Monday, February 6, 2012

Extra-judicial Killing OK, But Camping in Parks Not OK?

Over the weekend police used riot gear, batons and horse charges to clear Occupy DC from their peaceful occupation of McPherson Square on K Street, where the lobbyists work who help Congress understand who they really represent.

How come there is always enough money for riot police, humvees, tear gas and the like -- but never enough for adequate housing, health care and education funding? I'm sick and tired of these priorities gobbling up my tax dollars!
Excellent collection of pics on Twitter here. Above we see the armored humvee your federal tax $$ support as part of the parks equipment budget. How many homeless people could take shelter from the weather in that vehicle?
In Oakland a week ago last Saturday police tear gassed, smoke bombed and trampled on the constitutional rights of a crowd trying to occupy a city-owned building that has sat vacant for the past several years. The occupiers' crime? They wanted to set up a community center inside Kaiser Auditorium.

Meanwhile, here's a chilling report on exactly how and how many civilians the U.S. has targeted with drone strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan aimed at first responders and mourners. How do you spell war crime? President Obama lied when he stated recently that these CIA ordered strikes are on a tight leash. The truth, according to the investigative report, is that "..since Obama took office three years ago, between 282 and 535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed including more than 60 children.”


In the same way that this state-sponsored violence recruits for the insurgency in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc., police brutality recruits supporters for the Occupy movement. I suppose if the 1% want war profits without end, this is not a bad strategy on their part: create the "enemies" that you must then fight.

People around the globe are rising up to take back their streets and their communities. By our non-cooperation with the 1% they shall know us.

2 comments:

chrisrushlau said...

"False dichotomy" rings in my memory from this space. Dividing us into percentiles is the ultimate false dichotomy, because it implies that our views are not our choices.
Here is an op-ed published in Ha'aretz today. You will find it and the published comments (Ha'aretz is under pressure from Sherman Adelson's free right-wing rag in the Israeli newspaper market) stimulating:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/u-s-jews-who-put-israel-first-are-merely-exercising-their-democratic-rights-1.410964

chrisrushlau said...

Sorry, Sheldon Adelson.