How a country’s officials deal with the permitting and policing of protest marches and demonstrations is of vital importance in today’s world, where the elites increasingly control the political process, as We the People have been betrayed by politicians of all stripes. Taking it to the streets remains one of the few vehicles left for the 99% to influence policy in a rigged system. It is a righteous weapon. It is an essential weapon. So in less than a month the eyes of the country will be on the two major party political conventions, and the cameras of the MSM will undoubtedly try to paint those who are safeguarding our rights of free speech and assembly as hooligans and outlaws. What follows is a preview of the preparations of the representatives of the elites.

Philadelphia

While the Secret Service and Philadelphia authorities are keeping their cards close to the vest on security plans to handle protesters at the Democratic National Convention, there will be a wall built around the convention complex, and it won’t be insignificant. In addition, the city officials have refused permits in locations and at times that would maximize visibility of the demonstrations. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit to lift these restrictions that is still pending.

Security at the Sports Complex during the Democratic National Convention next month will include “no-scale fencing” to enclose the Wells Fargo Center and Xfinity Live!, the Secret Service special agent in charge said in an interview Thursday.

But exact boundaries of the security perimeter around the sports arena, where the convention will take place July 25-28, are not yet finalized, Special Agent James Henry told NBC10.com.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Wells-Fargo-Center-Xfinity-Liv...

Terms like “no-scale fencing” bring to mind a medieval siege, with the “good guys” sitting inside their walls while the enemy hordes besiege them at the Wells Fargo Center. The enemy, in this case the pro-Bernie protestors, will be left to occupy the killing ground of FDR Park, where police will be free to take whatever measures they deem appropriate to subdue the barbarian multitudes. Thus we are reminded that the 1% would happily take us all as a society back to the middle ages.

Cleveland

Meanwhile it appears that Cleveland’s plans to deal with potential RNC protesters will rely more on military type tactics to deal with running battles in the streets, while still fencing people out. The major difference with the DNC convention is that police will not only deal with anti-RNC Trump supporters, but also with anti-Trump demonstrators of all colors. This explosive mixture will be sure to provide the action and coverage sought by the MSM.

Ed Connors, the president of the nonprofit Institute for Law and Justice,…said police can’t put formal restrictions in place to separate groups but can prepare to aggressively crack down on violent behavior. “When you’re talking about public space, it’s hard to say you can’t go into this space,” he said. The police are likely “to inundate all the spaces with as many officers as they can and just be prepared to make a lot of arrests as soon as there is an altercation,” he said.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/cleveland-braces-for-gop-convention-security...

The city began planning and seeking bids for materials in early March and from the list of goodies and the planned massive deployment of police, it looks like they are expecting a dust-up.

Cleveland is seeking to buy 2,000 sets of riot gear, including riot-control suits and collapsible batons, as part of the city's latest move to spend a $50 million federal security grant for July's Republican National Convention.
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The city also has sought to rent about three miles of interlocking steel barriers, each 3.5 feet high, and buy another 3,250 feet of interlocking barriers that each would be 6.5 feet tall for the RNC, according to bid documents. ….manufacturer Tamis Corp. markets the barriers, branded as "Blockaders," as crowd-control devices.
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As part of its security plan, Cleveland is organizing a police force of 5,000 officers — the city is in the process of recruiting officers from surrounding suburbs and elsewhere to bolster its existing force of about 1,200.

http://www.cleveland.com/rnc-2016/index.ssf/2016/03/cleveland_seeking_to...

As to how the barriers will be used, the city had plans to cordon off the convention center and go after what would be a decentralized protest movement held outside of a restrictive “event zone” that stretched for 3.5 square miles around the Quicken Loans Arena. However a federal judge ruled that the size of the zone and the restrictions placed on demonstrators were unconstitutional in a suit filed by the ACLU, who is currently renegotiating the rules of engagement with the city.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/rnc-protest-zone-restriction-rulin...

Those planning to protest at either convention should be prepared for police brutality on a level we have not seen since the convention of Chicago of ’68. The federal government has provided nearly $100 million for security between the two conventions, and one can be sure there will be an enormous police presence, and that they will be itching to try out all their new toys. Provocation will undoubtedly be the order of the day, and arrests will be on a massive scale.

We can only hope the numbers will overwhelm the ability of the city to incarcerate and hold the demonstrators, but having the number of a good lawyer or legal aid society would be prudent for those who are considering participation in these important expressions of our fundamental liberties.