>Will GOP convention be Chicago Redux?

we can only hope.

"It used to be peaceful ex-hippies with placards -- they're almost quaint by today's standards," she said. "In New ! York we saw a professional class of protesters, with an angry, violent mob mentality. Their goal is not to be heard. Their sole purpose is to create anarchy in our streets."
Annette Meeks

Read the entire article at the link above. New York City was able to contain the violent thugs with their 37,000 police officers; Minneapolis has roughly 3,000 and no real riot plan as yet. They are likely to be overwhelmed.
Jim Addison

No doubt there will be some trouble makers, there almost also are. But what I find funny is that the tone of the article makes it seem like all the protesters are violent, yet that is far from the truth.

Case in point, this quote from the article:
"In the end, in what has been widely hailed as a triumph for police, New York controlled an estimated 400,000 protesters with remarkably little violence.

Even so, the city is still facing more than 600 protest-related lawsuits."

Wow, a whopping 0.15% of protestors were arrested. What a dilemma.

I attended the NYC convention protests (on Monday, the last day) and saw no acts of violence or property destruction. Yes, we yelled at the convention goers as they passed us on the way to their hotel, but so what? Isn't that what a protest is about, so that those you're trying to make an impression on hear you?

Oh, and with regards to the first quote:
"It used to be peaceful ex-hippies with placards -- they're almost quaint by today's standards,"

I think those are still around, although many people did their darndest to ignore them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_15,_2003_anti-war_protest#_note-Cities

The main reason there wasn't MUCH more violence in NY in 2004 is that many groups were infiltrated by the police. A lot of things got nipped in the bud, thankfully.

Today's Hard Left are not "protesters"; they are violent, anarchic thugs. Their goal is violence, disruption, and chaos.

Minneapolis will be overwhelmed next year. Might as well plan for that now. The only way they can avoid it is preventive arrest and/or detention, which is not really possible in our system. Sadly.

I actually look forward to everyone being able to see what the Hard Left is really about. Let Americans see who these people are and watch their destructive actions. Let Americans see the chaos they can unleash on a major American city.

It will be a sublime gift to the GOP in November 2008. Thanks in advance, black bloc.

sean nyc/aa ~ Of course, not ALL the protesters at Chicago 1968 were violent criminals, either. Nor were ALL the protesters at Seattle in 1999.

It doesn't take a village to start a riot . . .

Those protesters may show up at the Democrat Convention, too. By the time Hillary gets the nomination she's going to be tracking firmly in the center, in hopes of winning the election, and that's going to drive the hard left absolutely crazy.

I'm staying well away from Denver during the convention. It's going to be a zoo -- both inside and out.

You should move to commie china Jim! They think the EXACT SAME WAY YOU DO!!! You'd fit right in buddy.

The only way they can avoid it is preventive arrest and/or detention, which is not really possible in our system. Sadly.

Yeah, it's a shame that we can't just toss people in jail even though they haven't committed a crime. A real shame.

Since when is planning a riot not a crime?

Since when is planning a riot not a crime?

Well, since Scott was referring to preventative arrest "not really possible in our system," I assumed he meant arrest of people for whom there is no evidence of a crime or intention to commit a crime. Or do you think anyone who protests is "planning a riot?"

That's what I meant. No one should be arrested or detained for having done nothing.

The word "done", however has many meanings. I see nothing wrong with preventive detention if there is proof of intent to do harm. And yes, that depends on what the "harm" is.

Want to carry signs and picket? Fine.

Want to throw ball bearing under police horses and invade hotels to harrass and attack convention delegates? Not fine.

The NYPD has solid evidence of plot after plot to cause real, actual, nasty HURT to people. Molotov cocktails are not placards.

The problem I have with today's Hard Left is that they have no intention of keeping their dissent within the confines of civilized behavior. I live in San Francisco, and I have seen protest after protest degenerate into massive vandalism, destruction of property, arson, assault, and other crimes. The cops try to keep it together, and for their trouble they get 200 lawsuits over some hippy's sprained wrist.

Personally, I am sick of it. And when America watches it all on TV next fall, they'll be sick of it, too.

Scott is correct. The left has lost all semblence of civility. They are crude and rude. ww

I say let them act like the juvenile hun bastards that they are. And let Kos speak at the DNC conventions as well. Same with Dylan Avery...primtetime.

Here come the hoods,thugs,trouble makers,liberals and wackos all proving they are stupid