http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/07/news-greene.php

The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking the fast track for new laws to ban face coverings, gas masks or even goggles at public demonstrations, where the devices could weaken officers who want to control crowds with pepper spray and other chemicals. The proposal advanced this week after Police Commission members dismissed any First Amendment objections as premature.

Deputy Chief Mike Hillman, who heads the LAPD’s special operations bureau, told the commission it’s important to move quickly and get the laws on the books before expected anti-war demonstrations on March 20, the anniversary of the U.S. attack on Iraq. In fact, Hillman said, the LAPD would just as soon get the new rules in place to deal with an even earlier expected assault on public order — at the February 15 NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center.

If protesters wear scarves around their noses and mouths and swim goggles to protect their eyes at public gatherings, Hillman told the commission, “the ability of that officer to gain compliance is restricted.”

Police Commission President David Cunningham III warned that the proposals raise severe constitutional questions, especially since some of the items to be added to the banned list could be used for legitimate purposes. But the five-lawyer commission gave the LAPD the go-ahead to work with the City Attorney’s Office and the City Council to prepare draft amendments to the city Municipal Code.

Civil rights lawyers and activists said they were outraged that the city would consider new restrictions on how demonstrators could express or defend themselves, especially since trials are right around the corner in two lawsuits over police response at the 2000 Democratic National Convention at Staples. Trial is to start February 24 in a class action brought on behalf of demonstrators and passersby injured by rubber bullets at the DNC. A second trial, seeking an injunction to change current LAPD crowd control practices, is set to begin in mid-May.

Attorney Carol Sobel, who represents plaintiffs in the May trial, scoffed at the proposals, which are in their initial stages.

“In Los Angeles, the only time a problem has arisen is when the police have rioted,” Sobel said. “They have pepper spray and OCS on hand, and it has an expiration date. They want to use it before it goes bad. And I’m not being facetious.”

The Municipal Code currently bars thick wooden sticks and bottles from demonstrations, on grounds that they could be used as weapons. The LAPD is seeking to amend sections 55.07 and 55.08 to include metal poles and sticks, devices known as “sleeping dragons” that protesters use to chain themselves to fixed objects, masks “and similar devices intended to filter air,” rocks, projectiles, spray cans, wrist rockets, aerosol cans and chemical agents.

Hillman said the list grew from a body of knowledge the department has gained during the course of demonstrations like the 1999 protests at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle and the DNC in Los Angeles. The LAPD also encountered a mini-riot in June 2000 at Staples after the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA title. Police in riot gear and on horseback battled fans who set two police cars on fire in a celebratory and often violent spree.

Hillman told the panel that other cities adjacent to Los Angeles have laws similar to those the LAPD is seeking, and that those laws have not been challenged. Hillman could not be reached after the commission meeting for comment.

But Sobel noted that she represented plaintiffs who won a suit against a Monterey Park ordinance in the 1980s that barred protesters from covering their faces. In that case, she said, Taiwanese demonstrators were trying to keep their faces from being caught on videotape that would be used against them by officials in their home country. In fact, many protesters use face coverings in their demonstrations as integral parts of their expression — and federal courts have repeatedly struck down laws purporting to outlaw anonymous protests.

Scott Sheffer of the Los Angeles office of International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) said members of his group often used masks as part of their demonstrations and probably would continue to do so at the March 20 protest, slated for Hollywood and Vine. “The best thing to do would be for the police to not infringe on the rights of the demonstrators in the first place” by needlessly using gas and rubber bullets against the crowd, Sheffer said.

That sentiment was echoed by attorney James Muller, who is representing the plaintiff class in the suit set for trial next month. “The idea of banning gas masks is perfectly reasonable — if the police department is behaving reasonably at these demonstrations,” Muller said. “But we saw that these officers are very capricious, and not respectful. At least that’s what we saw at the DNC.”

Protesters should be able to wear masks or goggles to protect their eyes from rubber bullets, Muller said, noting that one person was blinded by a rubber bullet at the DNC and that others have suffered the same fate at other protests around the country.

Adena Tessler, public safety deputy for Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, said the council and the city attorney would make sure that any final proposal would take into account First Amendment protections. She said that officers who are given the power to tell protesters to remove hoods probably would be less likely to throw bottles or engage in other illegal activities.

Sobel said recent rulings have underscored the right of protesters to wear masks. Besides, she said, why is it so important to get the laws in place before the NBA game?

“Has there been anywhere in the country,” she asked, “where there has been a riot after an all-star game?”

BA currently enjoys the rights that people fought and died for on the streets of this great country of ours.

the 8 hour work day

weekends off

overtime pay

health care

social security

unemployment insurance

the right of women to vote

the abolition of slavery

civil rights and desegregation

the rights embodied in the bill of rights of our constitution

and the list goes on

None of the rights and freedoms we have in this country today were won in wars overseas. They were all won here on the streets by people like those he suggests that the police lock up.

If this were 1776 he would be a turn coat, not a patriot

If this were 1860 he would a slave holder, not an abolitionist

If this were 1920 he would a Pinkerton, not a striker

If this were 1965 he would a Klansman, not a freedom rider

But this is 2004 and he is a Bush Admirer

LET ME GET THIS RIGHT, TO BUSH ADMIRE....WE ARE FREE TO BE AND THINK LIKE YOU. WE ARE FREE TO NOT HAVE THE FREEDOM TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIVE IN. GEORGE BUSH SEINOR AND HIS SON CARE FOR YOU AND YOUR WAY OF LIFE.....THE REST TO DAM BAD... I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU MY FREIND NOT EVERYONES AMERICA IS THE SAME. JUST BECUASE YOUR LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN A EPISODE OF LEAVE IT TO BEAVER YOU THINK WE ALL MUST FIT IN YOUR WORLD. I AM A AMERICAN AND IM PROUD TO SAY THAT ARE AMERICAN LEADERS ARE LIARS AND PROTECTORS OF CORPORATIONS. THAT WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE SUBMITED ARE LIVES TO MEN OF GREED, WHO ONLY CARES FOR THE RICH AND WELL TO DO. WE ARE NUMBER ONE . WE ARE NUMBER ONE AT LETTING MENY MEN FROM THE VIETNAM WAR SLEEP IN SUBWAYS IN L.A. AND NEW YORK. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN PUTTING MEN AND WOMEN IN JAIL FOR SMOKING POT, BUT GIVING REASONS WHY ITS OK FOR L.A. COPS TO SLAM BLACK CHILDREN ON TOP OF POLICE CARS HANDCUFFED. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN BUILDING ROBOTS THAT WILL COLLECT SPACE ROCKS, BUT YET CANT FIND ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AFFORDABLE. WE WANT TO POLICE THE WORLD BUT YET WE HAVE NO CLUE IN THE CONCEPT OF UNITY. THIS WAR HAS BEEN A LIE, AND THE IDEA THAT WE SPREAD FREEDOM IS A MYTH. IN SOUTH AFRICA THEY HAD APARTIED , BLACK MEN,WOMEN,CHILDREN, BEING DENIED HUMAN BASIC RIGHTS BASED ON THE COLOR OF THERE SKIN. (SOUNDS LIKE AMERICAN HISTORY DOSENT IT) POLICE KILING MEN LIKE STEPHEN BANTU BIKO. NELSON MANDELLA IN PRISON FOR A LIFE TIME. THE POLICE USED A AUTOMBILE CALLED THE GREEN CAR THAT WOULD DRIVE THREW POOR BALCK TOWNSHIPS AND SHOOT ANYONE IN SIGHT. THIS HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR A VERY ,VERY ,LONG TIME DID WE SEND TROOPS NO.... IT WAS NOT IN ARE INTREST TO FREE THEM , THEY DONT REALLY IMPORT ANY THING WE NEED TO SURVIE. TO USE SEPT 11- AS A WAY TO FIX SOMETHING THAT GEORGE BUSH SR COULD NOT DO IN THE FIRST WAR IS SICK AND TWISTED. AND AS A AMERICAN I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY SO, NOT BECUSE MEN DIED FOR MY FREEDOM , NO BECUSE FREEDOM OF OTHERS HAD TO BE DESTROYED FIRST FOR AMERICA TO EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU DONT HAVE TO DEAL WITH HISTORY , HISTORY HAS A WAY OF DEALING WITH YOU WEATHER YOU WANT IT TO OR NOT,,,,,R.A.T.M

LET ME GET THIS RIGHT, TO BUSH ADMIRE....WE ARE FREE TO BE AND THINK LIKE YOU. WE ARE FREE TO NOT HAVE THE FREEDOM TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIVE IN. GEORGE BUSH SEINOR AND HIS SON CARE FOR YOU AND YOUR WAY OF LIFE.....THE REST TO DAM BAD... I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU MY FREIND NOT EVERYONES AMERICA IS THE SAME. JUST BECUASE YOUR LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN A EPISODE OF LEAVE IT TO BEAVER YOU THINK WE ALL MUST FIT IN YOUR WORLD. I AM A AMERICAN AND IM PROUD TO SAY THAT ARE AMERICAN LEADERS ARE LIARS AND PROTECTORS OF CORPORATIONS. THAT WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE SUBMITED ARE LIVES TO MEN OF GREED, WHO ONLY CARES FOR THE RICH AND WELL TO DO. WE ARE NUMBER ONE . WE ARE NUMBER ONE AT LETTING MENY MEN FROM THE VIETNAM WAR SLEEP IN SUBWAYS IN L.A. AND NEW YORK. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN PUTTING MEN AND WOMEN IN JAIL FOR SMOKING POT, BUT GIVING REASONS WHY ITS OK FOR L.A. COPS TO SLAM BLACK CHILDREN ON TOP OF POLICE CARS HANDCUFFED. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN BUILDING ROBOTS THAT WILL COLLECT SPACE ROCKS, BUT YET CANT FIND ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AFFORDABLE. WE WANT TO POLICE THE WORLD BUT YET WE HAVE NO CLUE IN THE CONCEPT OF UNITY. THIS WAR HAS BEEN A LIE, AND THE IDEA THAT WE SPREAD FREEDOM IS A MYTH. IN SOUTH AFRICA THEY HAD APARTIED , BLACK MEN,WOMEN,CHILDREN, BEING DENIED HUMAN BASIC RIGHTS BASED ON THE COLOR OF THERE SKIN. (SOUNDS LIKE AMERICAN HISTORY DOSENT IT) POLICE KILING MEN LIKE STEPHEN BANTU BIKO. NELSON MANDELLA IN PRISON FOR A LIFE TIME. THE POLICE USED A AUTOMBILE CALLED THE GREEN CAR THAT WOULD DRIVE THREW POOR BALCK TOWNSHIPS AND SHOOT ANYONE IN SIGHT. THIS HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR A VERY ,VERY ,LONG TIME DID WE SEND TROOPS NO.... IT WAS NOT IN ARE INTREST TO FREE THEM , THEY DONT REALLY IMPORT ANY THING WE NEED TO SURVIE. TO USE SEPT 11- AS A WAY TO FIX SOMETHING THAT GEORGE BUSH SR COULD NOT DO IN THE FIRST WAR IS SICK AND TWISTED. AND AS A AMERICAN I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY SO, NOT BECUSE MEN DIED FOR MY FREEDOM , NO BECUSE FREEDOM OF OTHERS HAD TO BE DESTROYED FIRST FOR AMERICA TO EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU DONT HAVE TO DEAL WITH HISTORY , HISTORY HAS A WAY OF DEALING WITH YOU WEATHER YOU WANT IT TO OR NOT,,,,,R.A.T.M

LET ME GET THIS RIGHT, TO BUSH ADMIRE....WE ARE FREE TO BE AND THINK LIKE YOU. WE ARE FREE TO NOT HAVE THE FREEDOM TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIVE IN. GEORGE BUSH SEINOR AND HIS SON CARE FOR YOU AND YOUR WAY OF LIFE.....THE REST TO DAM BAD... I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU MY FREIND NOT EVERYONES AMERICA IS THE SAME. JUST BECUASE YOUR LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN A EPISODE OF LEAVE IT TO BEAVER YOU THINK WE ALL MUST FIT IN YOUR WORLD. I AM A AMERICAN AND IM PROUD TO SAY THAT ARE AMERICAN LEADERS ARE LIARS AND PROTECTORS OF CORPORATIONS. THAT WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE SUBMITED ARE LIVES TO MEN OF GREED, WHO ONLY CARES FOR THE RICH AND WELL TO DO. WE ARE NUMBER ONE . WE ARE NUMBER ONE AT LETTING MENY MEN FROM THE VIETNAM WAR SLEEP IN SUBWAYS IN L.A. AND NEW YORK. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN PUTTING MEN AND WOMEN IN JAIL FOR SMOKING POT, BUT GIVING REASONS WHY ITS OK FOR L.A. COPS TO SLAM BLACK CHILDREN ON TOP OF POLICE CARS HANDCUFFED. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN BUILDING ROBOTS THAT WILL COLLECT SPACE ROCKS, BUT YET CANT FIND ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AFFORDABLE. WE WANT TO POLICE THE WORLD BUT YET WE HAVE NO CLUE IN THE CONCEPT OF UNITY. THIS WAR HAS BEEN A LIE, AND THE IDEA THAT WE SPREAD FREEDOM IS A MYTH. IN SOUTH AFRICA THEY HAD APARTIED , BLACK MEN,WOMEN,CHILDREN, BEING DENIED HUMAN BASIC RIGHTS BASED ON THE COLOR OF THERE SKIN. (SOUNDS LIKE AMERICAN HISTORY DOSENT IT) POLICE KILING MEN LIKE STEPHEN BANTU BIKO. NELSON MANDELLA IN PRISON FOR A LIFE TIME. THE POLICE USED A AUTOMBILE CALLED THE GREEN CAR THAT WOULD DRIVE THREW POOR BALCK TOWNSHIPS AND SHOOT ANYONE IN SIGHT. THIS HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR A VERY ,VERY ,LONG TIME DID WE SEND TROOPS NO.... IT WAS NOT IN ARE INTREST TO FREE THEM , THEY DONT REALLY IMPORT ANY THING WE NEED TO SURVIE. TO USE SEPT 11- AS A WAY TO FIX SOMETHING THAT GEORGE BUSH SR COULD NOT DO IN THE FIRST WAR IS SICK AND TWISTED. AND AS A AMERICAN I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY SO, NOT BECUSE MEN DIED FOR MY FREEDOM , NO BECUSE FREEDOM OF OTHERS HAD TO BE DESTROYED FIRST FOR AMERICA TO EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU DONT HAVE TO DEAL WITH HISTORY , HISTORY HAS A WAY OF DEALING WITH YOU WEATHER YOU WANT IT TO OR NOT,,,,,R.A.T.M

LET ME GET THIS RIGHT, TO BUSH ADMIRE....WE ARE FREE TO BE AND THINK LIKE YOU. WE ARE FREE TO NOT HAVE THE FREEDOM TO STAND UP FOR WHAT WE BELIVE IN. GEORGE BUSH SEINOR AND HIS SON CARE FOR YOU AND YOUR WAY OF LIFE.....THE REST TO DAM BAD... I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU MY FREIND NOT EVERYONES AMERICA IS THE SAME. JUST BECUASE YOUR LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN A EPISODE OF LEAVE IT TO BEAVER YOU THINK WE ALL MUST FIT IN YOUR WORLD. I AM A AMERICAN AND IM PROUD TO SAY THAT ARE AMERICAN LEADERS ARE LIARS AND PROTECTORS OF CORPORATIONS. THAT WE AS A COUNTRY HAVE SUBMITED ARE LIVES TO MEN OF GREED, WHO ONLY CARES FOR THE RICH AND WELL TO DO. WE ARE NUMBER ONE . WE ARE NUMBER ONE AT LETTING MENY MEN FROM THE VIETNAM WAR SLEEP IN SUBWAYS IN L.A. AND NEW YORK. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN PUTTING MEN AND WOMEN IN JAIL FOR SMOKING POT, BUT GIVING REASONS WHY ITS OK FOR L.A. COPS TO SLAM BLACK CHILDREN ON TOP OF POLICE CARS HANDCUFFED. WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN BUILDING ROBOTS THAT WILL COLLECT SPACE ROCKS, BUT YET CANT FIND ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AFFORDABLE. WE WANT TO POLICE THE WORLD BUT YET WE HAVE NO CLUE IN THE CONCEPT OF UNITY. THIS WAR HAS BEEN A LIE, AND THE IDEA THAT WE SPREAD FREEDOM IS A MYTH. IN SOUTH AFRICA THEY HAD APARTIED , BLACK MEN,WOMEN,CHILDREN, BEING DENIED HUMAN BASIC RIGHTS BASED ON THE COLOR OF THERE SKIN. (SOUNDS LIKE AMERICAN HISTORY DOSENT IT) POLICE KILING MEN LIKE STEPHEN BANTU BIKO. NELSON MANDELLA IN PRISON FOR A LIFE TIME. THE POLICE USED A AUTOMBILE CALLED THE GREEN CAR THAT WOULD DRIVE THREW POOR BALCK TOWNSHIPS AND SHOOT ANYONE IN SIGHT. THIS HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR A VERY ,VERY ,LONG TIME DID WE SEND TROOPS NO.... IT WAS NOT IN ARE INTREST TO FREE THEM , THEY DONT REALLY IMPORT ANY THING WE NEED TO SURVIE. TO USE SEPT 11- AS A WAY TO FIX SOMETHING THAT GEORGE BUSH SR COULD NOT DO IN THE FIRST WAR IS SICK AND TWISTED. AND AS A AMERICAN I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY SO, NOT BECUSE MEN DIED FOR MY FREEDOM , NO BECUSE FREEDOM OF OTHERS HAD TO BE DESTROYED FIRST FOR AMERICA TO EXIST IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU DONT HAVE TO DEAL WITH HISTORY , HISTORY HAS A WAY OF DEALING WITH YOU WEATHER YOU WANT IT TO OR NOT,,,,,R.A.T.M

Regarding the facile stereotypes which BA regurgitates so thoughtlessly-

The history of the Mob has been one of playing both sides, wherever they saw the possibility of profit. Mafia goons have done a considerable amount of service on the side of the bosses.

Just in case BA is interested in learning more about the Mob as a management goon squad( and isn't afraid of having his unexamined dogmas contradicted), I recommend a reading of Chapter 5 of Stephen Fox's Blood and Power: Organized crime in Twentieth-Century America, a highly objective look at the involvement of organized crime in labor relations. Of particular interest will be the story of the infamous Harry Bennett of Ford's "Service Department", his gang involvement and the uses to which they were put by Ford- up to and including the attempted murder of Walter Reuther by local mobsters linked to Bennett.

Don't miss Harry's appearance before the Kefauver Commission, nor fail to ask yourself what such a respectable corporation man with an office and a suit and politics to suit the BAs of this world would be doing getting grilled by a Senate investigation into the Mafia.

And, trolls in the mood for asking questions might well go on to ask why workers were so willing for so long to endure hardship, harrassment and violent persecution to secure their right to organize and bargain collectively, and whether that phenomenon can possibly be explained by the "Mafia goons" hypothesis.

You left out a few.

In 1967 he would be a pro-war rally attender.

In 1974 he would be a Support President Nixon button-wearer.

In 1979 he would say let's cut welfare and legal aid for the poor and give the money to Iraq to invade Iran.

In 1980 he would have a Reagan for President bumper sticker.

In 1981 he would say we have to support the death squads in El Salvador and Guatemala and the Contras in Nicaragua.

In 1987 he would say Oliver North is a hero.

In 1988 he would say Rush Limbaugh is a wonderful addition to radio.

In 1990 he would say let's sucker Saddam into invading Kuwait so we can steal his oil.