what will happen to Denver during the DNC convention

[yeahYeah]

Protesters, police educate, gear up for convention : DNC - Protests and Demonstrations : The Rocky Mountain News

Dozens of protest groups are planning a full schedule of classes, concerts, marches and other actions during the Democratic National Convention, hoping to capture the world's attention and recruit new activists.
They are both energized and organized, and most insist they are not looking for trouble.
"We are completely peaceful," said Rob Weiland, a 37-year-old courier from Denver and member of the group We Are Change Colorado. "We follow the ideals of Ghandi."
The organization will be videotaping other groups and police during the DNC, scheduled for Aug. 25 to 28.
They'll post the videos on YouTube.com or the group's Web site so the public may see what's happening without the filter of mainstream media, Weiland said.
If any protest groups are provoking police, he said, "our cameras will be on them."
The Alliance for Real Democracy, a coalition of 18 groups, is planning a week of classes in City Park on topics such as non violence and how to organize a demonstration. A concert with Denver band the Flobots also is in the works.
The large-scale effort is being planned by six or seven different committees, focusing on areas such as fundraising, promotions and working with city officials, member Duke Austin said.
"This is on a much bigger scale than anything we've done so far, so it requires additional organizing," said Austin, a 33-year-old Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado who leads the group Students for Peace and Justice.
"I think it will be an incredible learning experience for everybody there," he said.
Police, meanwhile, are doing some preparing of their own.
By the time the convention starts, most officers working the DNC will have completed at least 30 hours of special training, Mayor John Hickenlooper said. It includes how to diffuse problems, so that nonviolent situations don't escalate.
While the majority of protesters don't want to break the law, the city is readying for "some bad characters," Hickenlooper said.
Denver received a $50 million federal grant for security that will be used for personnel and equipment.
The city won't say what type of equipment it's buying with the money.
But a local company announced last month it had sold Denver 88 guns that fire a pepper spray-like substance instead of bullets for use during the DNC. The weapons may be used to incapacitate people, stop riots or disperse crowds.
Those purchases worry Ben Yager, 23, of Unconventional Denver, a local offshoot of the national group Unconventional Action.
The group is often mentioned as one most likely to cause problems for police during the convention.
Its approach is one of direct action, such as blocking access to corporate-funded parties or blocking delegates from leaving their hotels to go to the convention and vote.
The activities could land members in jail, the group's Web site acknowledges.
But the site also states that if people are arrested, they're expected to be released in time to join a caravan to the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.
Asked whether the group was planning violence in Denver, Yager said, "Absolutely not."
"We're preparing for the police to be violent," he said, adding that the equipment purchased by police is likely to be used first on groups like his.
The group held a camp in the mountains last weekend, where they readied for the DNC.
Participants won't discuss details of the camp, but Yager said among the topics was how to protect oneself from police, and how to "do it in a way that won't get you sent to jail."
Protesters who do end up behind bars will have some allies.
Today at the University of Denver, the People's Law Project will train attorneys who are volunteering to represent people who believe their First Amendment rights are violated during the DNC.
The group encouraged any activists or other members of the community to attend a noon lunch on free speech rights.

Who's protesting the DNC?
A sample of groups, some of their causes and what they're planning:
* Students for Peace and Justice: Grass-roots movement against the war in Iraq. Supports immigrant rights, more diplomacy with Iran and end to death penalty. Part of Alliance for Real Democracy, which plans concerts and classes in City Park.
* Escuela Tlatelolco de Estudios: Denver private school for young Hispanics, also active in issues affecting immigrants and indigenous communities. Has permit for an immigrant-rights parade on Aug. 26.
* CODEPINK: Opposes the war in Iraq, wants resources put into health care and education. Name is a play on President Bush's color-coded terror alert levels. Part of Alliance for Real Democracy events at City Park.
* Americans for Safe Access: Advocates for safe and legal access to marijuana for medical and other scientific use. Has permit for a parade on Aug. 28.
* Unconventional Denver: Uses direct action to hold Democrats accountable for policies such as environmental degradation, war and corporate funding of political campaigns and conventions.
Direct actions could include targeting delegate hotels and parties, trying to block delegate access to DNC.

[ArmyGuy45]

you know i will be maintaining the relay system for broadcasting... i think there might be a hiccup when obama takes the stand.. and when he leave.. i suddenly fix the problem!

[DanTheEldest]

I think it will be more or less peaceful, with occasional incidents involving nuts who can't control themselves. I don't think we'll see a repeat of '68, but these are the same basic folks we had back then; there will be some interesting moments.

On an aside, I did find this bit interesting:

"We are completely peaceful," said Rob Weiland, a 37-year-old courier from Denver and member of the group We Are Change Colorado. "We follow the ideals of Ghandi."

Since the "ideals of Ghandhi" involved defending India's traditional caste system against the push to give the Untouchables more rights, I find it both revealing and curious that the left (whose M.O. is all about class warfare and convincing different groups they're victims of society) would choose to identify with this man.

[Bree]

I doubt that they are disposed to do what the kids of my generation did in Chicago. The world has changed and is ever so politically correct these days. When you saw those jeeps with razor wire on the front bumpers rolling up Michigan Ave with the Guard behind them... that was the real deal.

The cops were going nuts beating on people. It was heavy duty. Nothing like that is going to happen. There is no draft and the war protest is lame as can be. Back in '68 if the guys didn't have a deferment and their lottery number was not real high... it was off to Nam... don't pass Go; don't collect $200. Big motivator!!

[yeahYeah]

i think it can happen again....NYC in 2004 was not long ago....it was anarchy in mid town for 3 days, and that was a GOP convention.

[Bree]

Originally Posted by yeahYeah

i think it can happen again....NYC in 2004 was not long ago....it was anarchy in mid town for 3 days, and that was a GOP convention.

Originally Posted by yeahYeah

i think it can happen again....NYC in 2004 was not long ago....it was anarchy in mid town for 3 days, and that was a GOP convention.

No comparison. 1968 Dems vs 2004 GOP.

1968 was war in the streets... I mean literally. They had the International Amphitheatre barb-wired. They had Guardsmen blocking access with machine guns and grenade launchers. Day after day it went on with violence erupting from Lincoln park down to the south side.

MC5 did the Festival up at Lincoln Park and played for a long time despite the cops attacking. The police finally beat the crap out of everyone that night after the park closed cuz they wouldn't let the hippies sleep there.

There were supposed to be a bunch of bands but nobody showed up! They were too scared. Only Rob Tyner and the "Kick Out the Jams MF" guys from Motown showed. I liked MC5 a lot so we went down to see them.

It pissed us off that only MC5 showed cuz there were supposed to be some really good groups playing. We knew that Abbie Hoffman (the organizer) was trying to get Country Joe and the Fish to play. We were hoping for that but it didn't look good. The Fish didn't want to come... probably knew they were gonna get their asses kicked by the police. There had been a lot of speculation that all hell was going to break loose. And they were right cuz it did!

You have never seen anything quite like it. I watched a lot of it on TV cuz it was too scary to go down there. I was down there once and that was enough. It was nuts... like a riot... but it was the police that were causing the thing. They were on search and destroy missions in the parks and on the streets. The CPD hated the hippies or yippies as they liked to call themselves. It was pretty nasty... no... it was REALLY nasty. NYC '04 was nothing like Chicago '68.

[yeahYeah]

ooh, i was not comparing 68 and 2004 it tit for tat, but there is a movement to "recreate '68" - since the democrat party is operated by those who made '68 happen, i do not put it past them.

[Bree]

Originally Posted by yeahYeah

ooh, i was not comparing 68 and 2004 it tit for tat, but there is a movement to "recreate '68" - since the democrat party is operated by those who made '68 happen, i do not put it past them.

Who is doing that? I guess I don't keep up with who's who in the world of young people anymore. There has to be an engine driving the train. We had Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin of the Chicago 7 fame (THAT's another story altogether) driving the yippie side of it with Dick Gregory and some others driving the Black side of it and then Richard J Daley controlling the police. The Blue and Whites won the battle but lost the war methinks.

[yeahYeah]

http://www.recreate68.com/

[SVThuh]

Personally, I hope that Pikes Peak erupts and takes them all out!

...is Pikes Peak even a Volcano? If not, a meteor would work just as well in my opinion.