The US Empire-its almost over now.

[Matthew X]

"This is a profoundly disturbing turn of events. Mr. Bush is protested 
wherever he goes these days, and the crowds which attend them are growing. 
These are not black-clad anarchists kicking in windows, however. The woman 
who was attacked by the police looked as ordinary as any small-town 
librarian, and anarchists are smart enough to leave their children at home 
if there is a riot in the offing." > "We Are Not The Enemy!" - The Battle 
of Portland > by William Rivers Pitt > t r u t h o u t | Report > > 
Saturday, 24 August, 2002 > > The image is chilling. A middle-aged woman, 
plainly dressed, with a > puff of auburn hair, is clutched in a hammer-lock 
by a Portland > police officer dressed in full riot gear. His riot baton is 
jammed > high under her chin. Around her, three more armor-clad police > 
officers swarm in, face-masks down. The woman's face is contorted in > 
terror. In her hand is a sign protesting George W. Bush. > > This was the 
scene on the streets of Portland, OR, on the evening of > August 22nd as 
captured by a photographer for the Associated Press. > Thousands of 
peaceful protesters had descended upon the Hilton Hotel > where Mr. Bush 
was attending a political fundraiser for Senator > Gordon Smith. They held 
signs reading, "Drop Bush, not Bombs," and > other similar slogans. Among 
the protesters were pregnant women, > parents with infants and small 
children, elderly citizens, and > citizens in wheelchairs > > According to 
a report by CBS News, the protest became unruly when > some of the 
fundraiser attendees were "jostled" as they moved through > the crowd 
towards the entrance to the hotel. At that point, the riot > police swarmed 
in, swinging clubs and dousing the crowd with pepper > spray. Rubber 
bullets were also fired into the crowd, and snipers > were seen on the 
roofs surrounding the scene. The protesters > responded by hammering on the 
hoods of police cars and screaming, "We > are not the enemy!" > > A man 
named Randy, who attended the protest, reports the sequence of > events as 
follows: > > "I was between 5th and 6th on the sidewalk. Maybe the ones in 
front > were warned to move, but I didn't hear any warning. It had been a > 
peaceful protest. Suddenly the police came forward spraying pepper > spray. 
A man nearby with an infant in a backpack got hit real good. > The baby's 
face was so red I thought it had quit breathing. From the > other direction 
came cop cars through the crowd and rubber bullets > were fired at those 
closest to the cars. I kept retreating but the > cops kept spraying. Lots 
of people were sprayed, including the > cameraman from Channel 2 KATU." > > 
Other eyewitness accounts from the streets of Portland similarly > describe 
what appears to have been a terrifyingly violent response > from the police 
to a peaceful protest by assembled American citizens. > > This is a 
profoundly disturbing turn of events. Mr. Bush is protested > wherever he 
goes these days, and the crowds which attend them are > growing. These are 
not black-clad anarchists kicking in windows, > however. The woman who was 
attacked by the police looked as ordinary > as any small-town librarian, 
and anarchists are smart enough to leave > their children at home if there 
is a riot in the offing. The streets > of Portland were filled on August 
22nd by average American citizens > seeking to inform the President of 
their disfavor regarding the > manner in which he is governing their 
country. They were rewarded > with the business end of a billy club, a 
face-full of pepper spray, > and the jarring impact of a rubber bullet. > > 
If America needed one more example of the cancer that has been > chewing 
through the guts of our most basic freedoms since Mr. Bush > assumed 
office, they can look to Portland. The right to freely > assemble and 
petition the government for a redress of grievances has > been rescinded at 
the point of a gun. > > The imperative is clear. Such violence by the 
authorities cannot go > unchallenged. The next time Mr. Bush appears in 
public, there must be > even more concerned Americans to greet him. They 
must face the baton > and the pepper spray, they must stare into the 
shielded faces of the > police, and they must stand in non-violent 
disobedience of the idea > that they are not allowed to be there. The men 
and women who faced > the brunt of police fury in Portland are to be lauded 
as American > patriots, and their actions must be duplicated by us all. The 
groups > which organized this protest, and the ones to come, deserve our > 
praise. > > The media, which spent much of the evening reporting that only 
a few > hundred protesters were in attendance, must be browbeaten into > 
reporting the facts from both sides - from the police, who reportedly > 
detained people like the woman in the picture "for their own safety," > and 
from the protesters who took a savage beating for daring to stand > against 
Mr. Bush. If the battle of Portland is allowed to cast even > more fear 
into the hearts and minds of Americans, we have lost yet > another swath of 
freedoms. Stand and be counted if you can. > > The whole world is watching.