Syndicate and Hague

This post is pretty much a list of links that the Thinkery blog put together and I’m posting to also move the stories up in the Google ranks.

The Uptake is doing some good reporting and you can follow them, among others, on Twitter - @theuptake @mnindylive @jasonbarnett @coldsnaplegal.

Regardless of the haul, I have concerns about the implications and methods. Overall, just make sure you’re educated on what’s happening in our city - since the national and much of the state-wide media isn’t doing a lot to get multiple angles on the story. Here are the links:

• The Minnesota Independent:
• Protesters meeting space raided by Ramsey County
• Ramsey County sheriff issues statement on raid
• Sheriff anticipates arresting thousands during 2008 RNC
• Crackdown begins: Food Not Bombs house among Saturday raids
• Warrant at Food Not Bombs house sought bombs, feces, razor wire (The warrant covers such basic items as nails, screws, bricks, computers, “media in whatever form,” and digital camera equipment. All of which can be used in weapons in a protest, but also all of which are common household items. Which makes it totally permissible to raid pretty much anyone with this kind of warrant list.)
• Police searches turn up weapons and other devices to disrupt traffic
• Reports of additional Pre-RNC raids in St. Paul still arriving
• RNC Welcoming Committee detained, denied entry at Canadian border
• Anti-RNC activists respond to police raids; convergence space reopens
• RNC Welcoming Committee unbowed by raids
• Members of raided houses speak out
• Oh no, the anarchists are coming: media scare tactics unfounded, Anti-RNC groups say
• The Uptake’s reporters have been following the raids and streaming video live from their phones. You can find the Twitter feed here:
• Police swarm Earth Justice bus in St. Paul
• Police detain Democracy Now
• Police enter house
• Lawyers in handcuffs
• Tour of raided protester HQ
• Inside the RNC Protest Center
• Police detain journalists
• Police bust through attic to detain Democracy Now producer
• National Lawyer’s Guild: police raid “preventive detention”
• Police make no arrests after raiding RNC Journalist home
• Police raid in St. Paul of Green Party Activists’ home
• Police bolt doors at RNC Protest Organizing Center
• Homeland Security vans head to RNC protester house raid in St. Paul
• Twin Cities Daily Planet:
• Big Green Bus arrested
• Journalists targeted by FBI in St. Paul
• Ramsey County sheriff raids homes in South Minneapolis
• Police break down doors in night-time raid on anarchist meeting
• Detained Glass Bead videographer on policing in the age of YouTube
• It can’t happen here? It already has.

I’m getting bogged down in trying to improve my tag cloud.  Unfortunately, that “work” thing that I have to do takes precedence.  Dammit.

A moment, though, on my funny day yesterday.  Nothing pulls in the viewers like a little maniacal raging…but when there aren’t really any consequences, speaking your mind isn’t really a brave/innovative thing.  I doubt I’d have written a similarly vituperative post about the academic hand that feeds me–I can be critical, sure, but boy I was just furious yesterday!

That said, I think I was validly angry/annoyed/mortified…so nothing has really changed.

In completely unrelated news, Twin Cities citizens better get ready to hide because not only are the RNC and Ron Paulites coming to town, so is Ralph Nader. Sigh. My plan is to hide in my non-destination neighborhood and hope things don’t get explosive.

In a post on Wonkette today, an interesting comment showed up. It’s something I hadn’t thought about, but you know…

The Republican convention is going to be here in the Cities and I already knew the progressives, liberals, anarchist groups–pretty much anyone left of Obama’s politics–will be out protesting in some way. After the strangely violent Critical Mass/MPD clash earlier this fall, progressive media/groups have expressed concern over what this will mean once some serious protesting starts around here.

What I hadn’t even thought about was Ron Paul. Check out the Wonkette link for the video–for some reason I can’t find anything on YouTube or whatever about it. Last night, RP was excluded from the Republican debate because his national poll numbers were too low. Crazy pants as the guy is, 10% in Iowa should justify participation in a debate–c’mon Fox News, don’t be so transparent about who you don’t want to win. Like no in-fighting I’ve seen in my lifetime amongst the Republicans, RP supporters were outside in full protest-mode, chanting and waving their signs.

So what happens in Minnesota after 50 states and repeated snubs of this candidate? The comment in Wonkette that caught my attention was that the RP followers would possibly cause huge protest-related problems.

So, uh, MPD? St. Paul PD? If you thought some extra Critical Mass cyclists were bad, try a pretty insane group that loves its guns. Progressives have spoiled you with our relative compliance to requests for peaceful protest–I’m not sure the same will be said for the RP folks.

Moving on.

Can we lay off the Kucinich leprechaun/elf/pixie jokes? I’d link to some, but it’s basically on every page that mentions the man’s name…so just Google him if you want an example. I swear. Everyone knows he’s small. But how many know what he stands for? Just asking.

In other, non-political news: I made a kickass lasagna, Megan made these awesome chocolate mint cupcakes that were a hit at her work holiday party yesterday, and I’m super jazzed about the PhD and all of the possibilities that are bubbling up just from talking with people about it. Life is oh so sweet.