I was so impressed by the two young producers who were arrested as they covered the protests outside the Republican Convention. (And of course by Amy Goodman, who was also arrested when she tried to talk to the "peace officers" who had her producers in custody.) In the Democracy Now program video, all three of them were consummate professionals, describing their experiences in such calm, rational terms, with no exaggeration or emotion. These people were all wearing very obvious press passes; all saying/shouting "Press!" as the police closed in on them, forced one (Nicole) to the ground, handcuffing all of them with tight plastic handcuffs.
Obviously, if the press can't even cover events, the country is a police state. The police (with the help apparently of the FBI)are out to hurt and imprison and stop anything outside the official way, but particularly they are out to intimidate protestors and especially the press, I think. I must say I would be intimidated by these actions and certainly by pepper spray, which apparently burns horribly and which was used liberally, even against a young woman I saw in a video just standing there holding a flower.
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