bad me, I've been neglecting my blog.
Well, I'm working out of home again, at a new hospital-in-the-city. I didn't realize how stressed I was working at the county until I left work one day smiling. I don't get to see as many of my Somalian mamas anymore but I'm enjoying working with our newest wave of immigrants, the Karen people of Burma/Myanmar (I'm still sorting out what the best name for this country is, I believe Myanmar might actually be more colonialist, I'm looking into it).
I'm dragging my heels getting back into school, I think I'm not looking forward to statistics. Sad indeed.
On other fronts I have decided to yank my kiddo out of school and unschool him next year. I am STOKED. No more will he learn that Abraham Lincoln was "the great emancipator" and other lock, stock, and crock. It's trips to the museum, IWW meetings, forays into funky scavenged architectural stores and hopefully a trip to see Wicked, when it comes to town.
I'm busy getting ready for the RNC, coming to a hometown near you, you can bet your butt that if it was the DNC I'd be just as busy. I'll be working as a street medic on day one, with other plans later in the convention.
I'm loving my CSA and encourage everyone and anyone to check out this awesome way of supporting local organic agriculture for not much dinero. Who knew that the tastiest quiche I've ever had would be one made of wild ramps, stinging nettles, and sorrel.
I'm hoping to bring BOLD (birth on labor day) to Minneapolis, I loved doing The Vagina Monologues years ago in college. Birth is like fire these days, everyone is inflamed!
Just a quick update, more musings and meanderings soon.
Showing posts with label RNC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RNC. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, September 3, 2007
Critical Mass Ride Ends in Police Brutality
My comments are at the end.
Police attacked a Critical Mass in downtown Minneapolis during the pReNC today and arrested at least twenty people using mace, pepper spray, tasers and brutal force on crowd of cyclists with no provocation.
A strong critical mass of around 400 or more cyclists were attacked by the police at the corners of LaSalle and Grant as the tail end of the Mass went under the bridge.
"They just drove into the crowd and nearly hit me, it was totally unprovoked" proclaimed a cyclist who was in the last 5 bikes.
After arresting one biker for allegedly "driving straight towards cars," Massers turned back and swarmed the cops, chanting "let him go." Unsurprisingly, since they were outnumbered 2 to 500ish, the cops let him go.
Half an hour later, another few bikers are arrested by cops (now following the Mass at the back). After bikers turn back to get legal information and collect badge numbers, suddenly a dozen or so squad cars show up. Unprovoked, the police start attacking the crowd, first with excessively violent arrests, then mace, pepper spray, brandishing batons and using tasers on bikers. They arrested at least one utterly uninvolved bystander just for taking pictures as well as several minors. The cops created a riot style line of police that arrested a cyclist who made the mistake of falling behind the others. According to an eyewitness as she attempted to move from behind the police line to join her friends she was told "Get of your bike and get on the ground."
At this point around 20 people are believed to be arrested as the police force of Minneapolis flexes its brutality in the midsts of the PreNC anarchist and anti-authoritarian planning happening during this weekend.
=========================================
Notes:
Cruisers #993 and #9980 drove into the back of the mass at the corner of LaSalle and Grant and started to arrest a few cyclists. More arrests ensued with police resorting to pepper spraying the crowd and creating a line in which they advanced and arrested those who fell behind.
Badge and car numbers that we know of:
4151 (maced people)
4046 (tazer, excessive force)
956 (tazer, excessive force)
car 999 - pushed into an individual's bike
unmarked car, license plate RVX-707, cop with badge number 6837 - hit an individual
Tasers, pepperspray and mace. As well as at least one cop attempted to ram and run over a cyclist.
If you witnessed this police brutality contact Joe Vacek at www.simplelaw.org
Everyone who was arrested have been released on bail except Hunter Gsoell who it is clear will be staying until at least Wednesday. Sympathy letters and the like can be delivered at the Jack Pine.
How livid this makes me! I expect we'll see much more trampling of civil liberties (yep, it's that crazy right to assemble!) as the RNC approaches. But hey, we're just a bunch of wacky anarchists, rabble rousers, no-goodniks right? It's not like I'm an RN, a mother, a wife, a human being. All you folks who tsk and sneer at our protests and our antiauthoritarianism just remember, we're out there protecting YOUR right to assemble, YOUR right to dissent too.
Police attacked a Critical Mass in downtown Minneapolis during the pReNC today and arrested at least twenty people using mace, pepper spray, tasers and brutal force on crowd of cyclists with no provocation.
A strong critical mass of around 400 or more cyclists were attacked by the police at the corners of LaSalle and Grant as the tail end of the Mass went under the bridge.
"They just drove into the crowd and nearly hit me, it was totally unprovoked" proclaimed a cyclist who was in the last 5 bikes.
After arresting one biker for allegedly "driving straight towards cars," Massers turned back and swarmed the cops, chanting "let him go." Unsurprisingly, since they were outnumbered 2 to 500ish, the cops let him go.
Half an hour later, another few bikers are arrested by cops (now following the Mass at the back). After bikers turn back to get legal information and collect badge numbers, suddenly a dozen or so squad cars show up. Unprovoked, the police start attacking the crowd, first with excessively violent arrests, then mace, pepper spray, brandishing batons and using tasers on bikers. They arrested at least one utterly uninvolved bystander just for taking pictures as well as several minors. The cops created a riot style line of police that arrested a cyclist who made the mistake of falling behind the others. According to an eyewitness as she attempted to move from behind the police line to join her friends she was told "Get of your bike and get on the ground."
At this point around 20 people are believed to be arrested as the police force of Minneapolis flexes its brutality in the midsts of the PreNC anarchist and anti-authoritarian planning happening during this weekend.
=========================================
Notes:
Cruisers #993 and #9980 drove into the back of the mass at the corner of LaSalle and Grant and started to arrest a few cyclists. More arrests ensued with police resorting to pepper spraying the crowd and creating a line in which they advanced and arrested those who fell behind.
Badge and car numbers that we know of:
4151 (maced people)
4046 (tazer, excessive force)
956 (tazer, excessive force)
car 999 - pushed into an individual's bike
unmarked car, license plate RVX-707, cop with badge number 6837 - hit an individual
Tasers, pepperspray and mace. As well as at least one cop attempted to ram and run over a cyclist.
If you witnessed this police brutality contact Joe Vacek at www.simplelaw.org
Everyone who was arrested have been released on bail except Hunter Gsoell who it is clear will be staying until at least Wednesday. Sympathy letters and the like can be delivered at the Jack Pine.
How livid this makes me! I expect we'll see much more trampling of civil liberties (yep, it's that crazy right to assemble!) as the RNC approaches. But hey, we're just a bunch of wacky anarchists, rabble rousers, no-goodniks right? It's not like I'm an RN, a mother, a wife, a human being. All you folks who tsk and sneer at our protests and our antiauthoritarianism just remember, we're out there protecting YOUR right to assemble, YOUR right to dissent too.
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