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You are here: Home / Organizing & Resistance / Enhanced Protest Techniques / Chicago, Illinois, 1968 Ferguson, Misery, 2014

Chicago, Illinois, 1968 Ferguson, Misery, 2014

by Anne Laurie|  August 13, 20149:37 pm| 247 Comments

This post is in: Enhanced Protest Techniques, Shitty Cops, Decline and Fall

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.@jelani9 @SusanGDailyKos It must be something about the way you're dressed….

— billmon (@billmon1) August 13, 2014

In addition to civil rights memories, #Ferguson also has a Chicago 1968 vibe to it: Cops just itching to crack skulls of "liberal media."

— billmon (@billmon1) August 14, 2014

In Chicago in '68 they took their badges off. They know how to do things in Chicago.

— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) August 14, 2014


.

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”

I had just finished the eighth grade when the 1968 DNC happened. Not sure if any of the other front-pagers, apart from Kay, had even been born…

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Reader Interactions

247Comments

  1. 1.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 9:40 pm

    Saw this picture about the police kicking people out of the McDonalds:

    Police toss customers from McDonald's, close business before sundown in Ferguson. #MikeBrown #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/FHM4lqdYSs— Robert Cohen (@kodacohen) August 14, 2014

    .

  2. 2.

    Botsplainer

    August 13, 2014 at 9:40 pm

    A Washington Post and HuffPo reporter were arrested by SWAT at a Ferguson McDonalds while recharging, eating and working. At least one was roughed up.

  3. 3.

    Botsplainer

    August 13, 2014 at 9:42 pm

    Link

    http://gawker.com/washington-post-huffpo-reporters-arrested-in-ferguson-1621284034

    The Ferguson chief, who they’d interviewed, exclaimed “oh God”, and ordered them released forthwith.

  4. 4.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    From the Huffington Post article about the arrest:

    “They essentially acted as a military force. It was incredible,” he said. “The worst part was he slammed my head against the glass purposefully on the way out of McDonald’s and then sarcastically apologized for it.” – Ryan J. Reilly

  5. 5.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    Not sure if any of the other front-pagers, apart from Kay, had even been born…

    Not a FPer, but I was there. I was four, but I was there.

  6. 6.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 13, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    @Belafon: trying to provoke a reaction as likely as not

  7. 7.

    Cacti

    August 13, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    So where are Rand and Ron Paul on the quasi-fascist police tactics in Ferguson, MO?

    How about Glenn Greenwald and the rest of The Intercept staff?

    I guess some police state tactics are more worthy of contempt than others.

    I’m sure it has nothing to do with the race of the demonstrators vs. the pigs.

  8. 8.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    Could you unmoderate my first comment, Anne?

  9. 9.

    raven

    August 13, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    I was in the barracks at Ft Lewis waiting to ship out to Vietnam watching it on the tube. I’m from Chicago and I remember being in Seattle that summer and people handing out flyers urging people not to go because it was a setup.

  10. 10.

    JoyfulA

    August 13, 2014 at 9:50 pm

    There were many unbelievable things happening around that time. But I’m not that young, married in 1967.

  11. 11.

    Liquid

    August 13, 2014 at 9:51 pm

    Probably seen it but this is pretty good.

    http://exposingtheblueline.blogspot.com/2014/08/shotgun-blues-thoughts-on-ferguson.html

    I never noticed the NVGs.

  12. 12.

    Iowa Old Lady

    August 13, 2014 at 9:52 pm

    I would think if you want the public to hear your side of the story, arresting the press isn’t the way to do it, but what do I know?

  13. 13.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 9:52 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Possibly, but I bet there was a “that felt good” thought in there as well.

  14. 14.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 9:53 pm

    @Botsplainer: Wesley Lowry was a little pissed about being released without being arrested because it meant that the police would not have to fill out a police report. So now they don’t have to justify their actions or identify those officers involved.

  15. 15.

    CarolDuhart2

    August 13, 2014 at 9:54 pm

    10 and 11, riots of 1967 and 1968. Haven’t forgotten the National Guard trucks roaring through our neighborhood, or the trashed businesses I walked past on the way to one that was open. Or turning out the lights and laying on the floor so that we wouldn’t be a target for stray bullets.
    Or the eerie silence that night as the streets were empty.

    I haven’t forgotten the school assembly where we had some sort of singing and things to do to calm down the situation for us kids.

    Policing like this was why the Black Panthers wanted self-policing in the community. Same thing with the Nation of Islam. No more racist stop and frisks. No more rigged cases. We would handle our own.

  16. 16.

    Percysowner

    August 13, 2014 at 9:54 pm

    The FAA has just declared Ferguson a NO FLY ZONE What the hell is happening to our country?

  17. 17.

    Botsplainer

    August 13, 2014 at 9:54 pm

    @Belafon:

    “They essentially acted as a military force. It was incredible,” he said. “The worst part was he slammed my head against the glass purposefully on the way out of McDonald’s and then sarcastically apologized for it.” – Ryan J. Reilly

    But they probably called him “sir” when they apologized.

    The new professionalism, you know.

  18. 18.

    raven

    August 13, 2014 at 9:57 pm

    @CarolDuhart2: I’m not saying things are better but only people that were not here then think it’s worse.

  19. 19.

    Botsplainer

    August 13, 2014 at 9:59 pm

    @MattR:

    @Botsplainer: Wesley Lowry was a little pissed about being released without being arrested because it meant that the police would not have to fill out a police report. So now they don’t have to justify their actions or identify those officers involved.

    There had to be a squawk. It’ll take a while to dig out, but dispatch has to have something.

  20. 20.

    Suffern ACE

    August 13, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    While there are many problem police forces, there’s something really wrong with this particular police department.

  21. 21.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 10:03 pm

    @Suffern ACE: One wonders how many other PDs have similar problems and simply haven’t been outed yet.

  22. 22.

    Anne Laurie

    August 13, 2014 at 10:03 pm

    @Cacti:

    How about Glenn Greenwald and the rest of The Intercept staff?

    Greenwald’s been tweeting about this since yesterday. Not like he could add much value by flying into Ferguson and getting arrested too, IMO.

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 13, 2014 at 10:04 pm

    @Botsplainer: I imagine he’s in an awkward position with regard to a civil suit (if there are grounds?) as a reporter. I could see Arianna making a stink on the other guy’s behalf

    Ryan Reilly, whose head got bounced, on MSNBC right now

  24. 24.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 10:05 pm

    Check out https://twitter.com/ChristinaKSDK feed. She’s a reporter who got to deal with the tear gas the police released just a little bit ago.

  25. 25.

    Davis X. Machina

    August 13, 2014 at 10:06 pm

    @Percysowner: There’s a realistic risk of mid-air collision with media choppers, especially after dark, regardless of whether the shooting at a police helicopter actually happened. I dont find it particularly sinister. The Boston Marathon, e.g. takes place under a similar set of restrictions — 3 mile radius, 3,000 AGL — and did so before the bombings.

  26. 26.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    @Suffern ACE: With the clothes, the guns, and the equipment they have out, this group seems to think it’s got to be threatening, like it’s got to prove something.

  27. 27.

    Suffern ACE

    August 13, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Probably. But the no fly zone means that either the police called the FAA worried that the the people in the neighborhood were armed with the types of weapons that could damage planes, or the police are planning on rolling out the drones.

  28. 28.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    “We’re dealing with 4,000 animals in there, & you want to give me attitude?” The deputy yelled, mad I was taking a pic
    Eli Rosenberg

  29. 29.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:12 pm

    ‏@jbendery 59s
    .@trymainelee now on phone with O’Donnell, sounds like he’s running, says street filled w/ smoke, can’t see 20 ft in front of him. #Ferguson

  30. 30.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Same basic problem though. None of the officers would identify themselves to Reilly and since they weren’t arrested there won’t be a paper trail (or it will be hard to find the needle in the haystack)

    @Suffern ACE: Well, the Ferguson police chief justified the use of mine resistant vehicles by saying that people have bombs now.

  31. 31.

    scav

    August 13, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    @Suffern ACE: But, wasn’t Scalia all in favor of people having access to such launchers, so long as they carried them as the founders envisioned? Aren’t these crowds assembled to protest the oppressive hands of over-bearing oppressive government authority exactly those oft-cited holy responsible militias?

  32. 32.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:15 pm

    Son of a bitch. the reporter now is saying that the St Louis Police Chief says he’s proud of the restraint of his fuckin’ officer.

    When asked why the severity of the police force, that it’s because there are “good people” in these neighborhoods and they “deserve to be protected”.

    WTF!

  33. 33.

    rikyrah

    August 13, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    Imani ABL ‏@AngryBlackLady 3m
    wow. RT @TallyAnnaE: People in #Gaza are tweeting information on how to handle tear gas to the citizens of #Ferguson. Mind blown. #MikeBrown

  34. 34.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    @lamh36: This is not going to end well.

  35. 35.

    aangus

    August 13, 2014 at 10:18 pm

    RIGHT NOW: EXPLOSION AND GUNFIRE CNN BE HEARD IN FERGUSON. TEAR GAS ALL OVER.

    https://twitter.com/PzFeed/status/499740576485765121

  36. 36.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    I was four, but I was there

    I was 13, and had stuffed envelopes for the McCarthy campaign (the parents of a girl I had a crush on were co-ordinating the local volunteers). Some things are not forgotten.

  37. 37.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:20 pm

    The reporter from @MSNBC on the ground in Ferguson is talking and you can here the effects of the tear gas

  38. 38.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:21 pm

    @JillEBond 3m
    We’d ALL like to know, Governor! RT @CapehartJ: Who is in charge in #Ferguson? Where is @GovJayNixon in all this?

  39. 39.

    skerry

    August 13, 2014 at 10:22 pm

    Police now using LRAD (long range acoustic device) sonic weapons in Ferguson.

  40. 40.

    Mike J

    August 13, 2014 at 10:23 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    or the police are planning on rolling out the drones.

    Please don’t be this stupid.

    Droooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeees.

  41. 41.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:24 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    But the no fly zone means that either the police called the FAA worried that the the people in the neighborhood were armed with the types of weapons that could damage planes, or the police are planning on rolling out the drones.

    Maybe. But an equally plausible and simpler explanation is that they don’t want news choppers with cameras in places where they can film what the cops are about to do.

  42. 42.

    Patricia Kayden

    August 13, 2014 at 10:24 pm

    @rikyrah: Wow. Speechless.

  43. 43.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:25 pm

    @WesleyLowery 10h
    Ppl in #Ferguson v sensitive to media descriptions of rioting, so worth noting: only behavior accurately described as such happened Sun.

    @WesleyLowery 10h
    Monday &last night protesters clashed w/police in riot gear who deployed tear gas. I saw nothing close to “riots” or “looting” #Ferguson

    @WesleyLowery 10h
    That said, the town is tense. There have been some troublemakers out and about. Others who are just overcome with emotion #ferguson

    @WesleyLowery 10h
    But the residents have not been “rioting.” It just isn’t true. Protesting: yes. Outraged: yes. Clashing with police: yes. Rioting: No

  44. 44.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 10:25 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    You probably already figured this out but it looks like the city police are not coordinating with or actually in control of the county police agency, and the county police agency are running the “op”.

    If city/county is there like it is here it would be better if the city police were running it, even given that the city police obviously have big problems of their own.

  45. 45.

    aangus

    August 13, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    Live stream

    Karen James ‏@kejames 1m

    Dear #Ferguson/St. Louis police, We are watching. America is watching. Put down your weapons. http://new.livestream.com/accounts/9035483/events/3271930 …

    Edit. Never mind, feed appears to be borked.

  46. 46.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    This is going to end with a lot of blood being spilled.

    Fuck.

  47. 47.

    Davis X. Machina

    August 13, 2014 at 10:29 pm

    @burnspbesq: Or someone’s concerned about the results of putting half a dozen news helicopters into a small area, in the dark, putting them all on 122.8 or 122.75, and tell them, “Be careful. See and be seen.”

  48. 48.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:29 pm

    What are the odds that at least one cop has “The Ride of the Valkyries” playing in his car?

  49. 49.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 10:30 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    But an equally plausible and simpler explanation is that they don’t want news choppers with cameras in places where they can film what the cops are about to do.

    That’s my guess.

    Jesus, there is no reason that this needs to be handled this way.

  50. 50.

    bluehill

    August 13, 2014 at 10:30 pm

    I guess the reporters should have gone to a Starbucks.

    https://twitter.com/kennethn/status/499722831660593153/photo/1

  51. 51.

    Suffern ACE

    August 13, 2014 at 10:31 pm

    @lamh36: Oh. I’ll bite. I’d be really happy if Putin made a statement that the loss of legitimacy of the government in Missouri means that it is time for Governor Nixon to go, and then offer up a Russian friendly candidate to take over.

  52. 52.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:31 pm

    @Davis X. Machina:

    That’s a legitimate concern, but to some extent you can rely on the professionalism and self-preservation instinct of the news crews to keep things sorted. And you’re right, it does help if they’re all on the same frequency.

    None of this speculation is mutually exclusive. It could be “all of the above.” It could be A, B, and D, but not C.

  53. 53.

    Suffern ACE

    August 13, 2014 at 10:32 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Yes. That is the reason for the zone, but that couldn’t be the reason they gave the FAA, or could it be.

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 10:32 pm

    @Kay: The county folks pretty clearly see their job as riot suppression and not crisis deescalation.

  55. 55.

    Anoniminous

    August 13, 2014 at 10:33 pm

    @rikyrah:

    People in #Gaza are tweeting information on how to handle tear gas to the citizens of #Ferguson.

    I find that rather touching.

    Granted I have a well-developed sense of the sardonic.

  56. 56.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 10:34 pm

    @aangus:

    It’s smaller than I thought. That looks like maybe 100 people? How can they justify this massive response?

  57. 57.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    @Suffern ACE: I believe I read that allegedly a police chopper was fired upon so Ferguson PD or St Louis County (at this point it appears STL county SWAT is in charge now) asked FAA to avert planes.

  58. 58.

    scav

    August 13, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Actually, at this point, it’s likely in their benefit to provoke an active problem to retroactively justify their behavior. This is not a situation under reputable control.

  59. 59.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:38 pm

    @lamh36:

    It’s telling that even us white middle-class suburban folks have no trouble believing that the cops are lying about that.

  60. 60.

    Poopyman

    August 13, 2014 at 10:38 pm

    @aangus: The whole world’s watching. The whole world’s watching …

  61. 61.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:41 pm

    @Poopyman:

    Heard that before. It wasn’t an effective deterrent in Chicago in 1968. Not sure there’s any reason to believe it will be effective this time.

  62. 62.

    BGinCHI

    August 13, 2014 at 10:41 pm

    Coverage right now on MSNBC is just fucking crazy.

    Someone tell me this is different from apartheid SA. White military/police suppression of black expression. The cops ordered everyone to turn off filming devices.

    WTF?

    I think we need nationwide protests over this. This is not a democratic way of doing things.

  63. 63.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 13, 2014 at 10:42 pm

    Boing Boing @B oingBoing · 8m
    #Ferguson—Police over loudspeakers now: “Please turn off your cameras.”

  64. 64.

    Dog On Porch

    August 13, 2014 at 10:42 pm

    The good people of the Show Me state (who recently enshrined Rush Limbaugh in their Hall of Fame of Great Missourians) know what they’re doing. Americans can rest assured just-us will prevail.

    That’s a bitterly cynical thing to say, but it’s all I got to contribute. If there’s a silver lining in America’s ever rightward drift, I don’t see it.

  65. 65.

    Suffern ACE

    August 13, 2014 at 10:42 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Please keep your cameras rolling.

  66. 66.

    PaulW

    August 13, 2014 at 10:43 pm

    the banned airspace was to keep the media from flying helicopters over the crowds and streets. the police were trying to control the type of pictures that would get out.

  67. 67.

    bluehill

    August 13, 2014 at 10:43 pm

    Whoever is in charge must not have heard of social media before. So dumb.

    https://twitter.com/PDPJ/status/499744688107446272/photo/1

  68. 68.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 10:43 pm

    @scav: I agree. Sadly. More people are likely to be injured or die to justify a hamfisted response to a crime.

  69. 69.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 10:44 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    It’s not a big group of protesters, they’re peaceful, and the county people are freaking out. They’re advancing on them and firing something at them.

    http://new.livestream.com/accounts/9035483/events/3271930

  70. 70.

    MomSense

    August 13, 2014 at 10:45 pm

    I wasn’t there but only because my Mom gave up protests before her third trimester.

  71. 71.

    Davis X. Machina

    August 13, 2014 at 10:46 pm

    @PaulW:

    NOTAM posted at 07:18 AM local time yesterday…..runs through 18 August

  72. 72.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 10:47 pm

    @burnspbesq: Fuck that. It is obviously A, C and D, but not B.

    @burnspbesq: Agreed. Also think it is telling that no TV police drama would ever allow a main character to act as any of the officers have done in the rash of recent incidents across the country.

  73. 73.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:48 pm

    Wait, someone on twitter says the Police Chief is on Hannity! Really, really

  74. 74.

    Occasional Reader

    August 13, 2014 at 10:48 pm

    Just imagine if a gaggle of those open-carry types showed up and tried to reassure everyone.

  75. 75.

    fleeting expletive

    August 13, 2014 at 10:49 pm

    @Poopyman: That thought worries and horrifies me.

  76. 76.

    MomSense

    August 13, 2014 at 10:49 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    Chris Hayes tweeted that the cable networks can’t run live feeds on their broadcasts because the authorities ordered the satellite trucks to leave Ferguson. I would like to know why the cable networks chose to comply.

  77. 77.

    skerry

    August 13, 2014 at 10:49 pm

    Washington Post video of Wesley Lowery’s arrest

  78. 78.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 10:49 pm

    @Kay: The Columbus police used to do shit like this against OSU house parties. The would form up threateningly and move in. the would tell people to leave, but not let them out. At some point, some kid would do something provocative and the CPD would have a “riot” to suppress.

    I hope everyone there is filming and tweeting and posting every second of this. We need a record of what is happening/has happened.

  79. 79.

    PaulW

    August 13, 2014 at 10:50 pm

    I know the comparisons are being made to 1968 Chicago, but we had a major riot in LA in 1992, again in response to police overkill (beating Rodney King into a pulp) and a sense of injustice (the cops were acquitted after the trial was moved to a whiter suburb). The riots themselves did harm, but the LAPD’s overreaction to that contributed in the worst ways.

    The thing about now is, we’ve got twitter, we’ve got smartphones, there’s wifi and livestreaming. And we’ve got a police force that’s pumped up into a self-defense “we’re the victims” mode that’s adding to the cycle of violence rather than cooling things down.

  80. 80.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 13, 2014 at 10:50 pm

    I was 11. My family had just purchased our very first color TV, and we got to watch the baby blue helmets of the Chicago PD as they proceeded to riot in the streets.

  81. 81.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 10:50 pm

    @lamh36: Wow. If he has a PR person and he hadn’t fired him/her before this evening, that should be the final straw. Nothing says “I’m really trying to work towards a peaceful resolution” like going on Hannity’s show to discuss the situation. I guess Alex Jones would be worse, but we are scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

  82. 82.

    PaulW

    August 13, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    @MomSense:

    Chris Hayes tweeted that the cable networks can’t run live feeds on their broadcasts because the authorities ordered the satellite trucks to leave Ferguson. I would like to know why the cable networks chose to comply.

    Because nobody wants to get shot at.

  83. 83.

    MazeDancer

    August 13, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    Michael Brown’s body has been released to his parents. They are having an independent autopsy performed. Seems like the truth will be revealed by forensics. And that the police already know that truth. Their autopsy is done.

    Also seems unusual that they released the body so quickly.

  84. 84.

    PaulW

    August 13, 2014 at 10:52 pm

    At this point, to hell what the wingnuts scream about, time for Obama to call in the National Guard and put the Ferguson police force and the county police force on suspended leave. The local authorities are blowing this out of proportion.

  85. 85.

    jnfr

    August 13, 2014 at 10:52 pm

    In 1968 I was just entering high school and I remember Chicago pretty well though I didn’t really understand it all (I was only 13 then).

    But I was also a kid in Mississippi in the Jim Crow years, from 1959 to 1964, and I understand exactly what’s happening in Ferguson.

  86. 86.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 10:53 pm

    Just an FYI, the reports are that it’s is “St Louis County Riot Police” who’s firing tear gas. I assume that means that the Ferguson PD it’s mostly St Louis PD on the ground now.

  87. 87.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 10:53 pm

    @PaulW: I was listening to King’s lawyer earlier tonight as he is now representing the family of Ezell Ford. Was disturbing to see how little had really changed in LA in the past 20 years.

  88. 88.

    PaulW

    August 13, 2014 at 10:54 pm

    @MazeDancer:

    Michael Brown’s body has been released to his parents. They are having an independent autopsy performed. Seems like the truth will be revealed by forensics. And that the police already know that truth. Their autopsy is done.

    Hate to be the conspiracy nut here, but… the Ferguson PD could have altered the physical evidence. After all, their forensics people are trained on what to look for and can disguise the physical evidence or remove it without leaving a trace…

  89. 89.

    fleeting expletive

    August 13, 2014 at 10:54 pm

    Not much attention has been paid to Why they will not release the name of the cop who killed him. I bet it’s because, True Detective style, ferguson is wired up. This cop has scope, man. It also nears a tipping point. This is a big deal and I’m glad MSNBC seems to be staying on it. Laurence O’D seems to be on it, although I’d “also know the name of the officers filing the incident report.”

  90. 90.

    Liquid

    August 13, 2014 at 10:54 pm

    Was watching that livestream. Some cop comes up to the reporter and says “We had the rescue team out looking for you. We thought they got you.”

  91. 91.

    wonkie

    August 13, 2014 at 10:55 pm

    I don’t have TV. How is the corporate TV media covering this? If they are covering at all? I remember the Chicago police riots. That was my intro to politics. I was fourteen. My parents, who never owned a TV, rented one to watch the convention. They were McCarthy supporters. We watched hours of riots.

  92. 92.

    burnspbesq

    August 13, 2014 at 10:55 pm

    @MomSense:

    I would like to know why the cable networks chose to comply.

    Speculation on my part, but what do you expect would happen if a cop stuck a gun in a driver’s face and told him to get his fucking satellite dish the fuck out of this fucking city?

  93. 93.

    MomSense

    August 13, 2014 at 10:55 pm

    @PaulW:

    Because nobody wants to get shot at.

    Exactly why the cable networks should stay and keep the cameras rolling.

  94. 94.

    aangus

    August 13, 2014 at 10:55 pm

    PzFeed Top News @PzFeed · 15s

    RIGHT NOW: Ferguson Police officer injured after Molotov cocktail fired at him. Yard fires started from tear gas.

  95. 95.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 10:57 pm

    @PaulW:

    After all, their forensics people are trained on what to look for and can disguise the physical evidence or remove it without leaving a trace…

    I doubt it. This is a pathologist in a Midwestern suburb, not a CIA lab.

  96. 96.

    Citizen Scientist

    August 13, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    I’m in the middle of ready Nixonland right now, and the events in Ferguson eerily parallel the circumstances surrounding the civil rights movement (Watts riots, etc.) up to MLK’s assassination, Chicago ’68 and the aftermath in the way that “the Establishment” went after anyone and anything that wasn’t considered anti-commie or truly American. I guess we really don’t learn from our history here in ‘Merca. That, or the left never really had a chance against the authoritarian establishment; they just let us think we did.

    What depressing thoughts after a great evening hanging out with my family in beautiful weather. Just makes me angry.

  97. 97.

    jenn

    August 13, 2014 at 11:00 pm

    Re the National Guard, that’s the Governor’s call, I believe, not Obama’s.

  98. 98.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 13, 2014 at 11:01 pm

    @lamh36: Yup

    Paul Waldman @ paulwaldman1 · 14m
    Right now on CNN, MSNBC: Live shots from Ferguson showing tear gas, etc. On Fox: Hannity interviews Ferguson police chief.
    ReplyReplied to 0 times RetweetRetweeted 140 times140 FavoriteFavorited 39 times39

    They’re choosing up sides

  99. 99.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:02 pm

    @jenn: That is correct.

  100. 100.

    fleeting expletive

    August 13, 2014 at 11:03 pm

    I just posted because I had something to say so I just read the intro to this post. Kent State is very real to me. The following month my 22 year old self and my little older first husband went into the Peace Corps and I was so grateful to be able to leave the US for a while. I thought there would be a huge conflagration after Kent State. Woodstock? I’m unclear what happened during those years to dissipate the momentum.

    This feels like Chicago 68, Rodney King, Detroit. Something is slouching this way.

  101. 101.

    Cacti

    August 13, 2014 at 11:03 pm

    Joaquin Castro lets ’em have it on Twitter:

    I’m sure that Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are going speak up for the liberty and freedom of the ppl of Ferguson against govt overreach soon..

  102. 102.

    rikyrah

    August 13, 2014 at 11:03 pm

    from POU:

    JB20005

    Fact: Michael Brown had no criminal record.

    Fact: Michael Brown was walking to his grandmother’s house.

    Fact: Michael Brown was detained by a Ferguson police officer for no clear reason, shot dead, and his body left to molder uncovered in the August sun for 4-hours.

    Fact: Ferguson PD will not identify the officer who killed him, how many shots were fired, or where the bullets entered.

    Fact: Ferguson PD is a 94% white force in a 67% black town.

    Fact: Ferguson PD have a history of race-based law enforcement discrepancies, searching black motorists in routine traffic stops at twice the rate of white motorists.

    Fact: Ferguson PD are now detaining and harassing journalists, and tear gassing people standing in their own yards.

    Fact: white right wingers consider the Ferguson PD the good guys in all of this.

    Conclusion: scratch a right winger, find a fascist underneath

  103. 103.

    Poopyman

    August 13, 2014 at 11:04 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The sides were made up long ago.

  104. 104.

    Mike in NC

    August 13, 2014 at 11:04 pm

    Cracking minority skulls could land Ted Cruz in the White House in 2016, if he plans it will a touch of subtlety. In our area, we’re seeing lots of dumb shit about bad behavior in Atlantic Beach and nearby areas where decent white people are being targeted by ‘those people’.

  105. 105.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 11:06 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    They’re really reaching. They arrested the reporters for “trespassing” in the McDonalds. That was the charge.

    I listened to the city police chief on the radio earlier this evening and he didn’t sound insane, but if he’s really making the FOX News rounds and appearing on Hannity while the St Louis county police go completely nuts in his city I’ll have to reconsider that opinion.

    The ACLU made a demand for the incident reports of the shooting. They have to be released w/in three days after demand under state law but city/police can claim an exception and then it’ll have to go to court.

  106. 106.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 11:07 pm

    @aangus: I saw his tweet, but I don’t see any other reporting saying the same.

  107. 107.

    Judi

    August 13, 2014 at 11:08 pm

    Where is the Governor of Missouri? Where is Claire McCaskill? It’s just crickets from Missouri leaders to ratchet back the situation in Ferguson. It’s almost like they want the worst to happen.

  108. 108.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:08 pm

    There is no reason for this. Michael Brown should never have been killed. And even after that crime was committed, the area authorities could easily have handled things professionally. But the kid was killed and the authorities are handling as poorly as possible. So fucking unnecessary. So fucking criminal.

  109. 109.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    @eyokley
    Inquiry out to @GovJayNixon’s office about what he’s seen/done re: #Ferguson tonight. No reax. 8 am event tomm, open press. Will learn more.

  110. 110.

    fleeting expletive

    August 13, 2014 at 11:10 pm

    I think I remember from the Occupy era, the remedy for tear gas poisoning is wet bandanas over your nose and mouth and milk of magnesia soaking it. I don’t recall where I heard that.

  111. 111.

    Cacti

    August 13, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    @Kay:

    I listened to the city police chief on the radio earlier this evening and he didn’t sound insane, but if he’s really making the FOX News rounds and appearing on Hannity while the St Louis county police go completely nuts in his city I’ll have to reconsider that opinion.

    He perked up my bullshit detector early on when he said, he’s tried to make his lily-white force more diverse, but gosh darnit he just can’t get any black applicants.

    Even if true (which I doubt), maybe the utter lack of black applicants in a 2/3 black city ought to raise a red flag about the quality of his existing officers.

  112. 112.

    lamh36

    August 13, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    @tbogg 4m
    Last thing: this is just a prelude of what will come when an all-white jury acquits the cop who killed Michael Brown.

  113. 113.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Speculation on my part, but what do you expect would happen if a cop stuck a gun in a driver’s face and told him to get his fucking satellite dish the fuck out of this fucking city?

    Not saying I would have the courage to do it, but it would have been nice if one driver and cameraman had forced the police to do that on tape.

    @Cacti: I posted it earlier, but for me it was when he said they needed to deploy a mine resistant vehicle because people use bombs now.

  114. 114.

    Cacti

    August 13, 2014 at 11:16 pm

    Police in Ferguson telling press to stop recording on a public street.

    Ummm…that’s unconstitutional.

  115. 115.

    Origuy

    August 13, 2014 at 11:17 pm

    @aangus:

    Ferguson Police officer injured after Molotov cocktail fired at him.

    More likely a tear gas canister thrown back at him.

  116. 116.

    aangus

    August 13, 2014 at 11:18 pm

    Ooops.

    @Origuy

    Sounds reasonable to me.

  117. 117.

    max

    August 13, 2014 at 11:19 pm

    @Percysowner: The FAA has just declared Ferguson a NO FLY ZONE What the hell is happening to our country?

    “Revolt from above” – Bundy ranch situation except run by the local cops.

    @BGinCHI: I think we need nationwide protests over this. This is not a democratic way of doing things.

    Well, yeah. That’s the point. Some of those Pentagon folks making plans for dealing with civil unrest were thinking of guns and bombs and guys waving Confederate flags and seceding. And some of those Pentagon folks were worried about the blacks looting.

    This is just political suppression for because some one doesn’t understand the concept of democratic protest. They see ‘the apes’ revolting and they want ‘the humans’ to stomp them down.

    max
    [‘Interesting how in theory the right-wing vision of revolution always has themselves as powerless victims, even when they’re revolting against democratic norms.’]

  118. 118.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    @Cacti: That is why I hope every person there is recording events and uploading in as close to real time as possible. The cops won’t be able to hide. Those who do their job well (if any) will be seen and those who are out of control will be seen as well. The world should be watching.

  119. 119.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    @Cacti:

    I don’t understand why they haven’t “interviewed all the witnesses” yet. That’s what he said. Why not? How many witnesses to the shooting could there be? Is it even double digits? How could it possibly take this long? They managed to arrest, process and release 40 protesters but somehow they can’t get the witness interviews done.

    Michael Brown had no criminal record.

    If they have another trial like the Zimmerman trial where they convict the victim who isn’t there to defend himself this country is going to explode.

  120. 120.

    Dave C

    August 13, 2014 at 11:22 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    While I don’t for a minute doubt that what is going on is very bad, Apartheid South Africa was much, much worse.

  121. 121.

    Dog On Porch

    August 13, 2014 at 11:22 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: I was 11 in August 1966, and probably ate in a Little Black Sambo restaurant near the California-Oregon border that year. Once every summer I’d eat lunch there on my way home from Salem, Oregon to San Francisco (in a fucking Rambler). Again, that was the liberal left coast of the mid-’60’s. The moral being while laws and sensibilities change, intolerance abides. But then that’s hardly a news flash, is it?

  122. 122.

    Cacti

    August 13, 2014 at 11:25 pm

    @Kay:

    If they have another trial like the Zimmerman trial where they convict the victim who isn’t there to defend himself this country is going to explode.

    I strongly suspect that if the cop is charged, a white judge will grant him a change of venue to a white exurb or white rural area.

    Because as we all know, only white people are fairly equipped to adjudicate acts of violence by white people against people of color. Much the same as only men can be trusted to fairly discuss issues unique to women.

  123. 123.

    Suffern ACE

    August 13, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    @Kay: if he did Facebook, he obviously didn’t do much of anything, or we would have heard about it by now.

  124. 124.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    @Cacti: I think the very close eye that the DOJ is going to have on this case will prevent that.

  125. 125.

    fleeting expletive

    August 13, 2014 at 11:27 pm

    @PaulW: Also because they don’t care to commit journalism. If they were, they’d be in Somalia or Iraq, and actually be exposing him/her self to something outside their bubble.

  126. 126.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 11:27 pm

    @Kay: It wouldn’t shock me if at least one witness was not immediately cooperative because they were (wisely) seeking legal representation before speaking with the police (and the lawyer wanted to have enough time to thoroughly review everything before the meeting)

  127. 127.

    Cacti

    August 13, 2014 at 11:28 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    That is why I hope every person there is recording events and uploading in as close to real time as possible. The cops won’t be able to hide. Those who do their job well (if any) will be seen and those who are out of control will be seen as well. The world should be watching.

    In the digital age, there are way too many people with cameras for the police to effectively hide what they’re doing. I suspect there will be plenty of video and audio of “racist cops gone wild, middle America edition”.

  128. 128.

    aangus

    August 13, 2014 at 11:28 pm

    Retweeted by Imani ABL
    Atrios @Atrios · 34m

    jay nixon’s career is over.

  129. 129.

    skerry

    August 13, 2014 at 11:28 pm

    Wesley Lowrey’s story on his arrest.

  130. 130.

    Starfish

    August 13, 2014 at 11:29 pm

    Am I understanding the Twitter Machine correctly? Is Elon there?

  131. 131.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 11:33 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    Oh, God, don’t get me started. Did you know he was suspended from high school? They once searched his backpack for “criminal tools”

    This is “criminal tools” in Ohio:

    “Possessing criminal tools.
    (A) No person shall possess or have under the person’s control any substance, device, instrument, or article, with purpose to use it criminally.”

    For juveniles, it means “I can search your backpack and I’ll find something” and that’s all it means.

  132. 132.

    scav

    August 13, 2014 at 11:34 pm

    @Cacti: Facts and evidence probably won’t matter. They’ll claim they were “in fear of their lives”, because if their is anything apparently more potent than white woman tears, it is white mens’ fears for justifying all actions. Especially heavily armed white guys in uniforms. They decide if they’re scared. They decide what constitutes rioting or resisting arrest. They decide who are the “good people” that should be protected by the law and those others to whom the whole system doesn’t apply.

  133. 133.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    @MattR:

    Great point. I didn’t consider that.

  134. 134.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    @Kay: @MattR: I have already heard that at least one witness, the dude who was with Brown when he was killed, will not speak to anyone but the feds.

  135. 135.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    @Belafon: The reporter I mentioned, Christina, has not been heard from in two hours since the cops surrounded her vehicle.

  136. 136.

    max

    August 13, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    Enough is enough in Ferguson

    Anyone familiar with the history of race and policing in the United States had to suspect from the beginning that the shooting of Michael Brown was not just a tragedy, but a crime. Yet presumption of innocence prevails and sober minds know both the need to wait for an investigation and the reality that we may never really know what happened that fateful Saturday in Ferguson, Missouri. But watching events unfold Wednesday night in the St. Louis suburb, there can be no doubt that what happened on August 13 was an outrage.

    The local authorities clearly have no idea what they’re doing, and higher powers from the state or federal government need to intervene before things get even worse.

    max
    [‘He’s right.’]

  137. 137.

    fleeting expletive

    August 13, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    This has been just about the best bj thread ever.y’all can be pretty astute sometimes.

  138. 138.

    rikyrah

    August 13, 2014 at 11:41 pm

    Catherine Rampell @crampell · 1h

    Washington Post reporters have been arrested in two cities this year: Ferguson and Tehran http://www.vox.com/2014/8/13/6000821/ferguson-wesley-lowery-jason-rezaian-iran-arrested?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_name=share-button&utm_campaign=vox&utm_content=article-share-top …

  139. 139.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 13, 2014 at 11:41 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Conclusion: scratch a right winger, find a fascist underneath

    This is not rocket science. It has always been this way.

    I’d go beyond fascist, and get specific, to the German fascist movement that was just slightly tinged with naked racism.

  140. 140.

    Shalimar

    August 13, 2014 at 11:44 pm

    @Cacti: “Chris Hayes interviewed a local black attorney on his regular show earlier. She said she applied to the county attorney’s office out of law school and they were very interested in hiring her. Then the interviewer told her that she would hear the n-word used by co-workers and asked her if that bothered her. She didn’t take the job.

  141. 141.

    Kay

    August 13, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Yay for that, because the other one is making me nervous. I wish someone would tell him to stop being interviewed on MSNBC.

  142. 142.

    El Caganer

    August 13, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I dunno if that works, either. It didn’t pan out so well for Ibragim Todashev.

  143. 143.

    rikyrah

    August 13, 2014 at 11:47 pm

    Ed Bott ✔ @edbott
    Follow

    More people have had their civil rights violated by the Ferguson police in the last 24 hours than by the NSA in the last 10 years.
    8:00 PM – 13 Aug 2014

  144. 144.

    sharl

    August 13, 2014 at 11:47 pm

    Looks like Radley Balko done went Twitter-fishin’ for a specific kind of fish. I’ve been admiring his catch

    rolandsmartin @rolandsmartin
    Where are the libertarians shouting from the roof tops about the lack of following the U.S. Constitution in #Ferguson?

    chimezie @iloanya1
    May be libertarians only care when it affects the right color #Ferguson

    ACME Sales Rep. @ACMESalesRep
    White “libertarians” are apparently able to threaten the police without recourse. Why aren't they stepping in to defend #Ferguson? #racists

    Steve Dowdy @Steverocks35
    All you silent libertarians? Just stay silent from now on, you no longer have credibility. #Ferguson

    Max Berger @maxberger
    I'm looking forward to libertarians who warn of a police state speaking out against the state violence and repression in #Ferguson

    Anton Chigurh @Gaffitoff
    Libertarians & conspiracy theorists are okay with a police state as long as that police state is harassing black people. #Ferguson

    Mary @MFL1956
    Where is the screaming from "libertarians" about Ferguson family getting gassed in their own back yard? @RachelDecoste @divineem @Sherrea_D

    Amanda Ann Klein @AmandaAnnKlein
    this/RT @BrookeObie: Hey, Libertarians! That #PoliceState you've been fearmongering about is actually happening in #Ferguson. Why so silent?

    Grungy for Gaza @GrungyBerns
    Lol at libertarians and anti-surveillance bros so quiet while police state is [actually] happening in #Ferguson. Traitors.

    May @MayTMyint
    Where did all those white libertarians going on about the police state go? #Ferguson

    Oh, well… should help sales of Mr. Balko’s book, Rise of the Warrior Cop.

  145. 145.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    Years ago, I interviewed for a position with the Madison, WI, City Attorneys’ Office. More than half of the questions I was asked dealt with how I would respond to protest situations and consultations with the police about them. As I answered the questions, the panel kept coming back to “How can you make sure that the protestors’ rights are protected?”* Madison is more familiar with and friendly to protests than many cities, but it was an informative interview.

    *I ended up in a different job.

  146. 146.

    john fremont

    August 13, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    @Cacti: Also, the 2nd Amendment backs up all of the other ones, so where are the NRA, and the Open Carry crowd? The right to peaceably assemble and redress the government for grievances is getting shoved aside right now. So where are the 2nd Amendment guys?

  147. 147.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 13, 2014 at 11:49 pm

    @rikyrah: Glenzilla is not interested in the problems of dark people. Only dudebros.

  148. 148.

    MattR

    August 13, 2014 at 11:50 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): @Kay: Pretty sure you are both talking about Dorian Johnson. From what I saw of him on MSNBC he spoke very little and only answered a couple short, factual statements and let his lawyer do most of the talking. Definitely a good move not wasting his time talking to the local police if the FBI/DOJ are taking over the investigation.

  149. 149.

    rikyrah

    August 13, 2014 at 11:52 pm

    @Cacti:

    I believe if it’s federal charges…it will move to federal juridiction.

  150. 150.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:53 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: I have been told that he is tweeting his disapproval.

  151. 151.

    max

    August 13, 2014 at 11:55 pm

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via TPM):

    One big problem with convening such an investigative panel is that it’s not clear who has jurisdiction. The same problem plagues the entire response in Ferguson: Who has command authority? Who is accountable for the decisions that are being made?

    The fragmentation may be deliberate; it certainly mirrors the fragmentation that is the bane of the entire region. But the first rule of restoring public confidence is to earn it. Someone must step forward and take responsibility — both for the law enforcement effort that’s currently underway and then for the investigation that must follow.

    It will have to be Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a man whose every instinct is to dodge bad news whenever possible. Sorry, governor. But you asked for the job.[…]

    Mr. Nixon is the only public official with the authority to create an independent investigative commission. Public confidence demands that he announce plans to do so immediately. Its membership should be diverse and of unquestioned integrity. Its members should come from law enforcement, civil rights, academia and civic leadership. It’s time to step up.

    The police agencies may know who’s in charge, but the public deserves to know, too. At whose order were police dogs brought in? Who authorized the use of tear gas and non-lethal baton rounds?

    What central command authority is making sure that officers from multiple jurisdictions are singing from the same hymnal? Is anyone up to speed on the latest thinking in law enforcement about dealing with mass protests?[…]

    Individual officers generally have shown great restraint. But those images are doing incalculable harm, and not just to community relations in Ferguson. The nation and the world have seen horrible images from St. Louis that suggest that race relations here have a long way to go.

    They’re not wrong.

    max
    [‘Nope. They ain’t.’]

  152. 152.

    sharl

    August 13, 2014 at 11:55 pm

    @sharl: Of course, some libertarian folks – like lawyer “Popehat” – have been screaming loudly about Ferguson, as have some of the anti-surveillance, “pro-Snowden” folks I follow. But a lot of self-identifying “libertarians” do seem rather quiet about Ferguson.

  153. 153.

    fleeting expletive

    August 13, 2014 at 11:55 pm

    This is a very excellent BJ thread. Compliments to all.

  154. 154.

    SatanicPanic

    August 13, 2014 at 11:56 pm

    @Mike in NC

    : Cracking minority skulls could land Ted Cruz in the White House in 2016

    ,
    I don’t know, I’m skeptical

    if he plans it will a touch of subtlety.

    Ted Cruz and subtlety don’t really go together so well

  155. 155.

    Cacti

    August 13, 2014 at 11:57 pm

    @john fremont:

    Also, the 2nd Amendment backs up all of the other ones, so where are the NRA, and the Open Carry crowd? The right to peaceably assemble and redress the government for grievances is getting shoved aside right now. So where are the 2nd Amendment guys?

    Indeed.

    Where are Cliven Bundy’s militia pals who were totally not racist fringe nuts, just concerned with the creeping police state?

    They were willing to use their wives and daughters as human shields over some redneck’s trespassing cattle. Where were they tonight and this past week?

  156. 156.

    Belafon

    August 13, 2014 at 11:57 pm

    deleted.

  157. 157.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 13, 2014 at 11:57 pm

    @MattR: Yep, Dorian Johnson is the guy.

    @rikyrah: State jurisdiction will give murder charges against the cop. This would be the best result. If a jury acquits, federal charges violating Michael Brown’s civil rights could follow.

  158. 158.

    Mart

    August 13, 2014 at 11:58 pm

    Local news Channel 5 in the Lou had a field camera during the 10PM newscast panned on a soldier, er officer; who is taking aim while hiding behind a large stone street marker. Then they pan over and show a live feed set-up for a broadcast of al-jazeera, America. Then a loud pop and the al-jazeera boys are running from the tear gas canister that blew up right under their feet. The fuck am I, my home in St. Louis county, or Qatar?

  159. 159.

    lamh36

    August 14, 2014 at 12:00 am

    SMH, Nate Silver posted a group of tweets about that time he got arrested. I guess in some way to relate to what’s going on???

    Lord, Nate is a smart guy, but good Lord those tweets are ridiculously oblivious it will mKe you SMH too.

    “@desusnice: The unmitigated caucasity in this arrest story tho http://twitter.com/desusnice/status/499759126202056704/photo/1”

  160. 160.

    browser

    August 14, 2014 at 12:00 am

    @Davis X. Machina: Difference here is that the FPD specifically asked for the restrictions by claiming that shots were fired at police helicopters. Restricting it to handle media chopper traffic makes sense, but that’s not why they wanted it.

  161. 161.

    aangus

    August 14, 2014 at 12:01 am

    @Belafon:

    Never mind.

  162. 162.

    Cacti

    August 14, 2014 at 12:01 am

    @Mart:

    The fuck am I, my home in St. Louis county, or Qatar?

    Ferguson, Missouri, Republic of South Africa.

  163. 163.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:01 am

    You can blow out a candle
    But you can’t blow out a fire
    Once the flames begin to catch
    The wind will blow it higher
    Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
    Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
    -The man is dead

    And the eyes of the world are
    watching now
    watching now

  164. 164.

    max

    August 14, 2014 at 12:02 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: the German fascist movement that was just slightly tinged with naked racism.

    The problem with the Nazi narrative is that people need to understand that Hitler was emulating the United States, specifically people like Andrew Jackson. He was just modernizing up and speeding up the operation. The kind of brute force crap you see he preceeded Nazism by a long stretch and if it has anything in common with Europe, it comes from the ideology-free low-rent fascism of Italy, France, Spain and eastern Europe, (‘fuck all the theories, let’s just find us a strong man on horseback and get out there and bash some heads’) and not much to do with the ‘scientific’ racism of Nazism.

    max
    [‘Just to be pedantic.’]

  165. 165.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 14, 2014 at 12:03 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): If he wants to avoid being cast as a very selective proponent of civil liberties, he’d better do a lot more than tweet his disapproval.

    If you’re worried about a police state, you need to be jumping up and down and screaming about what is going down in Ferguson. No excuses. Sean Hannity has chosen his side, the side of authentic jack booted thugs.

  166. 166.

    skerry

    August 14, 2014 at 12:03 am

    The twitter machine is saying that Alderman Antonio French has been arrested and is in the Ferguson jail. Source is his wife. Ferguson is his district.

  167. 167.

    lamh36

    August 14, 2014 at 12:05 am

    they have arrested Alderman Antonio French!

  168. 168.

    burnspbesq

    August 14, 2014 at 12:05 am

    @Kay:

    No person shall possess or have under the person’s control any substance, device, instrument, or article, with purpose to use it criminally.

    That’s hilarious. If I’m reading that correctly, possession of a pencil is illegal if I have a purpose to poke you with it.

    I remember spending a day each in Crim Law and Con Law talking about “void for vagueness.”

  169. 169.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 14, 2014 at 12:05 am

    @max: Well, yup. Hitler often cited racial policies of the United States as the way to go. His euthanasia/”racial hygiene” policies, for example, were explicitly modeled on some American precedents. And we all know that those lead to, eventually.

  170. 170.

    Cacti

    August 14, 2014 at 12:06 am

    @max:

    Individual officers generally have shown great restraint.

    The line that let’s me know this editorial was penned by a white person.

    Always give the badges the benefit of the doubt, even when it’s wholly undeserved.

  171. 171.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:06 am

    @Belafon: Cole put some of that up earlier and took it down because it was not verified.

  172. 172.

    James E. Powell

    August 14, 2014 at 12:07 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    I was caught in exactly that situation on an OSU-Michigan Friday night. They cordoned off a rectangle on High Street, ordered all the bars to close and empty out, then shot tear gas into the crowds as they poured out onto the street. The beat with nightsticks and forced everyone down one street where the wagons were being loaded. It was the only time I ever went out on Michigan weekend.

  173. 173.

    Shortstop

    August 14, 2014 at 12:07 am

    @rikyrah: wha…I just…it’s…whoa.

  174. 174.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 14, 2014 at 12:08 am

    @browser: Sorry, but the claims of the Ferguson PD IRT shots at police helos have about as much to do with reality as the WMD of the great Mesopotamian adventure.

    They want to act without the media looking over their shoulder.

  175. 175.

    rikyrah

    August 14, 2014 at 12:09 am

    this is truth

    ………………………..

    john r stanton ✔ @dcbigjohn
    Follow

    how bad, and for how long, have things been in #Ferguson if the cops are willing to be this draconian with the world watching?
    8:37 PM – 13 Aug 2014

  176. 176.

    mai naem mobile

    August 14, 2014 at 12:10 am

    Can’t be bothered to wade through the thread but I hope the cameras at the mcd s were on and they save the tape. Seriously, fuck these cops. Enough. I can’t watch this stuff. Its too depressing. I just know my mom would have been utterly and completely devastated if my brother had been killed in any manner, forget about in this way.

  177. 177.

    burnspbesq

    August 14, 2014 at 12:11 am

    @john fremont:

    Where did you get the idea that other-than-white people have rights under the Second Amendment? Were other-than-white people permitted to join the militia in 1789?

    /originalist

  178. 178.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:11 am

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): I never saw you as musical before. Nice selection for a debut.

    @Villago Delenda Est: I was just making the observation. FWIW I am jumping up and down about Ferguson. Near tears of both rage and sadness. I mean my parents fought this kind of obvious shit. I thought that was gone and we were just working on the insidious shit. The more fool me.

  179. 179.

    rikyrah

    August 14, 2014 at 12:11 am

    he’s had some of the best tweets during all of this

    …………………..

    Joel D. Anderson ✔ @blackink12
    Follow

    St. Louis alderman @AntonioFrench has apparently been arrested tonight during the protests in #Ferguson, according to his wife and friends
    10:53 PM – 13 Aug 2014

  180. 180.

    Mart

    August 14, 2014 at 12:11 am

    http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/08/13/ferguson-protests-fourth-night-tear-gas/14037883/

    NewsChannel 5 reporter Elizabeth Matthews even documented police throwing gas at Al Jazeera America reporters while trying to set up for their own program. She said that officers forced media to move out of the area.

    USA! USA! USA!

  181. 181.

    ruemara

    August 14, 2014 at 12:12 am

    @Starfish: he and some of the TWiB crew went there

  182. 182.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 14, 2014 at 12:13 am

    @Mart:

    The fuck am I, my home in St. Louis county, or Qatar?

    Gaza, MO. Enjoy!

  183. 183.

    MattR

    August 14, 2014 at 12:14 am

    @mai naem mobile: Video taken by Wesley Lowery

  184. 184.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:14 am

    @James E. Powell: I never left German Village on OSU-UM days.

  185. 185.

    Cacti

    August 14, 2014 at 12:15 am

    I’m confused by all of this.

    John Roberts told me that racism was over in America.

  186. 186.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:15 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I’m a prog rock guy. For the most part, we don’t do political. That one’s a very good exception to the rule, though.

  187. 187.

    browser

    August 14, 2014 at 12:15 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: Hey, no apology necessary. I have no doubt they’re lying through their teeth. What I should’ve said is that their reasoning for restricted airspace is bullshit.

  188. 188.

    Anne Laurie

    August 14, 2014 at 12:15 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Glenzilla is not interested in the problems of dark people. Only dudebros.

    Greenwald’s been tweeting about Ferguson since yesterday. Repeating your stale mantra won’t change that.

    Of course he’s not yet flown to MIssouri, to get in on the action personally, but then neither have I… or you. And if he did, you’d probably say — not without reason — that he was showboating for the media!

  189. 189.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 14, 2014 at 12:16 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I know that.

    It’s just that Glennzilla needs to get very busy if he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life being mocked for his selective outrage.

    Same goes for Paul Père et Fils

  190. 190.

    SatanicPanic

    August 14, 2014 at 12:17 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: Hitler was doing that hoping to get support in the South. In their defense (yikes), the south were mostly have none of it, and refused to see the parallel. Make of that what you will. But the South were early and strong supporters of FDR’s moves to get ready for war with Nazi Germany.

  191. 191.

    rikyrah

    August 14, 2014 at 12:18 am

    Angie Coiro @Angie_Coiro
    Follow

    If you don’t see by now that white Americans live in an entirely different country than black Americans, it’s willful ignorance. #Ferguson
    9:05 PM – 13 Aug 2014

  192. 192.

    Cervantes

    August 14, 2014 at 12:19 am

    @Cacti:

    [1] So where are Rand and Ron Paul on the quasi-fascist police tactics in Ferguson, MO? [2] How about Glenn Greenwald and the rest of The Intercept staff? [3] I guess some police state tactics are more worthy of contempt than others. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the race of the demonstrators vs. the pigs.

    Re [1]: ask them. Re [3]: your opinions; comment seems unnecessary.

    Re [2]:

    Our short-term mission is to provide a platform to report on the documents previously provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. […] Our long-term mission is to produce fearless, adversarial journalism across a wide range of issues. […]

    Make of that what you will.

    And see also here.

    And here for more important questions than are raised in [1] through [4].

  193. 193.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 14, 2014 at 12:19 am

    @Anne Laurie: Well, it’s what the guy does nowadays. Showboat.

    Good that he’s tweeting, but when he brings more of his patented endless blog posts to bear, I’ll be much more impressed. His repeated failure to be concerned about things like voting restriction and stop and frisk with the same fervor he brings to the NSA’s hoovering I find to be…disturbing.

  194. 194.

    danielx

    August 14, 2014 at 12:20 am

    Remembering the bad old days….I do get a very distinct sense that the rough beast is stretching its muscles.

  195. 195.

    Davis X. Machina

    August 14, 2014 at 12:20 am

    @browser:
    The NOTAM went into effect Tuesday morning.
    People are freaking out about it now.
    Suddenly it’s sinister?

  196. 196.

    Cacti

    August 14, 2014 at 12:22 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    If he wants to avoid being cast as a very selective proponent of civil liberties, he’d better do a lot more than tweet his disapproval.

    If the Ferguson PD had gotten a hold of some white guy’s internet hentai collection, he’d be posting a 20,000 word jeremiad on The Intercept.

    Black people getting their heads cracked is worth a few Tweets only.

    But it’s still better than black people’s new best Republican friend, Rand Paul has done.

  197. 197.

    MomSense

    August 14, 2014 at 12:22 am

    @lamh36:

    And now twitter is broken. I think there is a bail fund that was set up by archdefenders but I can’t get on twitter right now to grab the link.

  198. 198.

    SatanicPanic

    August 14, 2014 at 12:24 am

    Rand Paul is not going to say shit. He knows what side his bread is buttered on.

  199. 199.

    Cervantes

    August 14, 2014 at 12:24 am

    @rikyrah: True for centuries.

  200. 200.

    PurpleGirl

    August 14, 2014 at 12:27 am

    I was a junior in high school. Aware of politics but not really active or interested. I had other priorities and problems to consider.

    ETA: Among the books I read at the time was “The Late Great State of California.”

  201. 201.

    gwangung

    August 14, 2014 at 12:30 am

    @mai naem mobile:

    See
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/13/reporters-arrested-ferguson-video-wesley-lowery_n_5677001.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&ir=Politics

  202. 202.

    Mandalay

    August 14, 2014 at 12:31 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: @Villago Delenda Est:

    His repeated failure to be concerned about things like voting restriction and stop and frisk with the same fervor he brings to the NSA’s hoovering I find to be…disturbing.

    Priceless. You’re certainly making someone look like a fucking idiot, but it’s not Greeenwald.

  203. 203.

    some guy

    August 14, 2014 at 12:31 am

    Is there anything Glen Greenwald would or could do that would lessen the irrational hate he brings out on some folks around here? Weird.

  204. 204.

    Mart

    August 14, 2014 at 12:32 am

    @some guy: No.

  205. 205.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:33 am

    @Cervantes: The questions regarding the Pauls are quite reasonable and should be allowed to resonate. They don’t care; anyone who pays attention knows that. It does not make it wrong to put the question out there. The lack of answer speaks loudly.

  206. 206.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:35 am

    @some guy: Yeah, that is the important issue. Wonderful focus on your part.

  207. 207.

    some guy

    August 14, 2014 at 12:38 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Actually I don’t give a shit one way or another what GG has to say about Ferguson. Nor do I care what Kim Kardashian had to say about it, or Tom Brady.

    Get a fucking grip

  208. 208.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:43 am

    @some guy: And yet you comment about it rather than the substance of the issue. I have a grip; I’ve been watching the events in Ferguson all night.

  209. 209.

    browser

    August 14, 2014 at 12:44 am

    @Davis X. Machina: It’s sinister for the reason they asked for it. RTFA.

  210. 210.

    some guy

    August 14, 2014 at 12:45 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    I was commenting on the love fest for GG from you and your pals, dickhead. Get over yourself.

  211. 211.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 14, 2014 at 12:46 am

    The claim that someone was throwing Molotov cocktails seems to have gotten traction. Is there any evidence that the Molotov cocktails existed?

  212. 212.

    ruemara

    August 14, 2014 at 12:49 am

    @Matt McIrvin: I saw one shot from a local photoJourno of a pathetic looking molotov. Probably about a 2 on the molotov scale. But it was surrounded by black people, in whose hands it would be capable of nuclear warhead potential.

  213. 213.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 12:49 am

    @some guy: My only comment directly about GG was that I had been told that he was tweeting about it.

    Your anger issues are your own. Not my problem.

  214. 214.

    tokyo expat

    August 14, 2014 at 12:51 am

    @lamh36: @Judi: @aangus: The thread’s probably dead, but where the hell is Jay Nixon? I read an article that was 2 hours old (Business Insider) that said he’d been to a 4H meeting and some other event and his spokesperson said he had already addressed the community the day before. Idiot. He’s got a very short window of opportunity (if that) to get control of this situation.

    I was just short of my 3rd birthday in ’68. I’m appalled and horrified that we seem to be refighting battles in civil rights and women’s rights all over again. What is happening to America?

  215. 215.

    Suffern ACE

    August 14, 2014 at 12:51 am

    @Matt McIrvin: there was a picture on the bbc and guardian site that looks like it could be one. Although the bbc site indicates that the photo was from Tuesday. Also it looks like it could be a flare of some sort. If it is a Molotov cocktail, it is leaky.

  216. 216.

    Comrade Luke

    August 14, 2014 at 12:52 am

    Yup. The takeaway for anyone reading the news tomorrow is “Those n****** had it coming”

    https://twitter.com/PhillyDailyNews/status/499763544460910592

  217. 217.

    Mart

    August 14, 2014 at 12:52 am

    @Matt McIrvin: The question of what was thrown at the cops should be mute. They are dressed in combat gear behind armored vehicles with shields, batons, and machine guns. But yes, I am sure this will be the lede in the morning. Blame the one asshole who maybe did it, and ignore the 250 nice folks sitting with their hands up looking for answers.

  218. 218.

    gian

    August 14, 2014 at 12:53 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    the greenwald stuff – well – I admit I haven’t followed him much since Bush, but IIRC he wrote books not just blog posts ripping Bush and Republicans in general.

    what has he done to fail a purity test since?
    is it being concerned about the same stuff he was in 2006?

    I looked into him on amazon – is it some tie in to the spy/traitor snowden that prompts the rage?
    (IOW he’s the same blowhard asshole he always was, on our side for some issues, not for a few others, but with serious attitude and arrogance problems)

    did you hate him in 2006 when he published this:
    How Would a Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok by Glenn Greenwald (May 15, 2006)
    or in ’08 when this was published?
    Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics by Glenn Greenwald (Oct 7, 2008)

    I mean I don’t like him ’cause I think he’s a pompous ass, but the notion he was birthed from the head of zeus in 2009 and only complains about Obama, I just don’t get.

    And to the actual topic. Fergusson needs the damn national guard to step in and police the police, they seem scared, and trigger happy and are making a bad situation worse. They’re running that town like a bad mix of Al Haig, Darrell Gates and Jeb Stuart

  219. 219.

    Comrade Luke

    August 14, 2014 at 12:53 am

    @Mart:

    See my comment, directly above

  220. 220.

    Comrade Luke

    August 14, 2014 at 12:57 am

    @Comrade Luke:

    Looks like the Philly Daily News has had a change of heart: https://twitter.com/PhillyDailyNews/status/499773531321016321

  221. 221.

    Suffern ACE

    August 14, 2014 at 1:00 am

    @Suffern ACE: it looks like they threw the police’s flares.

    @Mart: agreed. It’s not like our government wouldn’t be issuing stern warnings to other governments in the same situation.

  222. 222.

    aangus

    August 14, 2014 at 1:00 am

    @tokyo expat:

    “The state’s governor, Democrat Jay Nixon, spent the early evening tweeting about an education policy dispute in the state legislature, and was MIA on the issue at hand.”

    http://www.vox.com/2014/8/13/6000799/ferguson-governor-nixon-president-obama-need-to-get-control

  223. 223.

    PurpleGirl

    August 14, 2014 at 1:03 am

    @efgoldman: Ah yes. I remember fighting with my Grandmother about the Czechs and the Russians. Of course, her POV was still based on the Austro-Hungarian Empire (she was a royalist). She came to the US around 1908 or so.

  224. 224.

    Cervantes

    August 14, 2014 at 1:04 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Yes, hence “ask them.”

    “Keep asking them” might have been clearer.

  225. 225.

    tokyo expat

    August 14, 2014 at 1:07 am

    @aangus: He’s toast. I don’t see how he can recover from this. And what sucks is he’s a Democrat. We need democratic governors and others in state power positions. He’s proving the old meme that Democrats are weak.

    I know this is a state issue, but do you think Obama will say anything further?

  226. 226.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 14, 2014 at 1:09 am

    @Cervantes: I assumed that the Paul questions, at least, were rhetorical. The GG questions, less so as Greenwald does comment here on occasion. OTOH, I don’t really care about either the Pauls or Greenwald here. I am more concerned about what is actually happening in Ferguson.

  227. 227.

    Suffern ACE

    August 14, 2014 at 1:10 am

    @tokyo expat: the election isn’t for two years. And what do you want him to say? I think it would be something like “go inside your homes and calm down”

  228. 228.

    Dave C

    August 14, 2014 at 1:10 am

    So, um, has everybody involved with the governing of Ferguson, MO resigned from their posts yet? If not, why not?

  229. 229.

    Violet

    August 14, 2014 at 1:12 am

    @tokyo expat: Saw on Rachel Maddow late night live show that Jay Nixon has canceled his visit to teh MO State Fair and is going to the protest county (North something?) to address the problem. “Statement to Follow” the tweet said.

  230. 230.

    Anne Laurie

    August 14, 2014 at 1:13 am

    New post, same topic, up now…

  231. 231.

    amk

    August 14, 2014 at 1:14 am

    @Dave C: : good question. tweeted.

  232. 232.

    Mart

    August 14, 2014 at 1:14 am

    @Comrade Luke: I was trying to get the whole video on the Google of the St. Louis County Soldier taking aim behind a stone and concrete pillar, with machine gun drawn back-up County Militia men over his shoulder, aiming a canister at al-jazeera America’s live feed. All I found is the gas going off and the crew running. It was a pre-meditated attack. It makes me sick, and I am flowing adrenaline near 911 levels.

  233. 233.

    aangus

    August 14, 2014 at 1:14 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    Thank you.

  234. 234.

    tokyo expat

    August 14, 2014 at 1:14 am

    @Suffern ACE: He needs to be visible. He needs to show he’s on top of the situation. From everything I’m reading, there’s no clear chain of command when it comes to the law enforcement agencies in the ground and he’s the one who can lay that out.

    We nailed Bush to the wall for his response to Katrina. This is not on the same scale, but it is a crisis in his state. Attending a 4H event says quite a lot about the governor’s priorities and I believe it’s the wrong message to send.

  235. 235.

    gian

    August 14, 2014 at 1:15 am

    @Dave C:
    I hear rumors one was arrested

  236. 236.

    tokyo expat

    August 14, 2014 at 1:15 am

    @Violet: Thanks. Good to know. Hope something positive comes out of it.

  237. 237.

    Matt McIrvin

    August 14, 2014 at 1:17 am

    …’Cause, yeah, what I saw was cops firing tear-gas canisters at people who were committing the terrifying terroristic public menace of standing in an intersection yelling.

    I mean, I suppose maybe they’d be blocking traffic, except that there was no traffic what with all the massive line of heavily armed cops advancing down every street shouting for people to turn off their cameras.

  238. 238.

    Don K

    August 14, 2014 at 1:18 am

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):

    Thanks. I just had to listen to that now at full volume.

  239. 239.

    TS

    August 14, 2014 at 1:18 am

    @PaulW:

    At this point, to hell what the wingnuts scream about, time for Obama to call in the National Guard and put the Ferguson police force and the county police force on suspended leave. The local authorities are blowing this out of proportion.

    Governor’s job – the President is not the person to micro manage everything that happens in every state. If the Governor did his job this would be OVER.

  240. 240.

    PhilbertDesanex

    August 14, 2014 at 1:22 am

    Kent State my ass, that was white kids, so there was Concern.
    This looks more like Jackson State. ‘sniper’ report and all.

    .

  241. 241.

    RareSanity

    August 14, 2014 at 1:24 am

    @Suffern ACE:

    And what do you want him to say?

    “I have advised the necessary persons in command of the law enforcement officers in Ferguson, to order their personnel to refrain from pointing weapons at citizens exercising their right to protest peacefully. Over the course of the next several hours, I will be monitoring the situation closely, to determine if State resources may need to be mobilized in order to relieve the local authorities, and attempt to reduce the growing tensions between the citizens and local law enforcement agencies.”

    I don’t know, seems pretty simple to me.

    Or, he could just sit around, completely tone-deaf to the situation dangerously escalating in his state, and tweet about some education bill.

  242. 242.

    Joel

    August 14, 2014 at 1:25 am

    It can’t happen here…

  243. 243.

    wasabi gasp

    August 14, 2014 at 1:46 am

    @Comrade Luke:

    The contrast between those two front pages is a striking display of the power of the media.

  244. 244.

    Botsplainer

    August 14, 2014 at 2:24 am

    @aangus:

    RIGHT NOW: Ferguson Police officer injured after Molotov cocktail fired at him. Yard fires started from tear gas.

    Not saying how I feel about this.

  245. 245.

    Botsplainer

    August 14, 2014 at 2:38 am

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):

    I’m a prog rock guy.

    Love me some prog rock. Longtime Jethro Tull, Yes fan.

  246. 246.

    Botsplainer

    August 14, 2014 at 2:53 am

    @RareSanity:

    “I have advised the necessary persons in command of the law enforcement officers in Ferguson, to order their personnel to refrain from pointing weapons at citizens exercising their right to protest peacefully. Over the course of the next several hours, I will be monitoring the situation closely, to determine if State resources may need to be mobilized in order to relieve the local authorities, and attempt to reduce the growing tensions between the citizens and local law enforcement agencies.”

    I’d go with: “I am deeming the police authorities of Ferguson and St Louis Counties to be in a state of insurrection, and have ordered elements of the National Guard into Ferguson in order to relieve those citizens of an out of control police presence. The police can choose to either stand down or fight the National Guard, but those citizens will be protected.”

  247. 247.

    Mustang Bobby

    August 14, 2014 at 5:41 am

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I was 16, up in Michigan, watching on TV, thereby proving the chant that “the whole world was watching.”

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