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Subscribe to RSSAs world leaders gather for the NATO summit in Chicago this weekend, thousands of protesters prepared to march in protest of the war in Afghanistan and the shaky economy. Below are reports from msnbc.com's Miranda Leitsinger (@mimileitsinger), protesters and Chicagoans, documenting what they see.
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Okay authorities, lock, load, place the weapon on automatic and create a lasting impression on this trash walking the streets.
The administration imposed the most draconian police state legal structures in U.S. history before summoning the heads of NATO to Chicago. NATO accounts for 70 percent of military spending on the planet – combining the capacities of yesterday’s imperialists and the current superpower. “The Black man in the White House is seen, ironically, as the last best hope of the old colonial racial order and the rule of capital.”
The Empire Holds Its War Council in Chicago
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
“U.S. anti-war movement now confronts a growing fascist infrastructure here at home, as it opposes imperial crimes, abroad.”
If anyone has doubts about what it means here at home when the U.S. seeks to militarily dominate the world, take a trip to Chicago, this week. There, you’ll see the Chicago police, the second largest force in the country, reinforced by cops from Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Charlotte, North Carolina, and backed up by two high decibel noise machines that were first used against American civilians in Pittsburgh to blow out the eardrums of protesters, back in 2009. Overall security for the NATO summit meeting is overseen by the FBI and the Secret Service, who in recent months have been given unprecedented police state powers, thanks to President Obama and a bipartisan Congress.
With dignitaries on hand from the more than 50 countries that have done Washington’s bidding in Afghanistan, there will be lots of opportunities for the feds to invoke their new powers to put demonstrators in prison for up to ten years if they set foot on property containing any person under the protection of the Secret Service. That could include huge chunks of the city. And, of course, who knows what kinds of plots the FBI is conjuring up through its squads of agent provocateurs embedded in the ranks of demonstrators. Thanks to the preventive detention without trial legislation signed into law by President Obama this past New Year’s Eve, every American has lost her Constitutional right to due process of law. Which means that a reconfigured and far more principled U.S. anti-war movement now confronts a growing fascist infrastructure here at home, as it opposes imperial crimes, abroad.
The Chicago police claim they don’t plan to turn the eardrum-busting sound cannons on full volume against the demonstrators – just loud enough to convey “messages” to the crowd. The protesters are sending their own message, one that has become far more popular and general than could have been imagined, a year ago. Since the emergence of the Occupy movement, last October, millions of Americans have come to understand what Latin American peasants have always known: that the nexus of war in the world is Wall Street, and the Pentagon is its servant – as is the White House and most of the Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. War is waged for the purpose of global economic subjugation and, therefore, peace can only be won by dethroning the financial bad guys: the Lords of Capital. So, much of the peace movement now sees itself as an expression of the 99 Percent, against the warlike and greedy 1 Percent.
Once that lesson is learned, it cannot be shouted out by police sound-blasters.
President Obama has made skillful use of NATO, to make it appear that he is not a go-it-alone cowboy, like George Bush. Obama has drawn closely to his side the old imperialists of Europe, who looted and pillaged the earth for five hundred years, establishing the planetary racial hierarchy that has only recently begun to crumble. The Black man in the White House is seen, ironically, as the last best hope of the old colonial racial order and the rule of capital. The Global One Percent can only be maintained in power by the U.S. war machine. Ultimately, the world needs only one thing from the American people: that they dismantle the machine.
For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford. On the web, go to BlackAgendaReport.com.
http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/empire-holds-its-war-council-chicago
You know what Dave? Some "trash walking the streets" are nurses, you know the front line caregivers that make or break a hospital. Oh you missed that?! Its not that hard to find look at the pictures and links which will give you a good perspective of what is really happening. Oh, just so you know, theirs a lot of unhappy people in this world who have jobs, children, brothers, friends etc. who live and breath the same existence as everyone else on this marble. You would actually love to see the police hurt them wouldn't you? Your anger against them is unjustifiable. Judging people you don't know is prejudice.
Everybody looks like they are having a grand old time. If the cameras and news copters were not there, they would all go home.
@ Arch; And this affects your day how? Really, give an example of how this personally affects you?
Each time there is a world summit a "bubble" is made, and if you choose to enter that bubble, just as an airplane, or a secured area, you give up your rights, and can be searched or detained for anything. This is not an erosion of the constititution,(or Draconian lol) just a temporary containment field of protection from those that wish to do great harm, not really aimed at average citizens like you and me. Although if you are security everyone is suspect, lose that edge, and security erodes.
"Paranoya strikes deep into your life it wil creep"
Stop being so afraid Arch, and just enjoy your day . Kay sara sara.
Coral Taxi,
Put down the crack pipe and take a look at the real world.
And it's "paranoia" not "paranoya"
I do live in the real world sir, and if you spend most of your time being afraid in it then will not have lived much of a life. You should of answered to the point I made that this((Chicago security zone) is not a sign of our rights eroding, as you seem to be trying to make that point. Instead you insult because I put your logic in the dirt,(typical and predictable) and you can not refute anything I have said.
The world will always have its problems just like before us,and after us. Be happy you live in a free country, and enjoy those freedoms. Rule of law will continue in America believe me.
We have a history of kicking arse then rebuilding then leaving if we must. We already dominate the world militarily sir, We spend more on our national defense than most countries of the world combined? Where have you been sir?
You also never answered how the situation in Chicago has PERSONALLY affected your life. You know why?Because is hasnt, and willl not in the future.
So like I said before enjoy your liberty, quit sweating all the stuff you have no control over. Americans are armed to the teeth, and moreso by the day, so worry not our liberties will not be lost.
How about a rebuttal or agreement instead of an insult, only shows you can not defend wat you have wrote.
Your "manifesto" reaks of paranoia, and conspiracy theories.
Not to be a pain, but it's also "Que sera, sera", it's French.
And simply because an issue does not affect you personally does not mean you have no stake in how it turns out. Did Libya affect you personally? Of course not. But I bet you were cheering the "rebels" on to kick arse and rebuild. Why? It's nothing to you. Good thing, too, because all it did was enable an extremist Islamic fundamentalist council - not even a government - that had the al Qaeda flag flying from the roof of the Benghazi courthouse the day after NATO pulled out.
Something else I hesitate to bring up, because I know it will cause you trauma, is that the military budget that seems to make you so proud is unsustainable at its present level; you cannot continue on the razor edge of recession and keep chucking ever more money into defense. Which is in itself a laugh, because how can you rationalize a military that size simply for defense? Of course it's not: it's for power projection and securing American foreign policy goals.
Oh, and that's "reeks" of paranoia, not "reaks".
@ Mark; Your not being a pain, I knew I had the spelling wrong,but that my point would get across. I respect people who correct with class.
We must keep an overwhelming edge on our constituents, so the budget is justifiable, and for defense. and if you look at the pie chart it is not the percentage of the budget that most think.
Give me one example of a "foreign policy goal" that we have gained from war in the past 15 yrs, other than just taking the leader out of power, which is usually the peoples goal we are backing. If anything we have taken out and helped the people remove those leaders that were a benefit to us politically. eg Lybia, Egypt.
We understood going into these situations that Islamist could be elected into parliament(in the vacuum). The choice is theirs not ours to make. We gave them a start to democracy, what they do with it will surely decide whether they stay friend or foe, nonetheless we allow them to make that choice. Get it?
Sure we can and we will.
I hope they show the same dissatisfaction at the polls by voting for anybody but obama.
Losers
I wonder how many NATO guys are going to sample Chicago's 2-dollar hookers?
Occupy Intelligence: Whiney Cry-Babies Go HOME.
A few, minority of protestors have a legitiment grief, as they worry about no budget in DC passed in over 1100 days, as Congress and Obama shows no concern and do nothing to help America with all the joblessness or homelessness in America. Obama does spend and Congress allows hundreds of Billions spent on his Boondoggles that fail and tax payers pay for it.. A few teed off or disalousional Vets and some who want the war to end after 10 or 11 years, in Afghanistan, costing many Trillions and to many Americans dying there and no one seems to care, as it is a hopeless cause an is not winnable, as their muslim citizens all hate Americans and want to destroy infidels and they don't want freedoms and will never turn into a democracy or those different tribes won't stop fighting each other and killing each other, have been doing it since before BC. All the muslim Terrorists Groups in that area, still hate Americans and our Freedoms and love allah and only believe in will use Sharia law and they are brain washed since babies to kill infidels, so they will plan and try to attack America and kill all they can and will do that for centuries...........
The rest and majority of protestors are just professional traveling and local protestors, Socialists, Communists, Home Grown Terrorists, Anarchists, Criminals and Dope Heads, all who are Anti-American or Anti-Democracy or Anti-Capitolism or Anti-Establishment and Anti-Military and Pacifists and just Lawless Bums and Tramps !!