#Occupy the Dáil

[Baron von Biffo]

Somebody should have told them that they chose the wrong camouflage for their tent.
They went for the standard green and brown, but that really only works in woodlands or fields.
They should have forked out for Georgian building type camouflage.
It's a little harder to come by, admittedly, but perhaps they wouldn't have been busted so quickly.

Schoolboy error, really.

[C. Flower]

The plaza at the bank was a sensible place to occupy.
This is a street pavement.
They couldn't have expected to have been left there.

Hard to know what they expected...

[Baron von Biffo]

Hard to know what they expected...

Pretty much sums up the entire Occupy movement.

[Anti-Coalition]

Could it get any worse?

[C. Flower]

From this video, it appears they were there until after dark, and may have been arrested sitting down in front of the Daíl gates.

http://www.demotix.com/news/1196249/...rrested-dublin

[Seán Ryan]

The young lady who was arrested is Jemma. She's homeless. She popped her tent after taking part in the legalise cannabis march. She then contacted her friends in ODS who later joined her.

The gardaí stole her tent long before the first arrest was made. Superintendent Joe "Blood on the streets" Gannon arrived later to point out to his goons those whom he wanted. Three activists were immediately grabbed and detained.

Obvious fascism.

I await the court case. Maybe Joe will take the stand. I've got some interesting questions for him.

[C. Flower]

The young lady who was arrested is Jemma. She's homeless. She popped her tent after taking part in the legalise cannabis march. She then contacted her friends in ODS who later joined her.

The gardaí stole her tent long before the first arrest was made. Superintendent Joe "Blood on the streets" Gannon arrived later to point out to his goons those whom he wanted. Three activists were immediately grabbed and detained.

Obvious fascism.

I await the court case. Maybe Joe will take the stand. I've got some interesting questions for him.

Heavy-handed, pro Government policing. Fascism would be more like this - Some of Ganley's "LAOS" thug friends come along with cudgels and beat the hell out of the protestors, while the Gardai look on.

[Seán Ryan]

Heavy-handed, pro Government policing. Fascism would be more like this - Some of Ganley's "LAOS" thug friends come along with cudgels and beat the hell out of the protestors, while the Gardai look on.

I've personally witnessed thugs beat and threaten animal rights activists outside Barnado's fur shop, at the bottom of Grafton Street, in front of gardaí under the command of Gannon. And I've seen lots of video evidence that shows the very same.

Tis true to say that Mr Ganley wasn't personally involved in any of this. However, it may be that he's just missed a niche. Or possibly there's too much fascism going on to be involved in all of it...

[Baron von Biffo]

Heavy-handed, pro Government policing.

The slide-show you linked showed barricades across a street that it claimed were put there by the 'protesters'. Another pic here shows the 'protesters' tent obstructing the footpath.

In your opinion, how should the gardaí have dealt with that?

As is usual, my expectations of a reply are close to non-existent but I think the question should be asked anyway.

[Seán Ryan]

A footpath cannot be "obstructed" in the legal sense of the word. Only a person or a vehicle can be obstructed.

[C. Flower]

I've personally witnessed thugs beat and threaten animal rights activists outside Barnado's fur shop, at the bottom of Grafton Street, in front of gardaí under the command of Gannon. And I've seen lots of video evidence that shows the very same.

Tis true to say that Mr Ganley wasn't personally involved in any of this. However, it may be that he's just missed a niche. Or possibly there's too much fascism going on to be involved in all of it...

There is no suggestion that he is involved in this personally.
I'm merely pointing out that fascism and parliamentary democracy are not the same thing. Police forces are there to maintain the status quo. Sometimes they apply force within or outside the law. In this case, they simply arrested people I assume for alleged obstruction, or similar.
Calling fascist every time they do this in my opinion disarming people from the very real dangers that fascist regimes represent.

[Seán Ryan]

There is no suggestion that he is involved in this personally.
I'm merely pointing out that fascism and parliamentary democracy are not the same thing. Police forces are there to maintain the status quo. Sometimes they apply force within or outside the law. In this case, they simply arrested people I assume for alleged obstruction, or similar.
Calling fascist every time they do this in my opinion disarming people from the very real dangers that fascist regimes represent.

There's no power under the Public Order Act to arrest a person for the Section 9 offence of obstruction. Before anyone was arrested, there was a tent stolen. There's no power whatsoever, under any Act, that facilitates this.

I'm not crying wolf. Just because we haven't seen the government, who got elected for the lies they told, declare for a fascist State, doesn't mean that the small acts of overt fascism are unimportant and should be ignored. Fascism is a process. Personally, I kinda agree with you. I'd prefer not to label individual acts as being examples of fascism. I'd prefer to physically put a stop to them. Unfortunately I cannot be everywhere and besides, I'd probably have my arse handed to me, which would accomplish very little. So I guess I'll have to keep shouting until I reach enough ears and can reasonably and credibly set about physically putting a stop to it.

[Kid Ryder]

Well we don't live in a fascist state, as we still have elections and some civil rights, but rights to protest are limited here.

'You have the right to be a citizen but not here!'

Said to me in Mayo by a very bent cop indeed...