Posts tagged protests
Who Is Behind The Arab Spring-Style American Protests That Have Mysteriously Started?
Oct 1st
Arab Spring anyone?
Just a guess, mind you, but I’m betting that it’s Obama, Soros…and the Muslim Brotherhood.
“New York City police are bracing for a weekend of mayhem in lower Manhattan with thousands expected to risk arrest as the Occupy Wall Street protest moves into its third straight week.
United: Demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street campaign sit in the plaza in front of the New York Police Department headquarters on Friday
More than 1,000 demonstrators speaking out against corporate greed and social inequality took their protest to the New York Police Department (NYPD) headquarters yesterday.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters camping out in lower Manhattan marched several blocks north yesterday and demonstrated there for about two hours against the police response to the downtown protest, which is in its second week.
Critics have accused officers of being heavy-handed, saying they have roughed up people who did nothing wrong, the NYPD has disputed that claim. Protesters also say they’re upset about reports from The Associated Press that an NYPD intelligence unit has sought to infiltrate the city’s Muslim community.
The movement, whose members have vowed to stay through the winter, are protesting issues including the 2008 bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment. And the increasing presence of more affluent-looking demonstrators is fuelling questions over whether this is the moment a frustrated middle America is uniting for a national uprising.
The protest encampment in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan is festooned with placards and anti-Wall Street slogans. There is a makeshift kitchen and library, and celebrities from filmmaker Michael Moore to actress Susan Sarandon have stopped by to show solidarity. Grungy youths sleeping on the street, topless women waving signs stating ‘I love this country’, and ageing hippies have won their share of national headlines for their cries of rebellion.
But among these protesters are also men wearing suits and mothers who have driven in from the suburbs.
Julien Harrison, an aspiring teacher, was among the frustrated masses, travelling from Portland, Maine to voice his frustration. Mr Harrison, who said his student debt amounts to $50,000, has only been able to find only manual labour since getting his master’s degree.
He told VOA News: ‘Of course, they’re laying off teachers all over the country,’ he said. ‘It’s getting more and more competitive. I just came from Portland. There’s people with Ph.Ds, masters, undergraduate degrees competing to be a barista at a coffee shop.’ source – Daily Mail UK
Day of Rage! Is The Arab Spring About To Land In The US?
Sep 18th
Protesters invade NYC Financial District
NEW YORK — More than 1,000 demonstrators descended on New York City’s Financial District on Saturday for what could be a days-long protest of what they said was corporate greed favoring the rich at the expense of ordinary people.
Protesters invade NYC Financial District for days-long demonstration
The rally, dubbed #OccupyWallStreet on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook where word was spread, spurred the New York Police Department to lock down Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall, local media reported.
Police set up checkpoints to allow only those who could prove they lived or worked on Wall Street to enter, the New York Daily News reported.
Pictures posted on Twitter and elsewhere showed police and barricades around the famous bronze Charging Bull statue on lower Broadway at the north end of Bowling Green park.
“A protest area was established on Broad Street at Exchange Street, next to the stock exchange, but protesters elected not to use it,” police spokesman Paul Browne said in a statement reported by The New York Times.
Demonstrators gathered in parks and plazas in Lower Manhattan and said they were determined to stay at least through the weekend so they could confront Wall Street workers on Monday morning.
Some protesters said they would stay weeks or months and likened their rally to demonstrations earlier this year in Egypt, Israel and Spain.
“It’s a worthy cause because people on Wall Street are blood-sucking warmongers,” Bill Steyerd, 68, a Vietnam veteran from Queens, told the New York Daily News. “I’m here, and in spite of these dinky barricades, we’re going to shut down Wall Street with people power.”
Counterculture magazine Adbusters and hacking group Anonymous were among the organizers asking participants to set up tents, kitchens and peaceful barricades, NY1 television station reported. Organizers hoped to draw at least 20,000 during the weekend. Satellite demonstrations were held in Los Angeles and Seattle under a Day of Rage banner, and in Barcelona, Spain, and elsewhere. source – MSNBC
Syria On Brink As Hundreds Of Thousands Protest, Iran Gives Syria $5.8 BILLION
Jul 15th
20 killed in biggest Syrian protests so far
(Reuters) – Syrian security forces shot dead at least 20 protesters on Friday as hundreds of thousands of people staged the biggest protests so far against President Bashar al-Assad, witnesses and rights groups said.
"We have said Syria can't go back to the way it was before, that Assad has lost his legitimacy in the eyes of his own people," U.S. Secretary of States Hillary Clinton told a news conference in Istanbul.
Assad, facing the greatest challenge to 40 years of Baath Party rule, has sought to crush demonstrations that broke out in March. But although rights groups say some 1,400 civilians have been killed, the protests have grown.
“These are the biggest demonstrations so far. It is a clear challenge to the authorities, especially when we see all these numbers coming out from Damascus for the first time,” said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Activists and witnesses said police fired live ammunition and teargas in the capital Damascus and suburbs, killing at least 11 people. They killed four in the southern city of Deraa, the cradle of the Syrian uprising, near the Jordanian border.
Three protesters were shot dead in the northwestern province of Idlib, near the Turkish border, where troops and tanks have attacked villages, the witnesses and activists said. Two people were also killed in the city of Homs.
Iran gives Syria $5.8 billion
Until now, the biggest demonstrations have taken place in impoverished towns and villages outside Damascus where one in 10 of Syria’s 20 million population lives. Protests in the capital have rarely mustered more than a few hundred people.
Damascus has benefited from substantial foreign investment and its citizens are on average wealthier than those in the provinces. Security is also much tighter.
Activists estimate the number of secret police on the streets of Damascus has more than doubled since protests started but the economy has stagnated. Faced with uncertainty, foreign investors are pulling out in droves and unemployment is rising.
To counter that, Syria’s main ally, Iran, is considering offering $5.8 billion in financial help, including a three-month loan worth $1.5 billion to be made available immediately, French business newspaper Les Echos said, citing a report by a Tehran think-tank linked to Iran’s leadership.
International sanctions are targeted at Syria’s leaders, not at its banks and companies. But France and the United States are pressing for tougher penalties, and a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the crackdown, following attacks on both countries’ embassies in Syria.
“We have said Syria can’t go back to the way it was before, that Assad has lost his legitimacy in the eyes of his own people,” U.S. Secretary of States Hillary Clinton told a news conference in Istanbul.
“We, along with many others in the region and beyond, have said we strongly support a democratic transition,” she said. “The ultimate destiny of the Syrian regime and Syrian people lies with the people themselves.” source – Reuters
US Casualty Rate In Afghanistan Under Obama Increases 500%, Yet No Antiwar Protests. Why?
Jun 23rd
So where is Code Pink?
Remember all the Liberal antiwar protesters who camped out in front of Bush’s ranch in Crawford, TX? They stayed there for well over a year, made all the headlines, and demanded that our troops be brought home. Seemed like a worthy cause, right? So, now that the US death toll in Afghanistan has increased 500% under Obama, I have yet to hear one, single word of protest, not to mention our current illegal war in Libya. Seems like Code Pink was not antiwar war death, they were only anti-Bush.
Remember these people who dogged Bush's every waking moment? Not a peep out of them since Obama took over and raised the casualty rate by 500%
“The average monthly casualty rate for U.S. military forces serving in Afghanistan has increased 5-fold since President Barack Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009.
1,540 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since Oct. 7, 2001, when U.S. forces began fighting in that country to oust the Taliban regime that had been harboring al Qaeda and to track down and capture or kill al Qaeda terrorists.
During the Bush presidency, which ended on Jan. 20, 2009 with the inauguration of President Obama, U.S. troops were present in Afghanistan for 87.4 months and suffered 570 casualties—a rate of 6.5 deaths per month.During the Obama presidency, through today, U.S. troops have been present in Afghanistan for 29.1 months and have suffered 970 casualties—a rate of 33.3 deaths per month.
The 970 U.S. casualties that have occurred while President Obama has been commander in chief equal 63 percent–or almost two-thirds—of all U.S. casualties that have taken place in the nearly-ten-year-long war.
889 of the 970 U.S. casualties in Afghanistan that have occurred during the Obama presidency—or about 92 percent—have been combat-related casualties. During Obama’s presidency, U.S. troops have given their lives in the service of their country in Afghanistan at an average rate of more than one per day.” source – CNS News
IDF Prepares For 2 Front Palestinian Assault On Nakba Day, May 15
May 13th
The land is indeed occupied
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Psalm 122:6
The Palestinians are constantly talking about the “occupied land” in which Israel exists. And this is one time when I will side with them and agree that the land is indeed occupied by an invading force that has no right to be there. Because when I read my King James Bible, it tells me that God gave the land to Abraham and to his seed, his descendants. Abraham’s seed are the Jews, and according to God, all of the land of Israel, especially the West Bank, belongs to the Jews for eternity. So that would make the “palestinians” the occupiers.
Northern Command sources say there are expectations that Palestinians in Lebanon will travel to the border to participate in protests.
“IDF troops will be deployed in large numbers throughout the West Bank and along the border with Lebanon on Friday, amid expectations that massive demonstrations will break out on both fronts ahead of Nakba Day (“the day of the catastrophe”).
The IDF began reinforcing troops in the West Bank earlier this week, and sources in the Northern Command said on Thursday that there were expectations that Palestinians in Lebanon will also travel to the border to participate in the protests. Several Palestinian groups have called for large demonstrations along Israel’s various borders ahead of Nakba Day, which is the Palestinian commemoration of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Expectations are that the demonstrations will start on Friday, and last until Sunday.
Expected hotspots in the West Bank include the Kalandiya Checkpoint outside of Jerusalem, near the Ofer Prison off Road 443, as well as Nablus, Tulkarm and Ramallah. The demonstrations are expected to include stone-throwing, but not live weapons. Officers from the IDF’s Northern Command spoke with UNIFIL this week, and warned of severe consequences if Palestinian demonstrators try to damage the border fence between Israel and Lebanon during the demonstrations. “We respect people’s right to protest, but we will not tolerate damage caused to infrastructure, like the border fence,” an IDF officer said.” source – JPost
Al Qaeda Growing After Dictators Fall
Apr 17th
Racing towards the fulfillment of Psalm 83
The bible says that in the end of time, all the Muslim nations in the Middle East will regroup and form a confederacy whose sole purpose will be to atack Israel. It goes something like this – “For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;” Psalm 83:2-6. What you are seeing now id the fulfillment of that prophecy before your very eyes.
Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood on the rise
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people attend a protest in the eastern Libyan town of Derna, Feb. 23, 2011.
On the same day reports emerged of a new al Qaeda video that praised the revolutions sweeping the Arab world, one the U.S.’s top counter-terror officials warned the terror organization “thrives” in the political unrest that follows. “The governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen have drastically changed in the last six months,” FBI Assistant Director of Counter-Terrorism Mark Giuliano said Thursday. “They are now led by transitional or interim governments, military regimes, or democratic alliances with no established track record on counterterrorism efforts. Al Qaeda thrives in such conditions and countries of weak governance and political instability — countries in which governments may be sympathetic to their campaign of violence.”
Giuliano made the comments at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy just hours before the first reports emerged of the new al Qaeda video, which features separate appearances by al Qaeda’s number two commander, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and American-born key commander in al Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula (AQAP), Anwar al-Awlaki, each praising the recent uprisings. In the hour-plus long video, al-Zawahiri orders Muslims in Egypt to create an Islamic state there and calls for the Arab armies of the Middle East to intervene in Libya to oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi before “Western aid… turns into invasions.” source – ABC News
Afghanistan Pushed To The Brink Of Chaos After US Pastor Burns Koran
Apr 4th
(CNN) — Deadly protests sweeping Afghanistan in reaction to the Quran-burning by Florida Pastor Terry Jones are a defeat for those on all sides fighting for Afghanistan’s peaceful future. They could not come at a worse time for the war effort in Afghanistan or the push to win greater support for the war here in the United States.
Americans hear of protests turning deadly as Afghans hear reports of U.S. soldiers killing civilians and a Quran-burning.
For the last two weeks, Afghan media have reported both on the Quran-burning and the horrific charges that American soldiers created “kill teams” that targeted Afghan civilians for sport and captured their murders on video, in some cases even posing with their corpses.
Many Afghans don’t realize that these few do not stand for the majority of Americans, who respect Islam and vocally condemn the desecration of a holy book by a rogue, publicity-seeking pastor. And that Americans feel overwhelming shame and outrage at the killing of innocents at the hands of U.S. soldiers, a sentiment particularly strong among those in uniform who see such crimes as a brutal desecration of their own standards and values. source – CNN News
Florida pastor Terry Jones’s Koran burning has far-reaching effect
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The charred Koran that inspired a deadly attack and violent protests across Afghanistan now sits in a plastic Home Depot bag in a storage room here in a run-down church. It has been stashed atop a pile of cardboard boxes, next to a tattered pair of boxing gloves. It still smells of kerosene. The Rev. Terry Jones had threatened to burn the text in September, in the midst of a controversy over plans to develop an Islamic center near the site of the September 2001 terrorist attacks in Manhattan. He was eventually dissuaded through the pleas of religious leaders and government officials, including a phone call from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
But when Jones announced in January that he was going to “put the Koran on trial,” he said he didn’t hear a single complaint. On March 20, Jones dressed in a judicial robe and ordered a copy of the Koran to be torched in a portable fire pit.
“It’s like people forgot about us,” Jones said Saturday. “But we kept doing what we do.”
The world was reminded of the 30-person Christian congregation at Dove World Outreach Center on Friday, when a mob incited by the burning of the Koran attacked a U.N. compound in Mazar-e Sharif, killing seven U.N. employees. On Saturday, related protests in Kandahar left nine dead and more than 90 injured.” source – Washington Post
