tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post6155289572747599960..comments2024-03-18T21:09:10.627-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/18/24: The NATO 3 farce Neil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-18339185907086236942017-01-30T21:51:22.104-06:002017-01-30T21:51:22.104-06:00We need to house our homeless vets and such before...We need to house our homeless vets and such before we can worry about refugees.Privatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10757585399827295128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-49091674567201758342014-01-28T22:38:04.948-06:002014-01-28T22:38:04.948-06:00I don't know. You could argue the same thing a...I don't know. You could argue the same thing about the so-called "Wrigleyville bomber" Sami Hassoun, or about Adel Daoud, who supposedly plotted to blow up two downtown bars. Chances are that none of them could organize a piss-up in a brewery without the help of someone more competent. But all the feds have to show in those cases is that the defendants took material steps to advance the conspiracy. I guess the argument is that the government has to get to these people before a real terrorist does, and that more generally they have to prove the defendants had real malicious intent before they bring them down. Also that it serves as a deterrent to anyone else who has been radicalized online and wants to engage in violence. It doesn't take much to hurt a bunch of people.<br /><br />I'm not saying state's attorneys have met their burden in this case, which sounds like a farce. But I rode the bus to the NATO protests from New York with a bunch of Occupy New York protestors who seemed peaceful and sensible enough, until I saw one teenager I'd dismissed on the bus as a harmless goof light some kind of firework right in the heat of the fiercest confrontation with the police. There were violent people in that crowd, and I don't doubt that some of them would have thrown molotov cocktails or provided them to others to throw if they thought they'd have got away with it. The clashes at Michigan and Cermak could easily have ended in death or serious injury. It was no joke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-32234228304109402862014-01-28T19:00:59.859-06:002014-01-28T19:00:59.859-06:00Right Kim, but the shoe bomber was trying to ignit...Right Kim, but the shoe bomber was trying to ignite his shoes -- he had a plan he was executing. What was these three guys' plan and would they have done anything without hte cops? That's the difference.Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-10660197994328400882014-01-28T16:32:10.209-06:002014-01-28T16:32:10.209-06:00I haven't been in the courtroom but the defend...I haven't been in the courtroom but the defendants certainly come off as mopes in the coverage I've read. I guess the counter-argument is that most "real" terrorists are mopes, too. Look at Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe-bomber" and the reason we all have to take our shoes off at the airport. He was as big a mope as ever lived and he almost brought down a plane. Likewise the London bombers. We're conditioned to imagine that terrorists are criminal geniuses. The fact that they're mostly idiots doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. Did you see "Four Lions"? http://www.fourlionsthemovie.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-42846532148661864492014-01-28T11:08:05.307-06:002014-01-28T11:08:05.307-06:00On May 20 approximately five thousand people peace...On May 20 approximately five thousand people peacefully assembled in Grant Park and marched to Michigan and Cermack - closest any civilian was allowed to approaching the NATO Summit - without incident. The crowd then stayed and listened for over an hour as a dozen veterans, including injured Occupy protester Scott Olson, spoke of their war experience and then "returned" their medals in the direction of the world and military leaders of so-called "Free World"<br /><br />The saga of the "three mopes from Florida" is a sideshow.<br />See how effectively it has derailed the earnest efforts of thousands who marched for PEACE!John of Droneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171887404276660670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-81557378434047528072014-01-28T11:02:07.393-06:002014-01-28T11:02:07.393-06:00After every major protest in Chicago, the prosecut...After every major protest in Chicago, the prosecutors here always manages to find someone to indict for inciting violence or even worse.<br />Don't forget all the enjoyment of the Chicago 7 Trial.<br />One of the worst trials in US history. A bunch of defendants that were actually happy to be indicted as it gave them more publicity & a totally insane federal judge, Julius 'The Just" Hoffman!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-11362783288792883292014-01-28T10:20:32.948-06:002014-01-28T10:20:32.948-06:00I think that attack was a reward the police gave t...I think that attack was a reward the police gave themselves for being generally restrained the whole week.Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-8923048873754920832014-01-28T10:12:24.365-06:002014-01-28T10:12:24.365-06:00Neil Didn't you write a column back when they...Neil Didn't you write a column back when they got arrested about how it would all turn out to be entrapment? I mean, the only 3 guys who planned molotov cocktails happen to be the 3 guys the cops infiltrate! Where were all of the other bomb-throwers? My favorite irony: they were shacked up in Bridgeport, which now has a significant yout' counterculture population, something unthinkable in Daley the First's day. Bill Savagehttp://chicagobydayandnight.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-73522650240086275512014-01-28T09:38:36.852-06:002014-01-28T09:38:36.852-06:00I agree. Patrick Fitzgerald went off half-cocked o...I agree. Patrick Fitzgerald went off half-cocked on that one. But got him anyway. Being stupid isn't a crime, unless you're being tried for something -- just as smoking isn't a crime, unless you're getting a divorce. Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-76087459052126763322014-01-28T09:30:40.067-06:002014-01-28T09:30:40.067-06:00Bad intentions aren't a crime. Unless you'...Bad intentions aren't a crime. Unless you're Rod Blagojevic.Mark McCarternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-64791484001689039372014-01-28T08:21:57.563-06:002014-01-28T08:21:57.563-06:00You are spot on about the prosecutions, Neil, exce...You are spot on about the prosecutions, Neil, except that you should note that the protests ended with an unprovoked and violent police attack (I was a witness). Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08116492586402816403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-71335077735812403232014-01-28T08:19:38.858-06:002014-01-28T08:19:38.858-06:00And if the Chicago police department really though...And if the Chicago police department really thought the NATO3 were a legitimate threat and STILL chose those particular officers to address it, we are all in very serious trouble.<br /><br />-- MrJM-- MrJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15797594332645598420noreply@blogger.com