treehouse party

train bound for the mall of america met by riot police, aug 31, 2008

2008-09-23T18:29:00.001-06:00

There were police raids on independent media and the RNC Welcoming Committee Convergence Space before the RNC even started. At the same time the riot police showed up on a Metro Transit light rail train to the Mall of America.

From indybay, Riot Cops Detain IWW Starbucks Workers Union Supporters in Train at Mall of America. "As an act of solidarity, several dozen local IWW members and supporters, along with National Lawyer's Guild observers, intended to peacefully escort the reinstated Erik Forman to the Mall of America. In line with recent police aggression in the Twin Cities related to the 2008 RNC in St. Paul (see http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/08/30/18531223.php), police massed at the IWW rally point at the light rail station at Lake & Hiawatha. Initially, police refused to allow the IWW access to the light rail station so that they might escort Erik back to the Mall of America. Later, the IWW was allowed to proceed. Two stations from the mall, police again seemed to be ready to prevent the group's access to the mall yet then allowed the train to proceed. Finally, at the mall itself, a line of riot cops from Plymouth, MN in full riot gear refused to allow the IWW to disembark from the train. Other unrelated passengers, including one diabetic in need of insulin, were also not allowed to leave the train as it was held with the doors closed. Eventually, the train was just sent in the other direction, away from the mall, with no one allowed off. At the first stop in the other direction, Erik Forman got off and walked to his job at the mall."

This is another excessive show of force by the police. What are they afraid of? See the video at indybay.

video coverage of; rnc pre-raids, marches, protests, and massive police presence

2008-09-10T21:16:00.027-06:00

If you didn't attend the RNC protests in St. Paul or if you've only seen what the mainstream media has shown, then see some independent media video clips of the protests for yourself. The military presence in St. Paul was your tax dollars at work. Was it worth it?

"I do not condemn or condone their actions, but I understand why."
- In reaction to different means of protesting from a protester at the RNC

Pre RNC raids
Police Raid on RNC Protest Site on Iglehart Ave in St Paul ***

Day one, Labor Day
Journalist Amy Goodman from Democracy Now and two producers get arrested at RNC protest****
Scenes from the RNC Free Speech Zone ***
MPR News: Teen describes process of RNC protest arrest and release ***** If you have children watch this.

Day two, Ripple Effect concert at the Minnesota State Capitol and the March for Our Lives
March Ends in Tear Gas at RNC! gnooze 9-2-08 ***** "That didn't feel like being an American." (This is what we saw on Tue. night. This was our experience)
DN! Thousands Join Poor People's March Outside RNC *****
Ripple Effect ***
March for Our Lives march in overpass tunnel ****
Farheen Hakeem at the RNC Protests ***
rage against the machine at rnc protest ****
DN! Thousands Join Poor People's March Outside RNC
9-2-08 RNC Protest ****
Vietnam Medic telling off cops at the RNC protest ****
What Happened With Yesterday's RNC Protest ****
Rage Against the Machine RNC - 09.02.08 (Performs Acapella in Crowd) *****

Day four, No Peace for the War Makers rally and march
RNC Protests Day Four ***
RNC protests in St. Paul, Thursday, Sept. 4, near Rice St. *****
RNC Protest 9-4-08 5pm-630pm ***** Great video of the "mohawk dude" aka an undercover cop. The video captures the massive police force and the playful spirit of a peaceful crowd.
RNC Protest: The Bridge **** Riot police trap hundreds on the bridge and arrest the crowd.
RNC protest: southbound *****
RNC protest: the bridge ****
woman in purple shirt on last night of rnc, maced repeatedly by police **** (very difficult to watch. I was singing with her at the protest earlier that evening)

RNC protests and aftermath
Police respond to RNC protests (AP) ****
WAR AT THE RNC 2008 - PROTESTS & MASS ARRESTS ** It's a little crass but he tells it like it is. "Time to get a clue. Wake the F--K up." He's a little like George Carlin. Be prepared for some strong language. I'm not sure what side he's on, but he's pissed.
The Battle for St. Paul *** video set to Rage Against the Machine
MnIndy video: RNC protesters show and tell of injuries from cops *****
"Restraint - RNC 2008 Protest Compilation" ***** Great overall view of policy brutality at the RNC
MnIndy Video: Medics say police targeted them at RNC protests ***** Watch this! For real.

Rated from * to *****.
View as you please. I rated these according to what I would watch first. Watch all the videos if you have time. Learn the truth.
Peace.

rnc day four, no peace for the war makers march

2008-09-10T20:54:00.012-06:00

rnc day two, ripple effect and march for our lives

2008-09-10T20:12:00.018-06:00

peace

Spearhead at the Ripple Effect concert

Military force at the Ripple Effect concert

Rally before the March for Our Lives

Riot police on the street next to Mears Park

They are ready to mace a peaceful crowd

On the march route

March for Our Lives

March for Our Lives, chanting in the underpass

Convergence of the Ripple Effect concert and the March for Our Lives

The crowds join and march to the Xcel Center

The march moved downtown

More riot police (they are everywhere)

The first of many mace attacks by the police

The media said that we were trying to take over Mickey's Dinner, sure right. We don't have a death wish.

Just how many riot police did the city of St. Paul have? Is Blackwater in there?

more articles:
March for Our Lives at the RNC in St. Paul (part 1 of 2)

march on the rnc, labor day 2008 part two

2008-09-09T16:49:00.012-06:00

This is one of the best signs of the day. I agree!

Code pink

Snippers on the roof

march on the rnc, labor day 2008 - part one

2008-09-08T21:24:00.010-06:00

"Free Speech" an omen of things to come

Democracy ice sculpture (Another omen of things to come)

Let's hear if for the grandmothers! They have been heroic leaders in the anti-war movement

post rnc hangover

2008-09-05T12:29:00.010-06:00

I woke up this morning still thinking about what I saw last night. The Anti-War Committee held a rally at the Minnesota State Capitol. The group was given a permit for a one hour rally. (Wow how generous of the city of St. Paul.) After the rally, the group marched towards the Excel Center but were met by riot police and military force. Once again a crowd of peaceful protesters were denied their first amendment rights to assemble peacefully and voice opposition to the war.

The cops blocked roads to downtown at the intersection of John Ireland Blvd. and 12th St. A creative party atmosphere arose in the street. Protesters sang old protest songs. The kids skateboarded, biked, chanted, sang, and drew on the street with sidewalk chalk. "Oh yeah that sounds really scary." After a while my friend and I walked down the road to 11th and Cedar and were met with more police in riot gear. The police presence was unreal. They were at every intersection. Just how many cops did Minnesota have? We were told by the cops to disperse and go west. We turned around and tried to figure out how to get to the Northstar Wellness center to see if there was anything we could help with. We walked back up to the capitol and once again met with an incredible police presence. Overkill doesn't even begin to describe it. We walked up Cedar St. and the cops told us to keep moving go west towards the satellites (porta potties) on the capitol grounds. More cops in riot gear were in front of the satellites. I had that trapped feeling again that soon I would be pepper sprayed. I broke out into my rendition of "Proud to be an American," which is "ashamed to be an american were I am oppressed by the police." Or something along that line. My friend said, "Shut up not now." I thought, fuck it. Would they arrest me for singing badly? I was pissed. I was mad that the show of force by the police was so disproportionate to a peaceful protest. The only anger I saw in the group was an agent provocateur, who walked around the crowd repeatedly yelling, "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!" He wasn't with the protesters but was with the cops. He was quickly marked as a provocateur and ignored. The was a huge presence of undercover cops which most of the crowd acknowledged.

As we walked up to University to the wellness center a multitude of cop cars sped by with sirens blasting. We looked at each other and thought what the fuck is going down. When we reached the wellness center we heard a report that the cops used gas and flash bombs to herd the crown on to the Marrion St. Bridge. The crowd had no escape route and were face down waiting arrest. Many people escaped and made it to the wellness center to get decontaminated from chemical weapons used by the police. Once again I felt as I was in a war zone in my own city. A war zone created by the fear and oppression from the police.

RNC related articles
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/090808a.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVfkcrYXw-M
Eyewitness: Police Brutality at the RNC - Street Medics

rnc police state

2008-09-02T23:20:00.009-06:00

If you’ve been watching mainstream media over the past few days, you may think young anarchists are ruling the streets and creating chaos. The only group “ruling” the streets has been the police in riot gear. On Tuesday night, I was at the “March For Our lives.” The march started with a rally at Meers Park, St. Paul and then went though St. Paul. There were elderly people, babies, and children on the march. It was a diverse crowd of people that came together for a common cause, to fight for human rights. The speakers at the march were inspiring. I felt the group was one as we walked. We came from different backgrounds, different religions, different ethnicities, and so on. That night we came together to march for human rights.

As we wove through St. Paul we reached an underpass. The only audience we had was ourselves. The crowd chanted and sang as the sound reverberated in the underpass. It felt like a cosmic convergence of sound and energy. It felt like the birth of a new movement or at least for me a rebirth of energy to fight on. As we emerged the crowd cheered.

We marched on to the capitol lawn as the Ripple Effect concert was ending. Concertgoers joined the march. We marched from the capitol to the “pen area” at the Excel Center. Riot police were there at the end out the march route. People milled around trying to figure out how to get out and were to go. We walked down to St. Peter and 7th and where met by police in riot gear. We were pinned in at the intersection. Riot police blocked every intersection. The crowd chanted, "whose streets our streets." (This is a very common chant on marches.) Like the bible, the chant is not to be taken literally. Marchers put their fists in the air as a sign of solidarity not as a sign of violence. Of course the mainstream media would like to believe we were trying to take over Mickey’s Diner.

The sun had gone down and confusion set in. I never heard any police order to disperse or that gas would be used on the crowd. The peace team tried to tell the crowd to leave before the police started using gas. Peace teams ushered people to a small gap in the riot police line and away from downtown. The police fired on the crowd as they tried to leave with pepper spray and flash bombs. The noise echoed through the buildings. I couldn’t believe I was being fired on by the cops for doing nothing but expressing my first amendment rights. People screamed and ran to get out of the line of fire. I was maced repeatedly while my hands where in the air as I was trying to leave. Near the end, my friend and me ran through the street with our arms around each other so we didn’t get separated in the chaos. It felt like we were in a war.

More stories about the protest, pepper spray, and bombs.

Running from the Cops at the RNC
Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign Takes Cause to Streets Outside RNC

Video footage

Protestors Tear Gassed! Raw footage - gnooze tear ...

midsummer garden

2008-07-04T20:30:00.014-06:00

The Bee Balm, Fireweed, Spiderwort, and Rock Soapwort are in full bloom. The Big Blue Stem and sage are getting tall.

The strawberry patch is about 10 x 3 and the strawberries are a mix of June Bearing and Everbearing strawberries. We harvested about a half pint with many more to harvest in the future.

This is the first time in three years that the Milkweed has flowered. There is a large Monarch caterpillar that has been feeding on the Milkweed.

minneapolis staycation

2008-07-02T19:51:00.008-06:00

A while back we took a "staycation" in Minneapolis. We biked the trails at Fort Snelling State Park and photographed the historic veterans home buildings. The bike trail starts at Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis.

lake street peace bridge "name change"

2008-06-26T23:12:00.004-06:00

The sign has changed on the Lake Street bridge, Minneapolis, from the "Sri Chinmoy Peace Bridge" to the "Mississippi River National Park Service." The sign marks the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. It's cool that they are recognizing a "park" or "natural area" but they could have left a sign up recognizing that this is considered the "peace bridge." Peace activists hold a weekly vigil on the bridge every Wednesday.

sand dunes forest, solstice

2008-06-26T21:52:00.004-06:00

On summer solstice we ran away from the city and spend a night in the woods. The weather on the longest day of the year was beautiful. At night, the moonless sky was clear and filled with stars. These are some photos of Sand Dunes State Forest, MN.

dowling garden, minneapolis

2008-06-17T21:49:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we visited the Dowling Garden to see what was growing and to get some ideas. I'm learning that raised bed gardening is a good idea.

Raised bed greens

Raised bed strawberries

Giant onions or leeks, beautiful!

rnc marketing to kids

2008-06-14T21:28:00.004-06:00

I'm speechless. The RNC is marketing crap to kids. The elephant looks frightened. I don't care how cute their toys are I'm still protesting the RNC.

anti choice group plans to protest the pill

2008-06-06T21:50:00.010-06:00

Are you kidding me? Get a fucking life! A protest against the "Pill." The American Life League plans to plans to protest clinics across the country on Saturday, June 7th, against the birth control pill. The Feminist Daily newswire reported.

The anti-contraception group American Life League (ALL) plans to protest clinics across the country on Saturday, June 7th. The protests are a part of ALL’s so-called "The Pill Kills" campaign, which falsely claims that birth control pills are abortifacients and detrimental to women’s health. June 7th marks the 43rd anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, the landmark 1965 Supreme Court decision that gave women the right to birth control.

Dr. Dana Stone, a board-certified OB/GYN who practices in Oklahoma City, outlines the medical inaccuracy and political motivations of the misleading campaign on Feministing.com. "ALL's work has absolutely nothing to do with medical accuracy or maternal or fetal health. What we're seeing here is just the latest round in a grudge match that's been going on since 1965... We now face fringe movements trying to turn a woman's egg into a baby, birth control pills into a form of abortion, and all forms of contraception into murder. Call it nostalgia for the good old days, when men were men, sex was unspeakable, and women lived in fear of unintended pregnancies," writes Dr. Stone.

Media Resources: Feministing.com 6/2/08, 6/6/08; American Life League, and anti-contraception group, plans to protest clinics across the country on Saturday, June 7th."

The Pill doesn't kill babies, war does. Why don't they protest the war? It seams like they don't give a shit about that. They just want to control women's bodies. The conservative right has no control over my body. If I want to take the pill, I will, so will millions of other women. All I have to say to these people is, "Get a fucking life, really." Do they care about poor children that are dying around the world? Or just American "babies?" Thousands of children have been murdered in Iraq by the U.S. military. It would be better if they put their efforts in to feeding poor children around the world. They should work to stop the war in Iraq, to stop all war. Women and children suffer the most in war. Do something that can make a difference, not bitch about ill conceived notions of the Pill.

Do they even now what birth control pills do? Not all women take the pill for birth control but to treat ovarian cysts. Are they baby killers too? Am I a baby killer if I'm on the pill? Once again I say to these folks, "Get a fucking life."

What's next a protest on Viagra? I would love to see that.

Resources
No, Virginia, the Pill does NOT "Kill": How the Latest Anti-Roe Strategy Misleads Women
Pro-Lifers' Plan National Protest of Contraception
fruitcakes gone wild

shop local, shop the vagary

2008-06-05T20:38:00.001-06:00

The Vagary is possibly the best place to buy native plants and herbs in the Twin Cities. I've been buying plants from them for years and every plant has thrived. Nancy will give you all the info you need on how to plant and maintain your plants from the Vagary. They sell plants at the St. Paul Farmers Market on weekends through mid-July.

giant silk moth

2008-06-05T20:16:00.005-06:00

Christian found a male Polyphemus moth in the front yard, in the ferns. This moth was huge, about six inches across. It's much more impressive in person than in a photo.

polyphemus moths
butterflies and moths of north america

the greens are growing

2008-05-29T22:15:00.008-06:00

The garden greens are happy with the cold weather this spring. The lettuce, greens, and spinach, are growing like crazy.

Vine with hyssop sprouts

Spinach sprouts

Red Lettuce planted a month ago and ready to harvest

Cilantro and creeping thyme, just planted

Kohlrabi (planted first) and swiss chard

Lettuce, planted three weeks ago and ready to harvest

Basil and thyme, just planted

"Baby" maple trees (from last fall)

The garden gnomes guarding the plants

utah phillips, 1935-2008

2008-05-28T11:53:00.004-06:00

We have lost a great man. Utah Phillips passed away on May 23. He was a phenomenal Legendary folk musician. He was an organizer, union activist, peace activist, storyteller, anarchist, and folk singer. He sang songs about the labor movement and the power or direct action. He taught respect for our elders. He taught us to learn about the past and to listen to the stories of our elders.

"U. Utah Phillips has passed away in his sleep at 11:30PM PDT on May 23, 2008. Utah has caught the westbound, and I am at a great loss. For myself and my wife Pam, to Joanna and to all Utah's family and friends we express our deepest sympathy. We have lost a truly caring man. -Chris 05/24/08" - From Utah's website

http://www.utahphillips.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Phillips

deer in the yard, mpls

2008-05-25T21:13:00.004-06:00

This morning there was a deer in the yard. It's somewhat unusual because we live 4 miles from downtown Minneapolis but close enough to the Mississippi River Valley for a deer to show up.

The deer in between the houses.

She ran down the sidewalk to the direction of the river. I hope she found her way home.

sfgirlbay blog

2008-05-22T22:01:00.004-06:00

I love sfgirlbay blog. It's "bohemian modern style from a san francisco girl." It's a blog with an incredible style for design and great style. It's eye candy for the your mind.

http://sfgirlbybay.blogspot.com/

warbler migration in minneapolis

2008-05-20T21:11:00.004-06:00

Warbler migration in Minneapolis is winding down. This has been an incredible spring for seeing warblers. The cold weather may have contributed to a warbler migration back up.

Black Throated Green Warbler

These are the 18 warblers I've seen this year in the Mississippi River George. Notes on numbers of warblers are in parenthesis. There were a ubiquitous number of Yellow Rumped Warblers.

Backpoll Warbler (a few)
Wilson's Warbler (many)
Tennessee Warbler (abundant)
Common Yellowthroat (many)
Yellow Warblers (many)
Nashville Warbler (many)
Ovenbird (a few)
American Redstart (many)
Blackburnian Warbler (many)
Black and White Warblers (a few)
Yellow Rumped Warblers (abundant)
Chestnut Sided Warblers (a few)
Magnolia Warblers (a few)
Northern Parula (one)
Northern Waterthrush (a few)
Bay Breasted Warbler (one)
Black Throated Green Warbler (one)

Mourning Warbler (one)