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputies raided four homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul on Aug. 30 and 31. They are all being held...

One of Barack Obama's elite fundraisers from the anti-American group Code Pink attempted to storm the stage last night during Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's acceptance speech at the GOP convention in St. Paul.Jodie Evans, one of a group of about 500 top financiers who have bundled tens of thousands of dollars for the Obama campaign was seized by the Secret Service after she had made her way to side of the stage and and started to yell at Palin.The Washington Post reported on the incident:10:45 p.m. A pair of Code Pink activists just got to the...

WHERE IS SECURITY?!! I can't believe this so-called "journalist" creep can just waltz up to Senator McCain's mother and daughter!!

Four members of CODEPINK arrested By Andy Birkey 9/3/08 8:24 PM Four members of the CODEPINK women’s peace movement were arrested Wednesday afternoon. The women, Desiree Fairooz, 52, of Arlington, Texas, Toby Blome, 53 of El Cerrito, Cali., Kit Siemen, 50, of Quilcene, Wash., and Nancy Mancias, 38, of San Francisco, were protesting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin near the St. Paul Hotel when police pushed them to the sidewalk and into the fence surrounding the security perimeter.CODEPINK’s media contact Jean Steven’s sent this message along: In protest of the war and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s pro-war and pro-drilling positions,...

"At least 250 people were arrested outside the Republican Convention last night as police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse rioters attacking property and blocking roads in protest at the war in Iraq." "At least four journalists were among those detained, including Associated Press photographer Matt Rourke and Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, a nationally syndicated public radio and TV news programme."

The Wilson family calls it the “Permibus”: a 1984 Bluebird school bus painted green and converted into a traveling exhibit of sustainable living. The Wilsons - Stan, 52, Delyla, 44, and their daughter Megan, 17 - have lived on the “Permibus” since it went on the road from California in February. They share their home with three dogs, three chickens and a composting bin full of worms. On Saturday, however, the Wilsons were evicted from the Permibus after it was pulled over and impounded by police on Interstate 94. Caught up in last weekend’s security sweep ahead of the Republican...

Sarah Palin found some unlikely allies Wednesday as leading academics and even former top aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed the Republican charge that John McCain’s running mate has been subject to a sexist double standard by the news media and Democrats. Georgetown University professor Deborah Tannen, who has written best-selling books on gender differences, said she agrees with complaints that Palin skeptics — including prominent voices in the news media — have crossed a line by speculating about whether the Alaska governor is neglecting her family in pursuit of national office. “What we’re dealing with now, there’s nothing subtle...

Acitvists take to the streets for the third consecutive day in downtown St. Paul during the RNC.

Channel 4 in Minneapolis reported the following. 8 people arrested earlier in the week are being held on 75,000 dollars bond. Their group rnc welcoming committee had been infitrated by undercover agents. a group called "rage against the machine" is playing at the target center in Minneapolis and the police are ready for trouble. My comments: The people arrested earlier claimed the buckets of urine and human feces were being stored from a man who had no plumbing. The nail spikes and homemade slingshots were innocent items found in any garage. The size of the bond indicates the undercover cops...

St. Paul police's chief said this morning that police are anticipating a quiet day for the Republican National Convention, though they are keeping a close eye on a Rage Against the Machine concert tonight in Minneapolis. Protests at the Capitol today are not expected to be large or disruptive, Chief John Harrington said at today's press briefing. "The one element today that is being discussed as being a possible area of disruption" is the concern at the Target Center, Harrington said, adding they are assisting Minneapolis police in their preparations. Asked if he had concerns about a riot that occurred...

A Flint man is facing federal charges related to an alleged plot to bomb the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Matthew Bradley DePalma, 23, is accused of one count of possession of firearms that were not registered to him. Agents of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested DePalma at a home in south Minneapolis. According to a Department of Justice news release, the FBI began its investigation in July when DePalma stated his intention to "make some bombs" and "blow up" things during the RNC. An FBI affidavit also states that DePalma intended to bomb the Xcel...

Enjoy...

A year ago, the Ramsey County sheriff's office began looking closely at a group called the Republican National Convention Welcoming Committee. What it found, according to an 18-page search warrant application and affidavit, led to weekend raids on two Minneapolis homes and a temporary St. Paul office for the self-described anarchist group. According to the document, investigation learned: The self-described anarchist group — whose main goal was to "crash" the Republican National Convention," according to its Web site — traveled to or communicated with affinity groups in 67 cities to recruit members and raise money. Group members discussed the possibility...

Norah O'Donnell is anchoring in an outdoor studio thing, interviewing Sen. Kay Bailey-Hutchison, and you cannot hear a darn thing with all the yelling & screaming from anarchists in the background holding up posters and other 9/11 conspiracy theorists holding up signs that say that the US government is to blame for 9/11. Nice job, MSNBC. Move it inside!

A 23-year-old Michigan man faces up to 10 years in jail for illegally possessing bombs, which he allegedly intended to use to destroy the Xcel Energy Center during the Republican National Convention. Matthew Bradley DePalma, of Flint, Mich., was charged Aug. 30 with one count of possession of firearms. According to his criminal complaint, DePalma had several Molotov cocktails in his possession a week before the start of the RNC. DePalma had been under investigation by federal investigators after he attended a protester conference in Wisconsin in July. Officials said DePalma went to the Hennepin County Library on Aug. 18...

The Pioneer Press reports that the Ramsey County, Minnesota, Sheriff's office investigated an anarchist group that was considering kidnapping delegates to the Republican Party's convention in St. Paul. The would-be terrorists, who called themselves the "Republican National Convention Welcoming Committee," planned to shut down the convention. The group bears a striking resemblance to the Weathermen, a violent terrorist group founded by Barack Obama's unrepentant terrorist associate William Ayers. According to the news report: # The self-described anarchist group - whose main goal was to "crash" the Republican National Convention," according to its Web site - traveled to or communicated with...

The daughter of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a police officer outside a Chicago bar. Ashley Blazer Biden, 21, of Wilmington, Del., was with a group of people on a North Side street where several bars are located when someone else threw a bottle at an officer, police said. snip

Day 2 Day: TuesdayArrests: None Video Pictures Minn. GOP Delegates' Bus Tires Slashed Minnesota delegates spent their day on the second day of Republican National Convention in meetings and at a reception in their honor. The Minnesota delegates got a late start because someone slashed the tires on two of their buses. Minnesota Republican Party Chair Ron Carey said, "It's a shame that people want to deny us a chance to exercise our 1st amendment rights." Day: TuesdayTime: approx. 8:30Protesters: 4000 Video Pictures Journalist rescues pol, wife, six delegates from thugs So, we get out of the thick of the...

Anarchist protesters and the "God Hates Fags" people at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

From Democracy Now! website: ST. PAUL--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon. All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar’s violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, “I’m Press! Press!,” resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing...

Almost a year to the day before the Republican National Convention began, members of a self-described anarchist group gathered to talk about ways to disrupt it, including kidnapping delegates, sabotaging air vents at the Xcel Energy Center, blocking bridges and "capturing federal buildings" in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Unbeknown to the RNC Welcoming Committee, two police informants and an undercover investigator had infiltrated their ranks, according to an affidavit and search warrant application filed Tuesday.

A year ago, the Ramsey County sheriff's office began looking closely at a group called the Republican National Convention Welcoming Committee. What it found, according to an 18-page search warrant application and affidavit, led to weekend raids on two Minneapolis homes and a temporary St. Paul office for the self-described anarchist group. According to the document, investigation learned: The self-described anarchist group — whose main goal was to "crash" the Republican National Convention," according to its Web site — traveled to or communicated with affinity groups in 67 cities to recruit members and raise money. Group members discussed the possibility...