A-Infos (en) US, SchNEWS 644, Friday 29th August 2008 ecxerpt - Anti DNC/RNC - STORMING THE BARACK AIDES

The 1999 WTO protests – the Battle in Seattle – were a watershed moment in 
contemporary direct action history. On the one hand, people power showed it 
could disrupt, interrogate and even block those in power from their largely 
misguided work (or evil self-interested work, if you prefer). A self-consciously 
global movement against neo-liberalism shook capitals (and capitalists) around 
the world. ----  And, on the other fist, the authorities swiftly took a long 
hard look (no, not into their consciences, but) at their ongoing security 
arrangements. G8 and WTO style shenanigans have been held in increasingly 
remote, water-surrounded, illiberal, police state type locations ever since.

In America, Seattle helped spark the political will for a Neocon
inspired clampdown on civil liberties to begin in earnest, culminating
in a draconian new raft of measures brought in under the cloak of 9/11
and flag-waving patriotism. The War on Terror® masked a new wave of
resistance-crushing. But is a new backlash against all this finally
emerging back in the Homeland of the brave?

With Iraq smouldering away like a new Vietnam, over 9,000 anti-war
protesters descended on Denver last week, marching to the gates of the
Pepsi building – the un-ironical union-busting choice of venue for the
Democratic Party convention being held to proclaim Barrack Obama as
the latest saviour of the planet. OK, activists were helped with
pulling in punters by a free Rage Against the Machine gig, but
nonetheless this was one of the biggest such demonstrations seen in
years.

And that was only the warm up. Even bigger things are planned for
next week’s Republican National Convention (RNC) in city of St Paul,
Minneapolis. A large mobilisation, self-styled as the ‘RNC Welcoming
Committee’, is expected and a full support infrastructure is in
place, including convergence centres, training, legal aid, free use of
bikes and more. Repression has been extensive in the build up with
raids on social centres, indymedia offices and private homes.
And the flip side of the rampant post 9/11 expansion of
military-gear-being-flogged-to-paranoid-consumers means that this time
the black bloc are expected to turn up in body armour and gas masks.
It all looks set to kick off so watch this (convergence) space.

www.protestrnc2008.org www.NoRNC.org and
http://twincities.indymedia.org
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