Iris lilies, how are things in your hood?

[bae]

Well, well, well.....I just googled and found out that the police in Ferguson have once again crossed the line and arrested two more journalists but let them go after two minutes and threatened one photographer with shooting him if he did not stop photographing.

Here's the video of that one. Can you see the officer's lips moving?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5686674.html

[gimmethesimplelife]

Here's the video of that one. Can you see the officer's lips moving?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5686674.html

There is a video on yahoo.com news with audio of a cop yelling at a reporter - Get the F out of here and get that light off or you are getting shot with this.....you might want to go to yahoo.news and check this out? This is the America I live in fear of and it most certainly exists. Turns out that Molotov cocktails were hurled at the police by protestors - and let me stop here and say THAT WAS A VERY STUPID MOVE ON THEIR PART. There is no way around that one. That was inexcusably stupid on the part of the protestors.

That does not however give the police the right to terrorize innocent journalists covering the story on the ground. For that reason alone, how can I have sympathy for the authorities? Stopping the molotovs, yes, I'm down with that. No problem there. But did they have to take it to that level with the journalists, possibly inspiring yet more lawsuits and exposing more of America and what it can be to the entire world? I'm really seeing a marked lack of common sense here on BOTH sides and until things calm down, whenever that is, I don't see much hope. I'm just hoping this isn't the spark that throws the nation into uproar. We'll see as time goes on I guess. I do feel a great deal of fear at the police mistreatment of reporters, and this no longer seems like isolated behavior. Really no different from a third world country going down. Rob

[iris lilies]

Maybe it would be better if the police just left the area. See what happens then.

I have been sitting here watching live video feed, for the past 20 minutes, of looting of the Ferguson Market where Michal Brown committed a robbery. The police are purposely staying away. Looters are carrying out liquor, cigarettes, lots and lots of stuff. Now they are carrying out cash registers.

This market is owned by an immigrant family.

Now someone has shown up to defend the store, has a gun. The news people are saying that he is there to keep people out of the store. They said there is another store that's being looted and the owner appear there with a Glock to defend his store, said everyone get out of the store or I'll shoot.

This is so progressive...

[bae]

Rob's inequality problem is being addressed by direct democracy, this is the best of all possible worlds, eh?

[gimmethesimplelife]

I have been sitting here watching live feed, for the past 20 minutes, of looting of the Ferguson Market where Michal Brown committed a robbery. The police are purposely staying away. They are carrying out liquor, cigarettes, lots and lots of stuff. Now they are carrying out cash registers.

This market is owned by an immigrant family.

Now someone has shown up to defend the store, has a gun. The news people are saying that he is there to keep people out of the store. They said there is another store that's being looted and the owner appear there with a gun to defend his store.

Well that's just wrong that they are doing that. That is not helping themselves at all and I feel for that immigrant family, caught up in this fiasco when they innocently open a business and try to make a living. Would you agree that the immigrant family are victims here? Rob

[iris lilies]

Well that's just wrong that they are doing that. That is not helping themselves at all and I feel for that immigrant family, caught up in this fiasco when they innocently open a business and try to make a living. Would you agree that the immigrant family are victims here? Rob

Of course the store owner is a victim.

But I will bet you that the mainstream media's story tomorrow will be how a few looters broke into stores and main protestors tried to stop them, tried to reason with them.

In this particular newsfeed I saw about 20 looters (or maybe it was ten of them running back and forth from their car to the store.) And I saw a group of 6 men, standing 15 feet from the door, drinking, talking, laughing, and occasionally putting their hands in the air (now the universal Mike Brown support symbol.)

Certainly I don't expect citizens to perform the work of police in stopping the looting. But I didn't see those 6 citizens do anything other than watch the show in front of them.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Of course the store owner is a victim.

But I will bet you that the mainstream media's story tomorrow will be how a few looters broke into stores and main protestors tried to stop them, tried to reason with them.

In this particular newsfeed I saw about 20 looters (or maybe it was ten of them running back and forth from their car to the store.) And I saw a group of 6 men, standing 15 feet from the door, drinking, talking, laughing, and occasionally putting their hands in the air (now the universal Mike Brown support symbol.)

Certainly I don't expect citizens to perform the work of police in stopping the looting. But I didn't see those 6 citizens do anything other than watch the show in front of them.

Tell you what IL, I'm about to call it a day. Tomorrow when I get up I will look at how the mainstream media has portrayed the looting here and see if the mainstream media minimizes it or not. Rob

Came back much later to add - Couldn't sleep so I surfed online for awhile and saw the latest - the National Guard has been called in to Ferguson now. Please correct me if I am wrong but if directed to do so, can't the National Guard shoot and kill on sight anyone they see committing a crime? I think I remember reading that somewhere but I'm not sure. If that's true, I hope this moves works to quiet the rioting and looting....and doesn't cause more defiance and more young dead black men (or women). Yet another plot twist in this drama, maybe we should be getting used to plot twists in this case by this point? Rob

[Alan]

Please correct me if I am wrong but if directed to do so, can't the National Guard shoot and kill on sight anyone they see committing a crime?

Consider yourself corrected. I think a basic understanding of the rules for deploying lethal force are in order. That might clear up a lot of your misconceptions.

[Tammy]

I just read that New Zealand is sending us human rights teams. http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner...fergu?s=mobile

[CathyA]

Oh Geez.......