http://www.alternet.org/election04/2004/11/002663.html
Weeks ago American goverment was proposing a special act for human rights in North Korea and they are meddling with human rights in China for decades. Now they decided to go Tiananmen themselves?
I try not to bring up or meddle with international politics but when somebody’s moving the opposite way he’s advertising, …
God. Tanks in middle of LA? Maybe I’m not already paranoid enough if this could happen.
Strange. But it’s not somthing to get too negative and all “darn” those Americans over it. What’s wrong with wanting an a human rights act in North Korea? America can not do everything, the world expects us to stop human rights attrocities in China and Saudi Arabia, and we would if we could. America has done a heck of a lot for this world and I get annoyed by the lack of gratitude. And they had tanks man, so what, the protestors were probably pretty raudy, they did not kill anybody or put them in a torture camp, that’s far from a human rights violation. It seems to me you were just looking for some excuse to criticize those “hypocrit” Americans.
There’s no need to find in America the excuse for criticizing some hypocrite Americans. And in many cases it is simply lack of care for foreign people rather than a hypocricy. But it is always believed that the American government always cared for its own people at the least, which my government do not very well. And it was one thing I counted as to America.
We could say to our government to do things American government does to their people. Now what do we have to say? Tanks are a very malicious show off for unarmed citizens. A threat to crush them into a meat and blood. You know what military force is trained to react when their own safety is challenged. Shoot back with whatever they have in hand. And this time it was tanks. Not a plastic shield and a club, or tear gas, or water jet. Ok, you pick out a gun when you argue with your friend and say “I won’t shoot you with this, so you go on talking.”
Fixed your post.
William
Yes it was an excuse to criticize Americans. What do you say to your government, you ask. You say exactly what you have been saying “be more like the americans”, one town out of millions of cities is hardly enough to scar the image of the entire country, beseides what attrocities were commited? None. The could have been many reasions to use tanks, it might have intimidated the people so the would not start a riot and start looting. And nobody was threating to “crush them to meat and blood” if they had killed the protestors with a tank there would have been an outrage. And you know the American gov. cares for its people, or maybe they are secretly wanting up to hurt us. 
I am not one for conspiracy theories.
There’s no need to find in America the excuse for criticizing some hypocrite Americans. And in many cases it is simply lack of care for foreign people rather than a hypocricy.
What? Millions freed in Iraq, millions liberated in Afghanistan, brought down the soviet union, brought down the Berlin Wall, we send more money to the Sudan Crisis than any other country, liberated Kuwait from Sadam, helped destroy hitler,helped stop Japan, America has spent 400 billion dollars on foreign aid since WWII. Before 9/11 even happened Afghanistan was scheduled to receive $174 in aid. And could you demonstrate how Americans are such hypocrites for helping people? And don;t give me that bull about buying from china or saudi arabia, we have to buy from those bafoons and if we could topple their goverenments we would.
Lol. Such honor for the country that provided you with a chance to be whatever you want, get a home, education,food, car, bladdy, blady, blah. Typical liberal negativism.
Americans fail to see MANY times that yes, it IS a superpower, and it has to act accordingly. One cannot take pride for being the most powerful contry on earth and at the same time take “Foreigners, pah, mind your own besiness cause you have no right to criticize us” attitude. Of course, this should be reciprocal, but America, being a superpower, has an extra degree of responsibility added.
The thing with the tanks is SYMBOLISM. Tanks are the ultimate war machines. You don’t circle them around like vultures around *peaceful (what the article said) protesters because you think they might get out of hand.
What I find to be the greatest thing about America is the right to self-criticize. This is how you get better. In countries where this is not practised often it tends to get very oppressive.
I won’t say America, because it seems a gross generalisation, but Bush fails to understand this.
I believe he is a man of faith and a high sense of duty, but very very naive and certainly not a man with a great insight. I believe he thinks his duty is to keep America safe, and I suppose it is. However, he needs to understand that this cannot be done by just “liberating” any country he feels is a threat. Terrorism is a largely matter of religion and mentality. By attacking countries you strengthen the mentality and faith of terrorists.
As the commander of a superpower Bush tramples around like an elephant in a porcelain cupboard. True greatness is capacity to prevent war and apeace others, not place your will upon them by force. You’d think that after, say, 5000 years of civilisation we’d have learned that violence begets violence, nothing else.
The thing about the tanks is just funny, whatever the idea behind it was.
The story about the tanks at the protest has the “smell” of being made up. I would think this would have been widely reported if it actually happened, especially if it happened in California.
Rhuiden
It’s LA. I assumed lost movie extras.
My impression, after seeing the film, is that the tanks just happened to be driving by, on their way someplace else. Or they may have been part of the protest.
I doubt very much those tanks were called in by the police, as part of an enforcement activity against the protesters. If something like that had happened, then it would be front page news this morning. The military has no legal authority to take action like that. Those were probably show tanks on their way back from a parade. (If you were a cop, and you were calling in tanks to suppress a crowd, don’t you think you would first stop the passing auto traffic on the street, so that the tanks would have room to maneuver? Cops can stop traffic, they do it all the time.)
If the police want to put a crowd like that under control, they can do it easily, certainly with no tank support. I didn’t look hard, but I didn’t see a single uniformed police officer in that film.
Tiananmen was a nasty event, a lot of people died. Let’s not belittle that trajedy by comparing it to this little costume party in L.A. 
Simply no. It is about your government. I don’t categorize Americans in a group.
What do you say to your government, you ask. You say exactly what you have been saying “be more like the americans”, one town out of millions of cities is hardly enough to scar the image of the entire country, beseides what attrocities were commited? None.
You’re missing the point. It’s not about what people in a small town did. It’s about what world’s biggest super power government did to his own people in a small town.
The could have been many reasions to use tanks, it might have intimidated the people so the would not start a riot and start looting.
Could be that. A peaceful antiwar protest turning into a rioting and looting. Very probable.
And nobody was threating to “crush them to meat and blood” if they had killed the protestors with a tank there would have been an outrage.
There would have. I agree about the possibility that the tanks have been there for completely independent reason. But is it very ususal that tanks come and go in a city like LA with no specific reason, to say, lose its way and wander around?
And you know the American gov. cares for its people, or maybe they are secretly wanting up to hurt us. >
At least I believe so. And I hope it’s true. But the presence of the tank before a crowd protesting one of the government’s big job is not a threat? Don’t pull my leg.
What? Millions freed in Iraq, millions liberated in Afghanistan, brought down the soviet union, brought down the Berlin Wall, we send more money to the Sudan Crisis than any other country, liberated Kuwait from Sadam, helped destroy hitler,helped stop Japan, America has spent 400 billion dollars on foreign aid since WWII. Before 9/11 even happened Afghanistan was scheduled to receive $174 in aid. And could you demonstrate how Americans are such hypocrites for helping people? And don;t give me that bull about buying from china or saudi arabia, we have to buy from those bafoons and if we could topple their goverenments we would.
Who’s saddam Hussein and Osama bin Ladin? Old dogs of America. And what did American governments to the Japanese 731 squad in Manchuria which used people for horrible experiments? Take the results in exchange for exempting them from the trial of the war criminals. But those thing are not what I’m discussing here. It’s natural that American government works for America’s interest. A capitallist country needs its market. And nobody wants an economical breakdown of a country that’s most heavily armed. Nobody can complain about America’s investment to broaden its market. So this is not the topic of this thread.
I brought this up because it was so shocking that it happened in America. And it is more shocking that an American should take this for granted and say it’s nothing.
I admit lost extras stopping by to watch (and possibly cheer) the protesters is a feasible story.
By the way, if(or IF) there are more people who hates America, the more it is striking that America’s caring for its own people. You get strong impression at the strong love for its cubs if a lion is fiercer and deadlier. But because it is so strong, the watchers-by cannot help but watch carefully if it shows a strange behavior.
We’re not sure that LA is actually part of america. In the 60’s it was taken over by space aliens and began a whispering campaign to take over our nation. BTW the mothership landed in Boston. 
It may just have been lost Marines. This user post (found where the video is at mingshey’s link) may go a long way toward explaining it:
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Lost LAVs
Hey guys. Some people aren’t going to be convinced that this was NOT an attempt to stifle expression, but this sounded fishy to me from the start.
Thursday is Veteran’s Day and today is the USMCs 229th birthday.
The vehicles in question are LAV-25s, not Strykers or Coyotes. They’re operated exclusively by the USMC.
Military vehicles don’t have route-finding GPS like a new Lexus. Military systems are generally far, far behind civilian systems. The primary processor in the F-22, for example, is about as powerful as an old 486. It takes years to develope these vehicles and they’ve got to commit to an operating system pretty early and go ahead and build it. The primary issue military GPS is still the old PLGR system from the mid-90s. No Marine LAV has a system up front programmed with maps of downtown LA.
If they were going to use armored vehicles for crowd suppression, the LAPD has V-100s and there are Army National Guard units with armor closer than Camp Pendleton, the nearest Marine base.
Tempest in a teapot, fellas, it’s not to-the-baricades-with-your-Molotov-cocktails-time yet. Just some lost Marines.
Author: slowroll
Posted: Wednesday November 10, 2004 09:43 AM
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http://la.indymedia.org/news/2004/11/118865_comment.php#118964
William
Ah there you go then. Now I dont need to be paranoid.
Maybe we could do a poll. Which of these two options is true:
America is responsible for everything wrong with the world and does not have any right to interfere with other countries no matter how interconnected they are.
America has never done anything wrong or damaging to the world. Everyone wants to be an american and live there.
?
Yeah, much a do about nothing was it. 
I find it interesting that a small comment can arouse so much passion and strong emotion. Regarding the US’s action in the world, I would tend to agree with EmptyMan. However, I did not get the impression that Mingshey was attacking the US in his post. I take it as a compliment that a situation like this is considered shocking in America, I won’t worry until it becomes common place.
I think that many people around the world would agree that the foreign history of the US is not perfect, but it has done good for the betterment of the global community. In the same way it has made mistakes, but it is not the capitol of the antichrist.
Using this it helps to not assume that all critics of the US government, be it foreign or local, are attacks to be repelled with fervered rhetoric.