This screen capture from KDKA in Pittsburgh via @BreakingNews which reports riot police "are firing gas as up to 1,000 demonstrators gather for unauthorized march towards site of G20 summit."
The G20 Pittsburgh Summit will be held on September 24 and 25. There is an extraordinary counter terrorism and riot presence in the city that will host the leaders of the world's 20 largest economic powers. UPDATE: "The Secret Service told KDKA-TV police used OC vapor and smoke, not tear gas."
They protest at every summit meeting and their messages get lost in the scuffle. The only thing people remember is the damage that's caused. If they want people to take notice of their cause, then they need to have just one message. Instead, they have dozens of different messages that end up going nowhere. People are not drawn to confusion. It defeats the purpose of protesting. When are they going to get a clue?
Posted by: Ravenback | 24 September 2009 at 16:55
If you need "permission" or "official sanction" from the government to protest against the government, then the First Amendment is in trouble. Having said that, it looks from the various footage I've seen so far that at least some of the acting-out by protesters, was incited by agents provocateurs. I've demonstrated for LGBT rights, and against our war in Iraq, and I've seen covert agitators (read: undercover cops) try to encourage protesters to get rowdy, in order to justify police actions against them. I'll reserve judgment on the Pittsburgh police's handling of this "unauthorized" protest until the smoke clears. But as of now, I am a bit skeptical of the claim that the G20 protesters got out of line for no apparent reason.
Posted by: Nathan James | 24 September 2009 at 18:13