Who's going to disrupt Cheney?

Protestors Infiltrate Madison Square Garden
In Midtown, Peaceful Protest Over Unemployement

Sep 1, 2004 1:51 pm US/Eastern
NEW YORK (AP) To the cheers of young Republicans, an anti-war demonstrator was dragged off the floor of Madison Square Garden by security Wednesday as the protests enveloping Manhattan briefly infiltrated the Republican National Convention.

The incident occurred around noon, when a morning meeting of the GOP youth group -- featuring an appearance by President Bush's twin daughters -- was interrupted by 10 whistle-blowing protesters chanting "Bush kills."

They pulled off sweatshirts to reveal T-shirts with the message, "Bush Drop Global Debt Now." A scuffle broke out between the Republicans and the demonstrators, drowning out a speech from White House chief of staff Andrew Card.

Police carried one of the protesters out by the shoulders and knees, and one of the delegates suffered a cut when he was allegedly punched in the head by a demonstrator. Jenna and Barbara Bush, who introduced Card, were offstage when the scuffle occurred.

From:  http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstoriesny_story_245135929.html

Video of the action is posted on the above page

"Would you please send some attractive people to get naked this time?"

here ya go. still some hair but hot hot hot:  http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/107865

..

A protester at the Republican Youth Convention is restrained and escorted from the floor at Madison Square Garden in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A few AIDS activists managed to protest on the convention floor during a youth event at Madison Square Garden Wednesday. Meanwhile, the pier where arrested protestors are held has been dubbed “Guantanamo on the Hudson†for alleged inhumane conditions. http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/SubTopic/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=42949

AIDS Activists Protest On Convention Floor
SEPTEMBER 01ST, 2004

A few AIDS activists managed to protest on the convention floor during a youth event at Madison Square Garden Wednesday. Meanwhile, the pier where arrested protestors are held has been dubbed “Guantanamo on the Hudson†for alleged inhumane conditions.

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was being introduced by George Bush’s daughters at a Young Republicans event when five demonstrators, who had been sitting in the audience in the Wisconsin and Nevada area, started blowing whistles and stood up on their chairs. Within seconds, police officers and Secret Service agents pulled them down and escorted them away.

The crowd tried to drown out the protestors with chants of “four more years,†while Card, distracted for a moment, continued with his speech.

It has not been confirmed how or under what pretenses the demonstrators managed to enter the Garden. Charges against them are pending.

Meanwhile, other protesters arrested during the convention say the holding facility where they've been kept, an old bus depot on Pier 57, is unsafe and is making them sick. They complain of cramped conditions, rashes, chemical burns and difficulty breathing, calling the temporary prison “Guantanamo on the Hudson.â€

“It seems that people are not being treated as human beings, that they are put into a situation that’s not safe,†said Leslie Cagan, the head of the anti-war group United for Peace and Justice, which held a rally outside the pier Wednesday. “At least one woman, we’ve heard, had to be taken to the hospital because she broke out in a complete rash as a reaction to the oil spills that are still in there from when it used to be a garage for buses.â€

The National Lawyers Guild also says prisoners have been denied legal representation and have gone long periods without food or water. “The floor of these pens is concrete and there is a layer of compacted chemical sediment,†said Katya Komisaruk of the group. “Their bare skin is being exposed to these chemicals. When I saw my clients in court, they were covered with a dark layer of grime.â€

Protestors have also expressed concerns about asbestos, but the NYPD says that tests indicate no problems with the air quality and that the garage was thoroughly cleaned before being used as a temporary jail.

Police did, however, say that the large volume of arrests created a backlog, extending the time from when people are brought to the pier until they are processed at Central Booking or released, depending on the severity of the charged.

Earlier in the day, thousands of other protestors formed a symbolic unemployment line stretching from Wall Street all the way to Madison Square Garden, waving pink slips as a sign of their unhappiness with the economy.

“One-point-two million Americans have lost their jobs, and this is a crisis in our country,†said City Council Speaker Gifford Miller. “We grow in poverty, the poor are getting poorer. We need to draw attention to that, because this administration, at least, is not addressing it.â€

Various other demonstrations are also planned in the city Wednesday, including a rally by the National Organization for Women in Central Park. The One People’s Project is sponsoring a concert from 2-6 p.m. at Tompkins Square Park on the Lower East Side. From 3 p.m. to about 5 p.m., students and faculty who were at Stuyvesant High School the day the nearby twin towers were attacked will march along West Street from Chambers Street to the World Trade Center site.

Over 1,000 protestors, including many who tried to march on Madison Square Garden, were arrested in clashes with police Tuesday as numerous and often impromptu demonstrations erupted all over Manhattan. The disorder was largely instigated by an anarchist group called the A31 Action Coalition – a reference to the date, August 31. The “Day of Action†included scheduled rallies without permits and warnings of unannounced disruptions.

“Yesterday you saw a bunch of people who said they were going to bring the city to its knees, and they didn’t,†Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in an interview with NY1 Wednesday. “They wanted to come ruin people’s time when they were here, and they didn’t do it. If you want to protest, we’re the city. I think we showed clearly on Sunday that we can accommodate you. If you want to come and break the law, we also showed we’re a city of laws, as we are a nation of laws. We enforce the law, and if you want to break the law, you’re going to get arrested.â€

Nearly 1,600 people have been arrested since demonstrations against the Republican Convention began last Thursday.

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Way to go ACT UP!

much better than that guy who they got walking towards cheney yesterday. at least this was a clear message and didnt look like a bunch of kooks.

Honestly this is not a troll - but:

While I sympathize with the causes being espoused here, what do these actions accomplish besides making the causes easier to ignore/de-legitimize by the targets of the actions?

Do you think they are unaware of the dissent on these issues and this is news to them? I just think all of these actions are going to be used as a tool to beat back the causes they stand for.

Someone please give me a calm explanation, no ranting necessary. Thanks.

Okay...So Ms. Lynch is obviously sure in her personal utopia that the gracious governments of Africa will undoubtably spend all those extra funds from debt forgiveness on their downtrodden people. Yeah, sure. After all, what's one to expect from their local dictator?

Um, do you think that all African countries are run by dictators because black people are incapable of democracy? Even Bush disagrees. He was quoted in the Washington Post as saying: "I believe that people whose skins aren't necessarily - are a different color than white - can self-govern."

There are a lot of democratic South African countries with some serious AIDS problems that would benefit from the debt being dropped. South Africa is one example.

I suggest you purchase a map, learn the names of all the countries in Africa, learn their capitols, and then go to the CIA's World Factbook and learn when they became independent and the nature of their governments now. Then you'll be ready for former FSO William Blum's "Killing Hope" where you can read about the history of Africa's dictators, as well as undemocratic governments all over the globe.

Happy trails!

Congratulations to these non violent activists for their courage to stand up to the lies of a corporate controlled congress and a corrupt administration.

Ah,its always wonderful to see in pictures the Republican ideas on free speech and democracy. if you disagree, you aren't invited, you can't protest outside, you can't rally in the park and if you don't get the message and still try to voice a dissenting view we'll have goons drag you off and throw you into an oily, asbestos filled ex bus parking lot.

make sure our soldiers know this is the freedom they are dying to defend

There are two resolutions in the House Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology that are related to this drop the debt issue. HR 4560 is sponsored by Henry Hyde. HR 4793, also known as the "Jubilee Act," is sponsored by Maxine Waters and cosponsored by 17 people, including Spencer Bachus (R from AL).

People should contact their Representative in the House and get them to cosponsor the Jubilee Act

The G-7 finance ministers meet on Oct. 1st.

Get involved now

 http://www.jubileeusa.org

drop the debt!
support House Resolution 4793

www.jubileeusa.org

"While I sympathize with the causes being espoused here, what do these actions accomplish besides making the causes easier to ignore/de-legitimize by the targets of the actions?"

What a strangely ironic and sad question. Indeed, if it is so that by speaking up we are making ourselves "ignorable", what does this say for the state of free speech and democracy in the United States? For if speaking up necessarily embodies the knowledge that one's voice is not important and not necessary, why then does free speech exist as both a concept and as a political action in a country that espouses democracy? In other words, is not free speech, like voting, meant to represent a body of opinion--be it one person, be it millions-- that seeks a constituency within the ranks of those powers who do write bills, vote in the Congress, speak on the Senate floor? For speaking to simply speak is what, it seems to me, GW Bush sees it as. He has constantly referred to dissent to his reign as a demonstration that people CAN speak up. But he glibly continues to ignore these voices. Hence, the message of the poster above would seem to be as cynical as that of Bush's interpretation of free speech--that speaking up can actually hurt us! Clearly this is sad because even if it is true that dissent is being oppressed in the USA in this period of time, it is simply untrue that speaking up means that the ideas being voiced are henceforth delegitimized. It might mean, however, that the ruling party delegitimizes these voices--but not because these are ideas are voiced only. But because these ideas exist and this, my friend, is the core of this totalitarian government under which we are all living. Where these protests are virtually invisible in mainstream media, where Bush is now "Churchillian", and where up is down. The emperor not only has beautiful clothes, but suddenly he has a brain!

Any conversation regarding dropping the debt needs to start with a discussion of those very same dictators chronicled so well in Blum's 'Killing Hope.' Military dictators recieve aid to maintain stability (absolute control), promote business (maintain capitalist exploitation), and promote democracy (crush dissent). So when critics ask why we should pay for these countries and 'their problems,' it is important to remind and remember that loans taken out by illegitimate governments are illegitimate loans. No one, US citizen nor Chilean, should have to pay back the money borrowed by Pinochet and spent on genocide. No one, US citizen nor Salvadoran, should pay the bill for the Scorched Earth tactics... these loans ARE NOT REAL. The money is intangible.
WE WILL DISMANTLE THE WORLD BANK AND IMF... As soon as we get Bush out of office, we need to REENERGIZE the AntiCorporate Globalization and AntiCapitalist movement and pull the red carpet out from under John "I'm not a redistribution Democrat" Kerry...

ITN news in Ireland, England, wales and scotland showed great coverage of the 'Act Up' activists being arrested from the RNC floor. Also we saw activists being brutally hauled from the streets by the NYPD.
Keep up the dissent-- the world is watching!
By the way the Republicans are looking very scary to the rest of the world right!

History books will report:"This week at Madison Square Garden,NYC, the biggest KKK rally was held." I am proud of the brave Act-Up activists. Silence = Death. Bush = Death.

Pres. Bush has done to confront the problem of AIDS in Africa tahnany other leader in the world. The wrong party was protested.

WABC telecast on the 6 o'clock news a young Republican kicking one of the downed protesters (the young Asian woman).
WABC interviewed this young Republican afterwards saying that cameras show him kicking a protester -- to which he just
looks blankly into the camera for a good 5 seconds saying nothing.

Can anyone upload that cowards pic from WABC News? lets make sure everyone in this city knows his face.

You guys are like the 4 year old toddler who diarrheas all over himself at Grampy's retirement party.

The name displayed on WABC channel 7 news at 11PM attributed to the skinny red-headed, male Republican who violently pulls a young female protester to the ground and then begins kicking her was "Taylor Bickford." This name was on the screen. It should be confirmed by someone on the inside. A search does show a Taylor Bickford as an attendee of the convention as a page from Alaska  http://www.gopconvention.com/contents/newsroom/events/pageprogram/. A further search indicates that a Taylor Bickford from Alaska, who may be the son of an Alaskan lobbyist, was brought to DC by Senator Murkowski  http://murkowski.senate.gov/Press%20Releases/5-13.html according to a press release in May of 2003. Before going any further, it would be great if somebody could fact check ABC and make sure they got the right name. I'd hate for this guy to get got if ABC used the wrong name.

"W" is for women, my a$$.

Nice research on Taylor Bickford...the young Republican who kicked the ACT UP asian woman while she was on the ground. (all too typical)

[A search shows Taylor Bickford as an attendee of the convention as a page from Alaska. A further search indicates that a Taylor Bickford from Alaska may be the son of an Alaskan lobbyist, and was brought to DC by Senator Murkowski, according to a press release.]

Nice coverage by everyone!

sending a video still from ABC News

www.actupny.org/reports/rnc_nyc.html

Well done divatv.

Hey ACT-UP press charges or at the very least sue his ass and wipe that smug smile off his fascist face. Lets post his pic all over town and shame him all the way back to Alaska.

good job AIDS activists!! thank you.

dump the debt!! and while we're at it let's dismantle corporate intellectual property laws that deprive millions of people of the medicine they need!

We've seen some genuinely heroic actions in NYC this week. I think The Left is finally getting its act together, thanks to all the brave, bright, creative and committed people who are saying "NO" to this brutal system that has kept so many down for so long. Your courage is inspiring!

this outpouring of activism on hundreds of different fronts all at once really seems to be a sign of good things to come. onward!

SIMPLY FABULOUS!! You guysngirls are the greatest!!! A million rounds of applause for a BRILLIANT effort!

in the first Reuters photo, what is that guy in the orange shirt putting from his mouth?

That Taylor Bickford boy needs one good hot spanking!

SPANK TAYLOR BICKFORD

would make a fine t-shirt!

I love what this group is doing! The attention that this group is bringing to the real issues that many of us are not aware of. The reason we are not aware of these issues I know is largely due to major corprate media. Anyway, I just want to express my support and gratitude to puting the Bush Administration on blast!!!! Keep it up!!!!!!!!!!

Passerby, tell us, what actions would you recommend that aren't in danger of de-legitimaizing these causes? With giant private corporations in control of the government and the media, what other alternative is there? I feel strongly about these things, I want my voice heard, yet I am not a billionaire and cannot just go and purchase a TV commercial... We are consumers, and nothing more, and if we hope to be more, we have to scream, shout, run around naked, and do whatever it takes. If one single person in that convention changes their mind or questions their beliefs even for a second, then that's worth it. What else can we do?

I wish Henry rollins and Lydia Lunch would team up and beat the shit out of Taylor Bitchford.

The moonbats did themselves more bad that good this week. They're simply clueless as to how they looked to people not affected by the Bush-hating swamp fever.

In fact, they might just be RNC plants for all the damage they did themselves and the good they did Bush with undecided voters....

You didn't see Pro-Life activists storming the DNC convention hall.

The RNC protestors make right wing radicals look well-behaved and respectful.

When will Taylor Bickford be charged with assault? The video is unbelievably clear, he kicked this woman!

And to all those visiting from Free Republic, this is what democracy looks like. Maybe you should join us.

Regarding the "Young Republican" identified by ABC News as Taylor Bickford...

it should be noted that his Father has just written that this is NOT his Son, and has threatened legal consequences....

It would be a grievous error by ABC if they misidentified this young Republican.

The person PICTURED is no doubt the "young Republican" who kicked a woman while helpless on the ground. The only DOUBT is ABC's Identification of the person's name.

How would ABC get this name?? Surely the young Republican wouldn't "switch" name tags for the Conference and the subsequent interview by ABC News... that would imply duplicity by both parties and a lack of ethics by all parties representing Young Republicans.

In any event, the individual pictured has committed an act of assault.

DAMN DAMN DAMN

CORRECTION CORRECTION

After much searching -- it was discovered that
ABC 7 Eyewitness News put the same named-caption on two different "young republicans" interviewed.
(They had different labels on different telecasts...the above picture labeled WRONGLY as Bickford appeared on the 11PM News, while the real Bickford appeared correctly on the 6PM News.

We do not know the name of the "young Republican" who had kicked the Asian woman protester when she was on the ground.

I would like to correct this error, and regret the mistaken identification. I apologize to Taylor and his family (and i do so hate to have to apologize to die-hard Republicans).

I should know better to believe what I see on the Mainstream News. SORRY TO SCREW EVERYONE UP.

One can still see ABC 7 News (6PM)
streaming Windows Media clip:

"Protesters Breach Security, Make it to Garden"

"Do you think they are unaware of the dissent on these issues and this is news to them?"

If they are aware, they are not aware of the urgency and severity of the crisis. These heroic activists have put an amazing amount of effort into getting into the convention, calling for debt relief despite fierce and physical opposition, and facing imprisonment and court dates. Debt relief is so desperately and profoundly needed that these actions are absolutely appropriate.

A whopping $13.5 billion goes into debt service each year. In Sub-saharan Africa debt payments consume four times the resources of their entire health care system. This is an emergency. These protesters have made the urgency clear and brought the issue to the forefront of politicians minds.

These actions have made AIDS policy and debt relief much harder to ignore by interrupting the rhythm of the convention with a clear coherent message.

I got threatening emails from Taylor and his daddy for posting the ABC News video on my blog ( http://www.jasonbuckley.com/blog). What a couple of whiny punks, threatening to sue and demanding an apology. I'd be much more inclined to offer an honest and heartfelt apology had they not acted like a couple of dicks throwing threats around at me. I've offered a correction, but nobody gets an apology by making threats.

CAN YOU SEE THIS MAN GOING TO WORK IN HIS BARE FEET?From IHT.com: A barefoot traditional healer entered her thatched-roof hut in this Zulu village, trailed by a business suited Randall L. Tobias, the Bush administration's global AIDS coordinator. Tobias respectfully slipped off his tasseled, British-made loafers and socks as he crossed the threshold.

Apparently Tobias' willingness to surrender his footwear is given as an example of his commitment. How many Eli Lilly executives would willingly take off their expensive shoes and socks (and surrender their dignity) and enter an African hut barefoot in their pinstriped suits?

I just can't see the man below walking around without his fancy shoes. Maybe he deserves some credit after all.