November 11, 2004

• The photos will probably soon be removed from history as well.
• Video is mirrored here.
• Tianenmen Square my ass. Read Update 2 from the link.
• very ironic then - eh?
• Anyone remember tiananmen square? Yes. Many people died. Big difference.
• Woah! That is a block from my office and I saw the gathering people on my way home. I don't much care for ANSWER, but now I wish I had gone!
• You know, as much as I despise America right now, I sorta think this is nowhere near Tiananmen Square, so... Also: protestors suck. Not only is it obvious you're not convincing anyone anymore, but you just make the rest of us look embarassing. I don't understand the inclination to dumb everything down to a simple slogan or a funny sign, whether the message is GOD HATES FAGS or BUSH = HITLER. You're part of the problem when it comes to the sorry state of political discourse.
• The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and occasional boredom. I'll happily put up with reports like these, if it helps keep people aware and helps keep the US from its seemingly inexorable slide into violent fascism. I think it does help, insofar as it serves as a reminder of where things can go. So, basically, chrominance, this isn't a case of BUSH = HITLER, but rather that its nice that we have this documented somewhere. Network bytes are difficult to erase.
• I suppose, in the sense that we needed more evidence of stupid people doing stupid things. I still don't get how you're making a statement by standing in front of an APC full of confused soldiers that apparently weren't even sent out to target these protesters at the first place. It'd be like swarming a cop car and screaming "FASCIST PIGS!" just because they stopped to get some donuts outside your protest.
• I rode my bike past this the other night. No tanks at that point. I'm kinda glad I missed that part. Battling SUVs during rush hour on my little Fuji is bad enough.
• So the answer to oppression is not to protest. Keep your light under a bushel, put those rights to assembly and speech on the shelf and don't use them. You're annoying the rest of us. If only people in previous generations had been so wise.
• Also: protestors suck. Not only is it obvious you're not convincing anyone anymore, but you just make the rest of us look embarassing I too would profoundly disagree with a notion that protestors inexorably suck. But then I was one of an indefinite number of people in London in February 2003 who were possibly making you feel embarrassed.
• I dunno, I can't buy the official line. Fricking tanks get lost in LA - when they're equipped with every navigational aid known to man - and of all places, just happen to decide to stop and ask a bunch of anti-war protestors for directions? And then, upon the oh-so-surprising revelation that the peaceniks don't like them that much, decide to just sit there for several minutes while waiting for HQ to send them new instructions? And no one thought that this was a spectacularly bad idea? If the official line IS true, then this speaks very, very poorly on the intelligence of our supposed elite forces. More likely, some mid-level officer thought it would be a cute stunt but the order got countered pretty much as soon as they got there.
• I find it easy to believe that they were simply lost. This story has gone from ominous to hilarious.
• I don't know why the "official" (note: it's not official anyway. No spokesman, no link to an army pr site or a reserves pr site) line is SO implausable. We're shipping our so-called "elite" forces out to fight people with RPG's without bothering to equip them with bulletproof vests or armored humvees. Why would you think they, the ones left behind, would be better equipped? If they drove a gagillion dollar joint strike fighter up the street, you might have a case, but otherwise the lost explanation is the most reasonable plauable story to date. And even if they had a GPS on-star equipped Bradley Fighting Lexus, as anyone who has tried using Mapquest directions knows, it's not that hard to miss a turn and get lost fast. Most of my experience with GPS navigation systems often have them directing me to the worst possible route known to man.
• Ok - I overreacted... Agreed, it wasn't Tianamen, and to say so detracts from the heroism and suppresion that took place there. As far as "...protestors suck. Not only is it obvious you're not convincing anyone anymore... You're part of the problem when it comes to the sorry state of political discourse." Unfortunately, in these knee jerk times, Political discourse is usually predicated by Events or actions. Remember the Boston Tea Party? Freakin long hair protesters! Fags too...The ones wearing wigs -eh?