I've been following the action and protests in Pittsburgh off and on for the last day or so, and I thought that with so much coverage, I would include a little bit of it here. Here are a few videos of some of the extremes the police are going to during their "riot protection." I understand that there is a fear of escalation which the police are trying to curtail, and I also know that as much as they are following orders, mobs have their own group mentality. Still, the incidents with the bike girl and the riot police in the stairwell/bridge were a bit over the top. I don't know, but watch and decide for yourself.
And there's one last video over on the BBC's website is just another good example of the action taking place. I think the hugging man was well meant, but not the right place and time to do something like that. He should have expected the cops to take it as an attack (which they did).
*Edit: It has also been noted from another university student that those riot police had been on campus all day expecting to see some action, so I can imagine that with a rising stress levels and warm temperatures, there are going to be some who go over the top. While this is no excuse, it is important during these times to see that we are all human.
People make mistakes, and if we are going to improve anything, there cannot be the "us vs. them" mentality which was created by both protesters and police officers. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed the video with WeAreChange the most. The guy tried to relate to the police, and while the protesters were still run off, I'd like to think that his appeals were the reason for a comparably non-violent end with the LRAD rather than with tear gas and violence.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Action in Pittsburgh: G20 Police
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Updates for the Election in Iran
So, here is a pretty good video from the BBC on the election and violence in Iran. I applaude the BBC for staying in there and getting the stories; CNN has received some flak for not getting the news, but they're getting better. Found this video at Donklephant, and despite the name, a pretty informative post.
Also, according to The Daily Dish, apparently an Ayatollah (forgive me, I don't know as much as I should about Iran's government...but learning) has dissented and said the election results are illegitimate and has called out Ahmadinejad for it. We'll see how all this ends up...time will tell.
More from Reddit and Twitter.
Apparently, as noted in the last post, I can find just about anything from reddit, but this is on more of a somber topic: Iran. Now, I'm not here to rant this time. Take it for what you will; whether we should care or not about the voting, democracy is unstable at best sometimes. Especially in Iran, but it is refreshing to see that even when you disagree with someone or some group, there are some people who keep a mind open and actually show compassion. This is perhaps, one of the more sobering pictures from the Iran voting violence. I originally found it at The Daily Dish, though I repost it here for my few readers to see. The man in black is riot officer who is obviously worn out and the man in green, his protector, is one of the rioters. Obviously he has enough humanity in him to make sure the cop is taken from harms way as he can barely hold himself up.
