Friday, January 30, 2015

Anti-Terror Task Force to Target Protesters

So much for the dawn of a new day for police-community relations in the wake of the Eric Garner chokehold death and other high profile homicides-by-cop:
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Thursday that the NYPD is establishing a new anti-terror strike force.
The unit of 350 cops will be specially trained in high-tech weaponry to deal with protests, “lone wolf” attacks and evolving threats posed by terrorists, CBS2’s Marcia Kramer reported. The Strategic Response Group, Bratton said, will be dedicated to “disorder control and counterterrorism protection capabilities.”
This makes Sen. John McCain's (R-Senility) "Get out of here, you lowlife scum!" snarling directive to Code Pink protesters harassing Henry Kissinger (War Criminal-Senility) yesterday look positively beneficent.
 “It is designed for dealing with events like our recent protests, or incidents like Mumbai or what just happened in Paris,” the commissioner said.
Bratton compares the peaceful protesters of #BlackLivesMatter to the perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. He actually thinks that the people staging die-ins at Macy's are just as dangerous as the terrorists who blew up a hotel in India. He thinks that anybody who speaks out against state-sponsored violence and economic oppression is not only low-life scum, but low-life scum deserving to be executed on the spot. With machine guns.
Funding for the new squad is expected to come from both the city and federal Homeland Security grants. “They’ll be equipped and trained in ways that our normal patrol officers are not,” Bratton said. “They’ll be equipped with all the extra heavy protective gear, with the long rifles and machine guns — unfortunately sometimes necessary in these instances.”
At least he admits that the anti-personnel squads will be abnormal. At least he admits that New York City will now have its own jackbooted Gestapo. Because those "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" signs present a clear and present danger to the powers that be. Bottom-up democracy rearing its ugly head is an imminent threat to fascism. People congregating in public spaces and raising their voices represent an unfortunate instance of independent thought and action that shall not be tolerated by the Homeland Security State. Also, since the weapons manufacturers need a constant stream of revenue, and the politicians require a constant stream of bribes from the high tech weapons industry to maintain their own tenuous holds on power, the new task force is a creative new excuse for the rich assholes of the military-industrial complex to make a whole bunch more money.

They are actually selling this brutal campaign against citizens as a plus for community policing. See, the anti-protest terror squad is designed to free up the regular cops from having to deal with demonstrators and terrorists, allowing them to canoodle more with the folks in the neighborhoods. The brass does not address the possibility that the folks in the neighborhoods are often the same people who join in the protests.

Is this another iteration of the Good Cop/Bad Cop divide-and-conquer method of controlling the serfs? It sure sounds that way.  This new strategy will absolutely separate the good cops from the bad cops, relieving the stress of never knowing precisely what their job description is supposed to be.
Roy Richter, president of the Captains Endowment Association, said he supports the move. “That’s a great idea,” he told Kramer. “To the extent that you relieve the drain on resources in the neighborhoods by assigning an officer to an anti-terror function … I think that’s a very positive thing.
“There’s been a dialogue that’s been happening, which is  positive. Any time you have a dialogue and develop a relationship and can see the people you’re speaking to, so this further assists that,” Richter added.
And let's not forget the subways. Somehow, I don't think Bratton's placement of cameras in every car is designed to catch those dreaded "manspreading" perps. I think the cameras will simply make people aware that Big Brother is always watching them, make them think twice about abusing public transportation in order to exercise their rights of free speech and assembly.
The commissioner said he will also ask Mayor Bill de Blasio for more funding to buy more Tasers as an alternative to the use of force. Bratton reportedly wants at least 450 cops — five or six at each of the city’s 77 precincts — to carry Tasers on them, not leave them in their cars, Kramer reported.
Tasers as an alternative to the use of force? People have been known to die from being tasered. Tasers have been known to be over-used by police officers. How about some lessons in street psychology and public relations instead?
Bratton admitted he had more work to do to bring up the morale of the department. A poll done by the NYPD found that a majority of cops fear getting sued or being disciplined by the department.
OK, they finally cut to the chase. This ever increasing, heavy duty weaponization of the police, this characterization of protesters as scary criminals, is just being done to assuage the hurt feelings of the cops. It's all a big fat sham, a bribe for the union rank and file to prevent any more turning-of-backs against the mayor at police funerals. Machine guns are a testosterone booster for the armed servants of the ruling class and a buffer between struggling oppressed people and the thugs of hypercapitalism.

It's not a coincidence that New York City has the highest wealth disparity in the country. It has the highest concentration of billionaires in the world juxtaposed with some of the most extreme poverty. And it wants to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

8 comments:

annenigma said...

How fitting for the upcoming Year of the Sheep.

It's no accident that retired CIA agents (and/or covert actives) have invaded Hollywood and we are inundated with tv shows and movies glorifying the MIC regime that runs our Homeland.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ex-spies-infiltrate-hollywood-as-espionage-tv-shows-and-movies-multiply/2015/01/24/a50721a4-a183-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html

This isn't going to be pretty when the wealthy claim any gathering or protest causes them to feel threatened. The militarized police will come to their rescue and deal with the 'threat', no matter the cost. The propagandized sheep, having been thoroughly indoctrinated, will stand behind them waving flags and cheering the slaughter of the 'savage' protestors and all the other liberal pinkos. Expect to see a lot more demands for the Pledge of Allegiance at every public meeting or gathering. Maybe even a salute.

Let's work on writing a different script and ending than the one they're obviously working on.

Zee said...

The First Amendment To The Constitution of the United States of America:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petitition the Government for a redress of grievances. (My bold emphasis.)

So now relatively peaceful protestors need to be dealt with in the same manner as the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Charlie Hebdo massacres?

We truly are becoming a police state.

Kat said...

You're right Zee. What hypocrisy from McCain. And the guy has been in the senate for how long?-- and a protest(well deserved) is the most despicable thing he has seen? I think every day there are far more horrific things going on in that esteemed chamber (or in the back rooms)
Speaking of the senate and policing, did anyone get a look at the op ed on what Honduras needs from the President of the Senate in todays NYT? That is despicable.

Denis Neville said...

No one is surprised at overreaction and police brutality in a police state, but in the USA?

This is frightening. We are headed for a lot more trouble than most people can even begin to imagine. An intentional, well planned and executed silent coup has taken place right under the noses of an ignorant, apathetic, and disengaged public.

Where are all the large protests, like in the 60s?

The right to peaceably assemble is effectively dead in this nation.

The fact is that the overwhelming majority of our population cannot afford to have an arrest record, even a misdemeanor, in this age of tenuous job security and rising use of background checks.

If the public ever awakens and begins to demonstrate for change, in mass, the anti-terror forces with their high-tech weaponry will quell the dissent.

The Ferguson gesture of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” as Karen has pointed out numerous times, has been an excellent demonstration of Martin Luther King’s strategy of nonviolence, which depended on using demonstrations and direct actions to “amplify the message” of the protests, even if it meant sacrificing their well-being to do it. They are there fighting for us. Will we do as much? This protest is just a start. Movements need time to build.

“The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach. We need enthusiasm, imagination and the ability to face facts, even unpleasant ones, bravely. We need to correct, by drastic means if necessary, the faults in our economic system from which we now suffer. We need the courage of the young. Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world which you will find before you. May every one of us be granted the courage, the faith and the vision to give the best that is in us to that remaking!” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt


Have the lessons of Dr. King’s doctrine of nonviolent protest been taken seriously enough? Not in the radical way King did. Hopefully, the Ferguson protestors are studying the tactics of MLK and Gandhi. As well should we.

“The strength of a civil resistance movement is not, after all, in the loudness of its chants. The NYPD has the manpower and firepower to deal with a few hundred angry protesters, or a few thousand. But a small number of people can make an outsized impact if they reverse the equation, if they render the weapons of the police inert. This is, for instance, how James Lawson and a small cadre of students were able to desegregate Nashville lunch counters thanks to careful training and a staunch refusal to compromise with what they knew was wrong.” - Nathan Schneider, “The whole world is watching: nonviolence at Liberty Plaza,” Waging Nonviolence, http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/the-whole-world-is-watching-nonviolence-at-liberty-plaza/#more-12422

Pearl said...

Denis: The quote of FDR and at other times your quotes of MLK are inspiring voices from the grave. They seem to be telling us what has to be done and the comparison of the messages of their dead voices as compared to the nothingness of today is shocking. I hope somewhere in the shadows men and women of greatness will emerge once again and inspire our progeny to become the leaders of the future. Thank you for the reminders, Denis; like great music their voices never go out of style.

Kat said...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michelle-obama-bradley-cooper-promote-768466

what???

Karen Garcia said...

Kat,

Not at all surprising. Michelle has always been gung ho on war and the military. She's always had a quid quo pro relationship going with Hollywood -- they donate to hubby, she helps promote their bloody product. It's mutual war propaganda. Her Joining Forces group is cover for the military industrial complex, and is funded by Center for a New American Security, a neocon think tank. She was the first president's wife to ever address the cadets at West Point, when she went into full female Goebbels mode. I wrote about it at the time. And she talked up a Dream Works war cartoon last fall, to encourage kids to respect the troops and strive to become just like them.

It'll be interesting to see how Obamabots react to her open embrace of American Sniper. I suspect that they will totally ignore it, just like they ignore drones and other such unpleasantness. I asked somewhat facetiously a few months ago if Michelle will be remembered as our First Fascist Flotus. After this latest news, the magic 8 ball says: "You can count on it."

Kat said...

What is 6 Certified:

A study commissioned by Got Your 6 revealed that the general public currently reports seeing only extreme depictions of veterans—as either heroic or broken—on film and television. These portrayals significantly influence public perception of veterans overall, yet are not representative of the actual veteran population. As a result, 6 Certified was established to encourage more normalized depictions of veterans on film and television.

To be 6 Certified a film must contain a representative and balanced depiction of veterans. It must also make and fulfill at least one 6 Certified pledges. Any film that meets these requirements may be submitted to the 6 Certified Review Committee.

The committee, made up of experts from the entertainment industry and the veteran community, will consider the manner in which each film portrays veteran, military, or military family characters. 6 Certified films must portray veterans accurately and responsibly—meaning that, in the opinion of the committee, content creators did not drastically exaggerate veteran character traits or effects of military service. The committee will also consider the steps taken by filmmakers to embrace and research veteran culture during the creative process.

This has really nothing to do with veterans. It is propaganda designed to sell the message that war does not damage.