Poor Old Dick
 

I don't think he's going to have a very nice time in Australia.

huh. old boyfriend coming to visit?

If you guys make him stand outside in the Australian sun, maybe he'll evaporate.:ipray:

We can only hope and pray that this might happen. ;)

Which Dick are you speaking of? :confused:

I thought she was spying on me.

You guys put him in a bad mood. Now he's going to start something with China...

Oh my. Why do you Aussie's hate freedom? Do we have to come liberate your island?

Your cops look familiar.

From The Economist of 17 Feb 2007:

There was one silly woman claiming Cheney is a war criminal but fortunately UG and Cherry Coke showed up in time to straighten her out. :cool:

lmao...I can't imagine for a second that that image is real. Not that there's anything wrong with America...per se...just that I can't really imagine anyone making a banner up saying how they love America...or Dick.

What happened to Conservatism? State rights, smaller government, fewer taxes, and the sanctity of the Constitution?
Like someone took their brains.

Well, sure, the White House printed that banner, but it was at their request.

:thumb2:

I've got a fleeting hope it'll rear its head again after the Bush/Cheney fiasco.


HM- right on the money

The Australians need to learn from our government. It's fine to have protesters, just make sure they are only allowed to protest a mile or so away in a "freedom zone". ;)

The thing I don't get is how people protest about war, one of the main objections being the violence and killing, and yet these protests inevitably become violent. Rather hypocritical if you ask me.

If you want to protest here you've got to get a permit to do so ahead of time (which the organizers of this protest did). If you don't have a permit for it, the cops are allowed to shut you down without notice. I think that's fair enough.

No they don't.

Maybe not all HM, but many do.

Not in DC, probably in part due to the professionalism of DC cops.

Maybe so. I don't think Australians in general are afraid enough of cops.

It's not fear of cops that causes violence, it's anger. In Portland, the cops are assholes at protests, and violence ensues. In DC, the cops stand back and let the protests take place, and things go fine.

In my experience over here, it's the protesters who generally start the physical stuff. The cops are pretty gentle and stand offish till protesters start to work outside the sphere of their permit. that is, they march in the wrong direction or they protest outside the hours specified for example. Unfortunately, A lot of Australians don't respect the rules in situations like that, and that's why a large number of protests here become violent.

I still dont understand why the FUCK you need a permit to protest. That's just messed up. Needing a permit opens the doors to suppression... and then you get tanks in the streets.

You need a permit because you are not the only person your protest is going to affect. With that in mind, a permit enables all affected parties to be prepared. This includes not only police and politicians for example, but also other citizens who are likely to be in the area.

This is a courtesy.

It's a courtesy, yes, and I certainly think it's perfectly fine and reasonable to get one to warn people, but to make it ILLEGAL to protest without a permit just opens the whole process to abuse.

There are laws in every aspect of society. Why should there not be laws in relation to this aspect? Without it, protesters could cause no end of disruption.

Which is, of course, half of the point of protesting. If they wont pay attention to you, make them. If protests never bothered anyone there wouldnt be a whole lotta point now would there?

The idea of a protest is to bother the people or organization you're protesting about while improving public awareness of your cause. It doesn't help your cause if you bother the people who might be willing to agree with your point of view.

So if you want to protest the government, and the government doesn't like it they don't issue you a permit... and you get arrested. Isn't that a conflict of interest?

Whiiiiich is my point. Freedom should not be dependent on convenience.

Our protesters are trying to get the attention of the media. They know the subjects of the protest have made up their minds. The protest is to sway as much public opinion as they can, through the media.
Yes, pissing off the people you're courting isn't smart.;)

Most protests are in some way to do with the government and wanting to change something the government controls. When you go to request the permit, they are not allowed to decline your permit provided you tick the right boxes. That is, you wont be causing a public nuisance and that your protest is going to be non violent.

So to answer your question Jeb, it is very rare for people to be declined permission to protest.

The whole idea still makes me uneasy. As we've found here it's not that difficult for the government to encroach on many things. LOL @ the idea of somebody openly stating they intend their protest to be violent however.

Government cannot just deny a permit without reason. Else other government functions can override.

Of course there is this other problem. A function over exercised in America this past six years. "We take care of our friends first - screw America". And since the courts to often rule in favor or America "We must restrict reactionary judges". And so in America, these reactionary enemies of Americans suspended writ of Habeas Corpus - to intentionally limit judicial powers and to increase (vice) presidential powers.

Yes well that's what I mean. Most protests start out as non violent and peaceful, but then people get carried away, and that's when the cops step in as they should.

The idea that it's laughable to tick the 'violent protest' box only further demonstrates that although there are restrictions on protests, they are mostly benign as long as everyone remembers to be grown up about it.

Protests, by their very nature, are confronting someone over their action, or support, of something you find unacceptable. Usually to get to the point where they're willing to take it to the streets, they're pretty vehement about their cause. As always, the way to piss them off is to ignore them.

When protesters are herded/limited to a "safe" location, where there's nobody to protest to/at, they get frustrated...and violent. If there was somebody to yell at, someone to argue with or harangue, they might be able to vent without becoming violent. :2cents:

I'm pretty sure I saw a banner at the Gay Pride Parade last year that said "I like dick"...

Ep, you must have that banner confused with the shirt your ol' lady was wearing last night. :)

No...hers says "dicks". :D

"I love cunts!"--Juju

I do too. :D