FINEST PREP FOR ANARCHY
By MURRAY WEISS and ANDY SOLTIS
NY POST
August 16, 2004 -- Cops are bracing for radical attempts to "shut
down" the Republican convention, with protesters blockading or
disabling delegates' buses - and the NYPD is even warning McDonald's
and Starbucks that they could be anarchist targets.
The radicals and other activists - who've sparked stormy protests from
Seattle to Genoa - will be meeting here Friday in a war council to
plan protests for the convention.
The radicals claim protests for the four-day event beginning Aug. 30
will be peaceful - and the only threat of violence stems from cops.
But sources said the NYPD is anticipating efforts by radicals to:
* Stop delegates from getting to Madison Square Garden, the convention
site, by puncturing the tires of their shuttle buses or lying down in
front of them.
* Disrupt subways, especially near the Garden.
* Create chaos at the 40 hotels housing delegates.
Sources said the NYPD is setting up a system to protect the shuttle
buses and is taking other measures such as developing alternate routes
from delegates' hotels.
Police yesterday also said they will be sending community-affairs
officers to large corporate outlets in the vicinity of the Garden -
such as McDonald's and Starbucks - to advise them they could be
targets.
Several high-profile members of the radical protest movement will meet
Friday at a "Life After Capitalism" conference at Hunter College to
discuss a final strategy.
Among them are Canadian activist Jaggi Singh; Lisa Fithian of Los
Angeles, a top organizer in the umbrella group United for Peace and
Justice; and Miriam "Starhawk" Simos of San Francisco, author of a
widely read essay, "How We Shut Down the WTO."
"We're not calling for a shutdown of the convention," Fithian said.
"No one has an intention of being arrested. If the police exercise
restraint. . . they have nothing to fear."
But she said there may be people who want to "go beyond marching."
The NYPD is ready.
"We expect the vast majority of demonstrators to be law-abiding," said
spokesman Paul Browne. "But we're prepared for those who are not."
Additional reporting by Larry Celona
Good day. Or as John Kerry would say, bonjour.
Ken (NY)
"Iraq may not be the war on terror itself,
but it is critical to the outcome of the
war on terror, and therefore any advance
in Iraq is an advance forward in that..."
--John F. Kerry, Dec 15, 2003
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