G20 Day 1 Wrap Up

Some brave souls are protesting the G20 in Pittsburgh, as we speak. I'm sure you all know all of the problems that tends to precipitate from global economic planning (50,000 people dying every day of starvation, preventable diseases, global economic divide being nearly 72-to-1, over a billion people living on less than a dollar a day, etc etc).

And as you all know, capitalism came by force (Marx's chilling description in chapters 26 and 27 of Capital are classics: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch26.htm), it also remains only through force. When enough people show up to actually challenge business as usual, capital and the state respond with overwhelming force that is otherwise hidden in the millions of everyday compromises needed to survive.

The mass media portrayal has been highlighting the usual trench warfare between the anarchists and the cops. This is an old story, long-drawn out and much expected (and with serious consequences if it doesn't occur). But the secret story are those unexpected casualties.

Let me illustrate a few stories of the unexpected casualties.

Pitt students: caught up in the confusion, riot cops move in on Pitt students because they are scared of any crowd over 50 convening anywhere in the city during the G20. Students were trapped, gassed, beaten, and shot. Here are some videos:


This video wouldn't embed: http://indypgh.org/g20/#k-fbd79b0e2ce5faae

Houseless: in an attempt to find protesters looking for a cheap (read: free) place to stay, cops have run everyone out of the city. the houseless who have usually found temporary housing, whether it be in abandoned homes, places around downtown,


Additionally, the police have rolled out the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) sound cannons. Deployed in international contexts and in military conflicts, they have been brought to protests since Miami FTAA in 2001 but this is their first documented domestic use. These weapons cause extreme audio pain to anyone within 100 yards (football field), disorienting them in an attempt to make them flee. If people remain in the area or are too disoriented to leave, it can cause permanent damage if used for more than a few seconds. There are numerous examples of these weapons being used against regulation (for more than a few second bursts at a time).
proper use:


improper use:


here's a tv explanation of the device:

Here's international condemnation over OTHER states using similar "crowd control" techniques: