" ... whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government "
Those words from the Declaration of Independence echo even today as anarchists moved in the streets.
There was a time both in this country and overseas, where one would peacefully petition officials and address grievances.
Obviously, to some, who feel their actions are justified & are standing up for a selective idea of civil rights, while denying the same to others, all institutions are evil and need to be abolished.
" Repression is the seed of revolution - Daniel Webster "
" Longing not so much to change things as to overthrow them - Cicero "
" Whence come the fanatics ? Mostly from the ranks of the noncreative man of words ... the eternal misfits and the ... contemners of the present. - Eric Hoffer. "
If one didn't know better, one could imagine that the pictures above and below were scenes of bombed-out buildings from the Blitz in Great Britain in WW2 .
But one would be very wrong as once again, the powers of anarchistic behavior racked the streets of London & San Francisco.
In England, mobs who were protesting government cuts in social services, while in San Francisco, protesters were protesting the local subway transit agency for shutting off cell phone service underground and for the killing by transit cops of a homeless man.
The mobs in England said they were " getting their taxes back " while destroying local shops that they claim were owned by rich and " greedy " companies.
A reporter who asked them why they were rioting lamented that they were destroying HIS neighborhood, where HE lived.
We've seen this kind of behavior in THIS country, where wild eyed Leftist radicals have burned out businesses, broken windshields and done damage to property to protest economic conferences in Pittsburgh, Seattle and to protest the shooting of a BART passenger by a cop who thought he was reaching for his taser instead of his gun. ( Which happened in another case back East as well. Although I can't understand why you can't FEEL the difference in your hand between a taser and a gun. ).
The protesters here have used their rage as an excuse to loot as well.
On Monday, I had a medical appointment to go to in San Francisco. I did not know that the hacker group, anonymous, had organized a protest for 5 pm that day. The ride over was uneventful, but as I got off the bus at Union Square and walked down to Market Street at Stockton to go to the Apple Store I noticed that the sidewalks leading past Macy's and down to Market were almost empty.
After I was finished in the Apple Store, I saw the sidewalks leading to the Powell Street Bart station and away from it to 3rd Street were almost empty too. You could have literally counted the people who were walking. Normally the sidewalks and intersections are filled with people.
As I got to the Montgomery Street Bart Station I saw there were no throngs of people going INTO BART. NO well dressed women, no men in business suits with bags. I went into BART and down to the platform to go home to the East Bay and saw only 1 small line of people waiting for the train. Normally the platforms are packed. As my train arrived, I went in and sat in the handicapped seats and looked around and saw more empty seats than passengers. The two attached cars were also empty.
When we left the station, the pa system announced that the Civic Center station was closed due to a civil disturbance. Only departing passengers would be allowed to off board.
As we went through the trans bay tunnel and got to Oakland, it was announced that the Powell Street station was closed for the same reason. It was like listening to the equivalent of a virus outbreak you see in a contagion film. Then they announced that Montgomery Station was closed. Then Embarcadero Station was closed as well.
One of the pictures above shows the gates of Powell Street station being closed and protesters going down the escalators into BART. Another shows the police blocking access ( or trying to ) to the escalators that lead down to the station.
As I got to my destination in Concord, they announced that Civic Center station had re-opened.
Once I got home, I saw on the news what effect the protesters had on the BART system and people. Thousands stayed away from using BART. Many could not either get home or would miss their connections to get home. One woman said she lived in Fairfield and now could not get home due to the protesters disrupting her transit connection. A black woman said that she and her children could not get home to Oakland so she could make dinner.
So we have leftist protesters protesting for civil rights while denying the civil rights of thousands.
The right of the citizenry to simply go home.
The rights of businessmen to make a living.
The rights of the disabled to use BART and travel throughout the system to their connections.
I was very lucky as I must have been on one of the last trains to leave Montgomery Street station.
Leftists always decry that THEIR civil rights are being violated or that they CARE about the civil rights of others.
Yet they show no compassion nor concern when THEY violate the RIGHT of travel and association of others and disrupt a transit system and inconvenience thousands of riders.
135 or so years ago we had draft riots in New York City. Armed troops SHOT the rioters as they torched buildings, disrupted businesses and disrupted an entire city.
In 1970, in the UK, the government sought to hang those who burned down their equivalent of a huge farmer's market during rioting there.
But during the rioting in the UK recently, police and fire officials were debating whether to use water cannons on the crowd.
Instead they stood impotent and could do nothing to stop the destruction.
San Francisco is constantly plagued by these kinds of " demonstrations " where they protest one thing or another. Frequently it leads to civil disobedience and property destruction.
Have you ever notice that the same people kept showing up at the same demonstrations for years, while other people went to work or shopped and acted in a civil manner and who DIDN'T disrupt the streets, buildings or other people ?
Presumably few of these types go to work for a living unless they're PAID Leftist agitators from the many activist groups in the Bay Area that pay people to work for social activism and " change ".
Presumably some of these "protesters " are the children of the aging Leftists of the SF Bay area as well..
I once saw it first hand as protesters on the grounds of San Francisco State University went into the library and trashed the shelves of books, records, papers and other scholarly material. They destroyed thousands of dollars of books and wrecked equipment. The next day I was accidentally beaten ( not severely and got an apology and treatment for it ) by the SF Police Tac Squad as they attempted to stop the rioters ( which is what they were at this point ) from doing further damage to the library. I had gone to the library to volunteer to help re-shelve books & do what I could to clean up the mess. The police had thought I was one of the rioters as I had the misfortune to be leaving the library as new rioting started.
The SFPD was condemned at the time by some in San Francisco for their actions to protect property as was the President of the university, S.I. Hayakawa, who was determined NOT to see his university destroyed by activists rioters. To some he was an authoritarian who denied the " rights " of students, to many, including me, he was a hero for standing up to those who sought to destroy.
The SFPD & the LAPD over the years have been criticized by many for their actions, in some cases with justification.
But when the chips are down their men and women go out and fight the forces of anarchy who have nothing but contempt for them and all of those who may disagree with them.
And take the risk of being injured or killed for their defending the RIGHTS of the citizens as a whole to conduct their activities without being disrupted by those who really DENY those rights.
They don't do it for medals or awards or public acclaim, but because they do it because it's the RIGHT thing to do as ALL citizens should applaud and which many sadly do not.
( I take a moment to say hello to former Mayor and SFPD Chief Frank Jordan, a good man with a tough job. ).
Arrests/Injuries & Hayakawa Press Conference
These kinds of things used to be exceptions promulgated by activists.
Now it seems to be the norm & can happen any time as shown in this post from police magazine on line.
Video: How LAPD SWAT Prevented a Hollywood Riot
Trouble began to bubble up after fans couldn't gain access to a movie premiere. LAPD SWAT quickly responded before more serious trouble came.
August 10, 2011 | by - Also by this author
VIDEO: Near Riot at Hollywood Movie Premiere
The "Hollywood Riot" started with DJ Kaskade's Twitter message inviting people to an impromptu block party at the Hollywood premiere of the Electric Daisy Carnival documentary.
In response to the Twitter announcement, 2,000 young people showed up — many expected a free movie premier they later learned could only be attended by ticketed invitation.
Soon, the overflow crowd of 2,000 took over the sidewalks and street of Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Vehicle and pedestrian traffic was effectively blocked and the chaotic crowd forced the cancelation of the movie premiere.
The LAPD's marked units began arriving amid the chaos.
At that point, the aimless crowd was transforming into a mindless mob. Soon, LAPD officers set up a skirmish line in the street and faced off with the mob. Officers were soon joined by additional LAPD units.
Much of the "action" was captured via YouTube videos from the street, air, and other angles.
The footage and pictures showed a highly trained, prepared, equipped, organized, and professional LAPD response.
Amid repeated public address orders to clear the street and disperse, LAPD reinforcements continued arriving, including D Platoon SWAT officers who were fully geared and helmeted up. Several carried less-lethal 37mm or 40mm single- or multi-round launchers.
I'm an avid proponent of plugging SWAT into any riot control situation, particularly those involving potential or actual violence. SWAT not only enhances police capability and confidence; tactical officers bring a chilling effect to crowds. A show of force usually dissuades all but the most ardent to cease and desist their unruly actions.
Predictably, some in the mob tried unsuccessfully to take on the LAPD, who ultimately succeeded in clearing the street of trouble makers.
Bottles started to fly at the officers who, after several marked units were damaged, deployed less-lethal munitions and began arresting people.
The LAPD was able to successfully disperse the 2,000-person mob without it turning into an all-out riot. In its wake, the "block party" left the street littered with debris; the movie premiere was canceled; and the Los Angeles DJ apologized.
No doubt, the revelers are looking forward to the next impromptu Twitter invitation. There's no doubt LAPD and SWAT will be there to greet them again.
The "Hollywood Riot" is the second near-riot incident this July in California.
On July 16, a controversial police shooting in San Francisco's Bayview district immediately degenerated into a swirling, chaotic anti-police mob.
The SFPD tactical squad also responded fully geared up with their Armored Rescue Vehicle (ARV) at the ready.
Just as I'm certain LAPD SWAT's presence chilled many from violence, I have no doubt the sight of SFPD's SWAT had a similar chilling effect on the angry, hostile, anti-police mob.
I'm a firm believer that SWAT needs to be called out for all riots if and when there'ss violence aimed at police that may involve firearms.
This is exactly what LAPD and SFPD did, requesting SWAT assistance that undoubtedly helped prevent rioting, violence and casualties.
Both LAPD and SFPD are highly professional police departments with outstanding SWAT units that have a wealth of riot control experience.
Their professionalism and experience prevented two volatile situations from erupting into something far worse.
This is a valuable lesson that all LE agencies can, and should, learn from.
SWAT was originally created to diffuse incidents of extraordinary violence and danger, beyond the capabilities of police.
This SWAT mission remains just as valid today more than 40 years later.
What many may not know or remember is the original reasons why LAPD formed its vaunted SWAT unit.
The better-remembered, deadly University of Texas tower sniper, and the lesser-remembered 1965 Los Angeles Watts Riots of 1965.
LAPD's SWAT was born during the "riot era" of the 1960s.
Some things never change, which the LAPD's SWAT response to the "Hollywood Riot" illustrates.
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I don't know what the solution is to these kinds of violent protests, but it is clear that authorities need to do more than stand around and do nothing while the mob runs rampant and engages in destruction.
Kudos to the men and women of the SFPD & LAPD for doing their jobs and keeping incidents from degenerating into riot and complete chaos both now and way back in 1968.
Perhaps the London authorities need to be less permissive and more proactive and stop mollycoddling rioters who feel they have a " civil right " to destroy.
Below are 2 stories that show the real costs and victims of these kind of " protests ".
'We just stood there and cried': Croydon street that was destroyed in riots looks like a devastating scene from the Blitz
By Anna EdwardsLast updated at 5:10 PM on 15th August 2011
We knew that rioters had torn through England's streets, willfully torching everything they could.
But this shocking photograph shows the true cost of the thugs' actions.
These are the faces of those whose lives have been left in tatters since thugs rampaged through London Road, in Croyon.
The row of homes and independent shops look like they could have been injuries of the blitz, as they have been left as mere shells of their former selves, teetering on the brink of collapse.
These are the human faces behind the havoc wreaked on London Road, Croydon, after rioters ransacked the street
The solicitor 40, narrowly escaped the baying mob who started attacking her office.
The business was set on fire and all of the solicitor's case notes were destroyed, while the man who lived above the business has been left homeless.
Ms Roberts said people were being assaulted in the street, forcing her and her colleagues to flee through the back door of the property, which has now been condemned.
2. Binu Matthew and Lisy George
Van owner Mr Matthew, 40, and his wife Mrs George, 37, a nurse, were attacked so thugs could steal their van.Mrs George was stripped of her uniform and left half-naked as the looters grabbed their £1,000 takings from their shop.
She described how one woman punch Mr Matthew and screamed that they should burn.
3. Nawaz Phansopkar
The pharmacist, 43, and his family nearly died after thugs torched a grocer's that they lived above.He said: 'We came too close to dying. We could see smoke but people were bing robbed in the street so we were trapped.'
He and his wife Hayatbi, 40, and their children Nabila, 9, Nazmeen, 14, Hiba, 17 and Heena, 20, eventually fled to a friend's house, but now they have been left homeless and have nothing but the clothes they escaped in.
4. Zaheer Ahmed and Mumtaz Hassan
Landlord Mr Ahmed, 52, watched from across the road as flames ripped through his three-storey building, worth £500,000.The blaze was so dangerous he described how firefighters could not even attempt to tackle the inferno until an hour after they arrived.
Mr Hassan, 48, whose Crystal Clean launderette was housed inside Mr Ahmed's property, says his entire livelihood has been wiped out.
5. Eddie and Teddy Marley
Shopkeepers Mr Marley, 85, and his wife, 88, ran a motorcycle business for 33 years but watched it go up in smoke last Monday as rioters demolished everything in their path.Mrs Marley told the Daily Mirror that she and her husband were helpless as looters helped themselves to helmets and anything else they could grab.
She said even in World War II they had never witnessed so much destruction and their dream of retiring next year has been destroyed as they have nothing left.
Mrs Marley said: 'When I went to see what was left I just stood there and cried.'
6. Marianne Simons
Hairdresser Marianne Simons, 36, says thugs were so intent on taking whatever they could, they even stole her hair extensions supply.The entrepreneur said she will have to close her business for six months and she and her six staff will now have to cope without an income.
She estimates it will cost £6,000 to repair her hairdressing shop.
Charred remains: Fire crews spray the smouldering heaps of rubble that were torched by rioters
Inferno: London Road was engulfed in flames as looters torched the buildings, while shopkeepers and residents could only helplessly watch
Innocent members of the public were beaten in the street if they dared get in the way of the anarchic mob and residents compared the scene in Croydon to the blitz as a double-decker bus and several cars were also torched in the road.
As the looters torched the buildings, homeowners and business people could only watch in despair as the flames engulfed the buildings, leaving scorched remains as the only reminder of their livelihoods and possessions.
But London Road was not the only part of Croydon to be torched.
One of the area's most historic buildings, the Reeves Furniture Store, was destroyed on Monday.
A 33-year-old man has today been charged with starting a fire which destroyed the building, which has survived both World Wars and is more than 140-years-old.
Gordon Edward Thompson of Waddon Road, Croydon, was charged with arson with intent to endanger life, arson at the furniture store, two counts of burglary and one count of violent disorder, Scotland Yard said.
He was remanded in custody and will appear at Croydon Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
Scorched: Homes and businesses were left as piles of smouldering rubble
Those who suffered as a result of last week's riots and looting will be able to take out loans from a £10 million fund set up by a major bank.
RBS is offering interest and fee-free loans of up to £25,000 to directly-affected businesses across the country.
The relief fund is designed to give the banking giant's customers short-term assistance to get back on their feet and resume trading while they wait for financial support from the Government or insurers.
After six months, the businesses should either repay the loans from the payouts or transfer to other loan products offered by the bank.
Chris Sullivan, chief executive of RBS and NatWest corporate division, said: 'We want to do everything we can for businesses affected by the riots.
'These loans will help firms waiting for insurance payments or needing urgent repairs to open for business as soon as possible.
'I hope that other banks will also be able to help small businesses recover. Our high streets are vital for local communities and the economic recovery.'
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The Irish Times - Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Independent music we lost in the fire
UNA MULLALLY
Some 165 independent music labels are struggling to restock after rioters burned a London warehouse to the ground last week – but back-catalogue gems are feared lost forever.IN THE MIDST of last week’s rioting in the UK, plenty of things were destroyed.
But along with the British media asking questions of its society, and victims of looting, criminal damage and arson surveying the damage, the independent music industry was thrown into turmoil, as a Sony DADC warehouse, used by Pias – a large marketing, sales and distributor of stock for independent labels – was burned to the ground in London.
With it, millions of CDs went up in flames, entire back-catalogues of labels were destroyed, and right now, around 165 labels are still working flat-out to pick up the pieces.
In terms of profile, distributors aren’t exactly up there with glitzy labels or artists, but just because Pias mightn’t ring any bells with average music fans, doesn’t mean that its role isn’t hugely important.
Pias used the three-storey Sony DANC warehouse as a distribution hub for its marketing and distribution operation.
Independent labels stored their latest releases for the UK and Ireland, and also their back-catalogues.
Everything that any label had stored there was lost.
The only thing that survived were 20 Quasi albums, an indie rock band from Oregon signed to Domino in Europe.
Record Of The Day , a music industry newsletter, estimated that up to 25 million units of stock were destroyed;
CDs, records, and also DVDs as part of Pias smaller film distribution arm.
Labels that lost stock include Matador (Interpol, Sonic Youth), Warp (Aphex Twin, Grizzly Bear, Maximo Park), 4AD (Bon Iver, The National), Rough Trade (Jarvis Cocker, Antony and the Johnsons, Morrissey, The Strokes), Young Turks (The xx), Domino (Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Wild Beasts), Wall of Sound (Grace Jones, The Human League), Drowned In Sound (Kaiser Chiefs, Bat For Lashes), XL (Radiohead, M.I.A. Sigur Ros, Adele), Sub Pop (Beach House, Foals, CSS – the list goes on.
It’s hard to comprehend the impact given the number of artists involved, but the destruction means CDs and vinyl records simply won’t be there to restock record stores.
Most of the Arctic Monkeys’ new single, The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala was wiped out, forcing Domino to sell it online only.
When the statements from record labels started to filter through, it became clear how bad things were.
All of Warp’s UK stock was destroyed.
Some labels had stock waiting to be shipped to international markets which was also destroyed.
Thrill Jockey’s entire stock, including a back-catalogue of 280 titles was destroyed – worth an estimated €200,000.
Beggar’s Group (an umbrella group for seven labels) saw 750,000 of their CDs go up in flames.
Martin Mills, chairman of Beggar’s Group, estimates it will take three months to manufacture and replace the burnt vinyl stock.
In Ireland, Rubyworks and its subsidiary Model Citizen had 10,000 CDs destroyed.
Irish bands on other labels affected include The Divine Comedy, Villagers, and Two Door Cinema Club.
Luckily for Rubyworks, its latest release, a live album from Rodrigo Y Gabriela, had shipped to shops one week before the fire.
“It’s one of those catastrophic things that you’ll never imagine will happen to you,” according to Rubyworks and Model Citizen label manager Roger Quail.
“I’ve been in the business for 30 years and nothing like this has ever happened – the wholesale destruction of stock is unheard of,” Quail says, adding that he and his colleagues are “trying to focus on the positives”.
He says labels such as Warp will now face tough decisions over whether to repress back-catalogues, or consign the physical copies to history.
There is an additional problem now with the turn-around times for pressing CDs and vinyl, given the pressure suppliers are now under.
An order that would normally take 10 days will now take a month, and those times will get longer, according to Quail.
“We’re coming into a very busy time, where people are pressing up Coldplay records for the autumn and so on, so resources are limited.”
Over the next 24 hours, Pias, which has been widely praised for reacting to the calamity so quickly, hopes to have a new warehouse as a destination for stock. Meanwhile, the big problem facing independent labels on the smaller end of the scale is cash flow.
How do you survive while you’re waiting for insurance to come through and when you have no stock to sell?
Pias and Aim (Association of Independent Music) have established a contingency fund that smaller labels can draw from in order to keep afloat, which should help them replace stock and keep functioning in the short term.
As for the consumer, apart from delayed stocking times, music fans looking for certain back-catalogue gems might never find them again.
Burnt out
Some of the biggest acts affected:
Adele
Antony and the Johnsons
Aphex Twin
Arctic Monkeys
Bat For Lashes
Beach House
Bon Iver
CSS
Foals
Franz Ferdinand
Grace Jones
Grizzly Bear
The Human League
Interpol
Jarvis Cocker
Kaiser Chiefs
Maximo Park
M.I.A.
Morrissey
The National
Radiohead
Sigur Ros
Sonic Youth
The Strokes
Villagers
Wild Beasts
The xx
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There was an old song that said " you can't always get what you want ".
Protesters and the crazed out there have never learned nor understood that. Neither apparently did their permissive parents who didn't understand how to tell their children the word " NO ! "
Pictures from KGO TV & the London Daily Mail and Police on line magazine.
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| Where were you to defend the civil liberties of BART passengers & workers whose lives YOU & YOUR fellow CRIMINALS disrupted ? |
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| " A lunatic with a hobby - Leonard L. Levinson " |
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