An Army in Ferguson tonight! Sporadic Twitter/Facebook censoring of #Ferguson hashtag

originally posted by: HauntWok
I can't defend looting and violence, peaceful assembly is one thing, but looting and violence is another.

I think all sane people would agree with you, but it doesn't change the fact that events like this are often hijacked by people who are just out for whatever they can get. It doesn't (or shouldn't) reflect on the genuine anger the wider public (rightly) has against the authoritarian police in that location.

Just as happened in the UK a few years ago, the response began as a justified anger towards police brutality and their attempts to cover up and/or insult the family involved (by completely ignoring them and refusing to tell them anything). Others then jumped on the excuse to gain for themselves.

The actions of looters and violent protestors is unrelated to the basis of the public anger.

It's also very important to recognize that the authorities will also be desperately attempting to spread propaganda throughout the public in order to prevent wider support for the protests. Lets not forget that this is a militarize police force, and just as they use military weapons to intimidate and threaten the public they also use wider military practices in media control and propaganda to try to control public opinion.

Just as the police install agents to provoke violence in a protest and justify their response, they have also been accused of installing "actors" in front of journalist cameras to carry out violent acts in order to sway the idiot masses to their side.

originally posted by: Myrtales Instinct
To YOU it may not matter that he had just robbed a store moments earlier and that he shoved some man who was way smaller than him, nor it may not matter to you that the two young gentlemen knew good and well what had just went down moments earlier when THEY decided to have a cocky attitude with the cop. We pick and choose our battles in this life and this young man picked a crappy battle because he was in the wrong from the get-go.

This is all kinds of wrong. To start with, YOU DO NOT KNOW THAT HE WAS GUILTY OF ANYTHING.

Neither did the police officer at the time. We still do not know that he was guilty of anything, because he wasn't afforded a fair trial before being summarily executed in the street.

You're justifying execution by a police officer on the suspicion of a crime. You are basically saying that you think it's perfectly fine for the police to be given powers of a judge, jury and an executioner based on nothing but an accusation.

You may as well throw out your entire social structure if you think this is even remotely right. Your society is based on the notion of innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, yet you think it's somehow "justified" for someone to be shot dead in the street by a man in uniform based on nothing but a suspicion of them being guilty of a crime?

This is completely insane, and it shows why your policing has become the nightmare that it has become. When you allow individuals to become so completely powerful that they feel entitled to end a life on nothing but suspicion, you have sunk to the lowest depths of societal depravity.

originally posted by: ikonoklast
Can someone fill me in?

Apparently at about 1-1:30am looters broke into 3 stores in town. One was the Ferguson Market where Mike Brown took the cigars, another was a Family Dollar and the last being a beauty supply store (according to CNN while I was watching it at that time). From what I saw on the CNN live feed at that time the police had a line of officers in riot gear close by with 2 large vehichles that had officers with rifles stationed on top of them, they did not move in any closer and did not engage the looters. (CNN was showing live feed from KMOV and only showed the Ferguson Market so I don't know about the other locations)

What happened then was amazing, actually. The citizens then tossed the looters out of the market and stood there all night long in order to keep more looting from happening. The fox2 live feed is now up and running and as of a couple of minutes ago it looked like citizens were still there protecting the market. (looks like the live feed now is focused on the strip mall where the beauty supply store is)

Not sure how this is going to play out. It almost seems as though it's gone from one extreme to the other and the business owners are starting to question why it was allowed to happen in this way.

a reply to: Rocker2013

It's also very important to recognize that the authorities will also be desperately attempting to spread propaganda throughout the public in order to prevent wider support for the protests.

Good point! How do you think the authorities will spread the propaganda? What would be their apparatus and method to spread propaganda. Not questioning you, just interested in finding out your thoughts about how the authorities in America use propaganda.

a reply to: HauntWok
a reply to: MyMindIsMyOwn

Thanks for the updates!

originally posted by: MyMindIsMyOwn
What happened then was amazing, actually. The citizens then tossed the looters out of the market and stood there all night long in order to keep more looting from happening.

It was amazing. I've seen videos and photos now, and I've read tweets back and forth in between people there. I've been quite impressed with how the vast majority of the people have managed to stay relatively cool and 'good' (don't know how else to say it) even in the moments of the highest duress and provocation.

Yes, there have been looters, but it's clear they are few in comparison to everyone else. And it is absolutely amazing to see the citizens of Ferguson stand up against the looters, guarding and protecting stores and property that is not their own - at their own risk - telling looters and troublemakers, "That is not what we are here for. That is not who we are."

a reply to: Rocker2013

By the same token, the Patrol officer has not been convicted of a crime either.

We really do not know exactly what went down during the shooting, and likely will never have a solid truth there since there were no cameras and all the witnesses have very subjective views.

originally posted by: hammanderr
a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Perhaps you don't recall the last time the cops handed over a city to aaahhh uuummmm oh yeah urbanites(is that PC?), to do as they pleased. It was 1992 in LA, they destroyed south central LA. They were literally dragging people from vehicles and lynching them. It was a national disgrace.

50 dead
4000 injured
1 billion dollars in property damage
Here's some "peaceful protesters" destroying LA.
youtu.be...
A gunfight in the streets of LA
youtu.be...
There's so much more video of it too. Just mayhem and murder in the streets.

Peace comes to LA, huge line to get welfare checks at the post office.
youtu.be...

Is that what you'd prefer they allow in Ferguson? Those people are willing, they clearly don't have jobs if they've got the free time to be up all night looting. They'll burn that whole city down if the cops let em.

As I stated a few days ago. Look what happened when the cops pulled back, the looters surged. These poor misunderstood people need more hugs. When the smoke finally clears I hope all the people with destroyed property sue the city for standing by while their livelihood burned.

It's just a few troublemakers right? Isn't that what the authorities always say? So why couldn't the cops stop a few troublemakers?

Because it's a whole city, that's why. That's why the cops had an army out there because they're facing a horde.

originally posted by: Rocker2013

You're justifying execution by a police officer on the suspicion of a crime. You are basically saying that you think it's perfectly fine for the police to be given powers of a judge, jury and an executioner based on nothing but an accusation.

That is pure BS misdirection and you know it. Not one single poster amongst the thousands of comments pertaining to this case is saying that the cop had the right to shoot him because he just robbed a store. The video simply shows that Brown was not the college bound, baby faced, gentle giant his friends and family made him out to be.

It also shows that Brown did have motive to attack the officer that stopped him for walking in the street.

oh God. Rev. Jesse Nobhead is there now.


Am I the only one who thinks he is an asshole who generally will not help the situation?

Maybe I'm being paranoid, but something strange happened last night and I am not sure if it might be connected to a post I made in this thread.

Sometime between about midnight and 8:15 this morning (CST), someone broke into my car. It most likely occurred after I wrote the post pointing out some of the connections of one of the communist groups from Chicago who allegedly threw molotov cocktails on Wednesday night in Ferguson. Those connections at least indirectly go all the way to the Whitehouse, and I even half-joked:

I thought about making a new thread out of this, but decided I should shut up before I blow up in a car running into a tree with the engine thrown 50 or 60 yards away.

Link to ATS post

There probably is no connection between that post and the car break-in. It's probably a coincidence. But there are some very strange aspects to the incident that make me wonder.

First off, I'm not in Ferguson, Missouri. I'm in a small semi-rural town between St. Louis and Chicago. It's a quiet area, low crime, and we've been in this house almost 20 years with no problems. I've only heard of one other attempted break-in in this neighborhood, and that was years ago.

The car was in my driveway and was locked prior to the break-in. There was no sign of forced entry, but one of the back doors was left partly latched, partly ajar.

The most obvious sign of break-in this morning was that most of the miscellaneous papers that had been in the glove compartment and center console were strewn out on one of the front seats and had been heavily rifled through.

Car registration / licensing / insurance papers were left in the car. I'm not aware of any papers I would have in my possession (in or out of the car) that would be of much interest to anyone, though there were things like bank deposit slips, receipts, possibly auto loan paperwork, etc. that had personal information. Not sure yet if any of that is missing.

There was a small amount of money in the car, maybe a few dollars in change (coins). As near as I can tell, none of the money was taken. It doesn't appear to have even been disturbed, though it was in the open.

There is an in-dash radio and CD player in the car and it was not taken.

The only things that appear to be obviously missing so far are a car cell phone charger and some really cheap sunglasses. Both were in the center console with the papers that were rifled through.

Maybe it's total coincidence. But if so, it sure is a very strange coincidence.

a reply to: ikonoklast

Why is it amazing to see people act civilized? Are you actually so impressed to see some people not looting? That is a really low standard you're holding these people to.

The fact that so many are looting and no one, not the police, not all the protesters you're so impressed with, can stop them, that is amazing. A third world civilization, right here in the cradle of the first world, truly amazing.

Here's the real story in a couple of sentences: Giant thug robs store, threatens store owner with violence, mean mugs law abiding customers who witness his awful behavior. Criminal thug gunned down by policeman before he could do any more harm. Criminal thugs friends terrorize town for days following the shooting. Media and bleeding hearts inexplicably praise violent criminal thugs and justify their behavior.

It would seem that there is a serious battle raging in Ferguson, and it is not only in the streets.

Officials Battle Over Who's In Charge In Ferguson And Probe

Although the Missouri Highway Patrol is overseeing the police presence in Ferguson, it quickly has become apparent that neither the patrol nor Gov. Jay Nixon is in control of all law-enforcement actions.

That lack of control already is leading to unwanted surprises that revolve around a central question:  Who is in charge?

The most vivid example of the who’s-in-charge dispute took place Friday morning. That’s when Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who now is overseeing police operations in Ferguson, first became aware of video and photos allegedly implicating Brown in a robbery shortly before he was shot.

Johnson says he was stunned when he watched the morning TV news and learned of the video and photos. Johnson hadn’t been alerted beforehand that the video existed or that Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson had decided to give copies to news outlets.

Johnson made clear to reporters that he wasn’t happy about it. “Today, I will meet with the police chief of Ferguson and talk about how that was released,’’ Johnson said tersely during a Friday morning news conference with Nixon.

Johnson later added with an edge in his voice, “It’s not going to be a conversation conducted over the phone.”

source

Who is in charge is being disputed by officials. That battle will only make the handling of protests more uncertain. Tactical approaches differ greatly. The locals' actions seem to escalate tensions purposefully....and with military hardware ready to deploy.

I do want to applaud protestors who stood up to looters last night. They are not one in the same.

Thanks for the updates everyone.

originally posted by: hammanderr
a reply to: ikonoklast
Why is it amazing to see people act civilized?

Perhaps it shouldn't be so amazing to see people act civilized. But as you yourself have pointed out in this thread, this is a far cry from what has been seen in some similar situations in other times and places.

a reply to: ikonoklast

I had a strange event this morning along with internet problems. Starting last night I discovered that my connection had been hijacked to another unfamiliar account. NetGear guest. That has never happened, and it continues to happen. I have a ton of wifi protection, but lack tech knowledge so it may be nothing.

This morning I noticed a large, black, very shiny SUV with two white guys sitting in back of my garage in the alley. I watched them for a couple of minutes, then once they noticed me they took off. It was just an odd sight. Nobody travels the alley unless they are pulling into their garages.

a reply to: Witness2008
You are using WPA2 encryption on your router and not WEP right? WEP can be cracked in minutes, WPA2 has to be brute forced, so with a long ass password, it's about as secure as you can get. I have hacked a neighbor's WPA2 with brute force before, but it took over a week with a pretty good graphics card running sequences lol.

a reply to: TKDRL

WPA2 is what I have. The strange thing is that it switches while I'm on line. My settings don't allow for roving networks.

Sorry if this has been covered but this is the first time I read that officers denied Mike Brown CPR from a nurse on the scene.

Sitting outside his building, Mr. Stone said he was jolted by the sound of two gunshots, followed by several more in rapid succession. The second series of shots “sounded automatic,” he said. “They let it rip.”

Mr. Stone ran outside and saw two police officers, both white men, standing near Mr. Brown, who was lying on his stomach, his arms at his sides, blood seeping from his head. Another neighbor, a woman who identified herself as a nurse, was begging the officers to let her perform CPR.

They refused, Mr. Stone said, adding, “They didn’t even check to see if he was breathing.”

Full article

a reply to: Witness2008

That is a bit strange, especially the black SUV in back of your garage in the alley. Sounds unusual and out of place. Did you notice whether the unfamiliar wi-fi connection disappeared when the SUV took off?

Paranoia is a weird thing, it can easily make one attribute random normal things to something more. But as the saying goes, "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me!" So you never know.

Anyone else on this thread suddenly have such strange things start happening?

a reply to: hammanderr

Civilians and store owners are taking matters in their own hands. Can you blame them?

Here is a link showing how store owners are defending their property.
Apparently this is in response to the lack of an effective law enforcement in their area.

Source


Example picture.

a reply to: ikonoklast

The internet issue started yesterday late afternoon and continues now. I have done everything possible to stay with my own network, but it continually changes. The SUV was odd and I have no clue as to whether they are connected. The internet connection is really perplexing. My son will be here later along with his expertise.