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06 Oct 2011 01:17

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U.S.: Occupy Wall Street: The crowds get bigger, the police more violent?

  • Switching gears a little bit, tonight’s Occupy Wall Street rallies hit a new peak, in part thanks to fresh support from unions such as AFL-CIO, the United Federation of Teachers, the Communications Workers of America and District Council 37. (According to one estimate, the crowd hit 20,000, but an exact number couldn’t be narrowed down — either way, it was large.) But the new peak in attendance came with a price — police brutality, some of which hit journalists covering the march. “I don’t know what sparked it, but people started tossed about, and I did see people getting beaten with clubs, and I personally was pepper sprayed,” said Flux Rostrum, a journalist and videographer for Mobile Broadcast News. Above is a clip of one of the more violent scenes tonight — the way that they’re throwing around those batons is nothing short of frightening. In all, at least 28 people were arrested. (thanks usualchatter for the kick in the pants; this take on the evening’s events is also worth a read) source

03 Oct 2010 21:37

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Politics: Americans for Prosperity creates anti-socialism scare video

  • As a follow-up to last night’s post, it’s probably good to point out that when you’re building propaganda pieces, the tone is everything. So, showing images of supporters of socialism at a Democratic Party rally doesn’t seem so bad on its own. But when you add the Russian National Anthem like our friends at the Koch-brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity, it takes a sinister tone. We’d say “disagree with socialism, don’t demonize it,” but we know that Americans for Prosperity receive so much money that they can pretty much do whatever they want. Oh wait, according to the rules on 501(c)(3) nonprofits, they shouldn’t be making videos like this at all. source

02 Oct 2010 14:19

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Politics: Another Washington Mall rally, this time thrown by the left

It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve had a rally. We think it’s time for another one. But, this time, let’s bring out all the disillusioned “Hope” and “Change” folks. source

17 Sep 2010 10:21

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Culture: Mark your calendar: Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart’s dueling rallies


  • “Rally to Restore Sanity” Great angle for a rally on Stewart’s part. Perhaps this might inspire a bunch of reasonable people to make a pitch for political reasonableness. On October 30th, we expect to see no “Don’t Tread on Me” flags.

  • “March to Keep Fear Alive” “People should book their hotel rooms now or their children might turn gay!” That’s some pretty stellar fearmongering there, Stephen Colbert. OK, who wants to go? Julius has a couch with your name on it! source