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Authorities used rubber-coated steel bullets, concussion grenades, tear gas, and water cannons against unarmed protesters near the Dakota Access oil pipeline in 26°F (-3°C) temperatures over the weekend.
Indian Country Today reports
"We have seen four gunshot wounds, three of them to the face and head", said Leland Brenholt, a volunteer medic.
[...]400 protesters, or "water protectors", attempted to dismantle a police-enforced barricade on State Highway 1806.
[...]"Water protectors are done with the military-style barricades. We are done with the floodlights and the armored military trucks. We are are done with it!" declared organizer, Dallas Goldtooth in a mid-evening Facebook post.
Their action was met with the same militarized response that the Morton County Sheriff's Department has demonstrated on protesters for weeks: the use of armored trucks, less-than-lethal ammunition, tear-gas, mace, and on this below-freezing night, water cannons.
[...]Reports from a coalition of advocacy groups near Standing Rock report hundreds of water protectors were receiving treatment for contamination by tear gas, hypothermia, and blunt traumas as a result of rubber bullets. One person, an elder, was reportedly revived after suffering cardiac arrest, organizers said.
"As medical professionals, we are concerned for the real risk of loss of life due to severe hypothermia under these conditions," read a statement from the Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council.
A more measured take is available from the AP.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 23 2016, @03:59PM
Whining about some water. Hypothermia. Maybe they should have planned for warmer weather to stage a protest? Rubber bullets. I've never handled a rubber bullet, I want to laught at the idea of being shot with one. But, rubber can be pretty dense and heavy - maybe it feels like you've been shot with the real thing. But - protest, right? Civil disobeience, and, uhh - protest.
Years back, protests were dispersed with billy clubs (or batons for the modern day effeminati). Cracked heads, and broken limbs, along with broken ribs.
These people get off light, and they want what exactly? Sympathy?
I agree that the pipeline should be rerouted around the reservoir, but I'm not willing to be shot in the head with a bullet, rubber or otherwise, over the issue. Those who are willing, go on and protest. Just don't expect any medals or anythihng.
(Score: 5, Informative) by hemocyanin on Wednesday November 23 2016, @04:06PM
Tell that to the girl whose arm was blown up with a flashbang grenade. http://thefreethoughtproject.com/water-protector-dapl-grenade-destroys-arm/ [thefreethoughtproject.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @04:12PM
Not even sure those injuries are by accident:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/21/standing-rock-police-attack-protesters-again-he-just-smiled-and-shot-both-my-kneecaps.html [thedailybeast.com]
“He shot me with a rubber bullet right in the belly button, and when I showed him that he had hurt me, he just smiled and shot both my kneecaps,” he said.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 23 2016, @04:25PM
That is informative.
I don't think cops anywhere should have those damned grenades. Fokking idiots - just because there aren't framgments thrown from the grenade, it isn't considered a lethal weapon? Worse - it's an indiscriminate lethal weapon. Like a shotgun, it's an area weapon, but it's even less discriminating than the shotgun is.
Of course, the military weapons and tactics of the police is another discussion, entirely. Either they're allowed to use military hardware, or they are not. And, I say they shouldn't be permitted to use ANY military hardware.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday November 23 2016, @04:58PM
Then walk back your first post, please. You seem to be one of the few alt-right types on here who has any semblance of humanity left, and given what just happened here it's more important that ever that you show it. Don't get yourself lumped in with Uzzard and our resident cuck-sucker J-Mo, okay?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @06:33PM
one of the few alt-right types on here who has any semblance of humanity left
Interesting choice of term.
From 1 day ago:
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday November 23 2016, @06:38PM
But if I had called him a neo-Nazi I would have been rude and uncivil and hurt his precious feelings ;(
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @09:03PM
Saw a tweet the other day, Said something like "there is no such thing as the alt-right, if you fuck a goat you aren't an alt-farmer."
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Wednesday November 23 2016, @10:06PM
The Atlantic has an article about, and uploaded a video of, Mr. Spencer's speech at that conference. Some attendees gave the straight-arm salutes when Spencer said "Hail Trump!".
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/richard-spencer-speech-npi/508379/ [theatlantic.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o6-bi3jlxk [youtube.com]
Trump spoke about the conference in an interview with the New York Times:
[...] I don’t want to energize the group. I’m not looking to energize them. I don’t want to energize the group, and I disavow the group.
[...]
But it’s not a group I want to energize, and if they are energized I want to look into it and find out why.
-- http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/us/politics/trump-new-york-times-interview-transcript.html [nytimes.com]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @10:17PM
What a weak non-denunciation.
He goes on a tear about hamilton.
But "I want to find out why" with the nazis.
Its classic Trump, "If you say great things about me, I will say great things about you." [businessinsider.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @10:39PM
Yup. I was hoping that someone who still does video would link to that.
I continue to say that the most important thing that could be taught in schools (and community centers and Sunday schools and civic organization and ...) is the History of the 1930s and the rise of Fascism.
Now we have our own demagog [google.com] but the word isn't being used by Lamestream Media.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 24 2016, @02:55AM
The demagogue was defeated in this election - don't worry about her any more.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:21AM
> The demagogue was defeated in this election - don't worry about her any more.
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 24 2016, @05:24AM
dem·a·gogue
ˈdeməˌɡäɡ/
noun
a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.
synonyms: rabble-rouser, agitator, political agitator, soapbox orator, firebrand, fomenter, provocateur
"he was drawn into a circle of campus demagogues"
(in ancient Greece and Rome) a leader or orator who espoused the cause of the common people.
Sounds like Hillary and the various groups in the left. Supported by gay rights, feminazis, SJW's, the rich elite, Wall Street, the military industrial complex - and who else? Except, Hillary is more of a neocon than Trump ever thought about being. Typical demogogue - promise the masses whatever they think they want, only to betray them if/when elected.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @06:07AM
> rabble-rouser, agitator, political agitator, soapbox orator, firebrand, fomenter, provocateur
You can't be that and be the candidate of the establishment.
No matter your hate for everything non-straight-white-xian-male, none of those people saw her support for them as rabble rousing. They saw it as baseline for a modern civilization.
But this whole "I'm rubber and your glue" thing is Trump's stock in trade.
I'm sure you also believe that clinton is the real misogynist.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 24 2016, @11:56AM
Stop trying to make a definition fit your preconcieved notions.
"a leader or orator who espoused the cause of the common people"
Again and again, your heroine, Hillary, ATTEMPTED to connect with the common people. But, the common people recognize a rich bitch who was born with a silver spoon in each orifice when they see one. Hillary Clinton, failed demagogue. Donald Trump, somewhat successful demagogue. Read the other AC's comment. FFS, do you even understand what it is that you are squabbling about?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @07:12AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @05:46AM
Runaway1956 and hemocyanin seem to be quite clear on the meaning.
...which stresses the fact that we should have been hearing it TWICE as much from Lamestream Media.
...but haven't at all.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Funny) by hemocyanin on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:22AM
To be fair, Trump is one kind of demagogue who courted the working class over wide swathes of the country, Clinton was a different kind who courted the 1% in narrow bands of the country.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 24 2016, @05:22AM
Now, THAT sounds more accurate than a lot of the shite being posted. Two competing demagogues, one with an identifiable ideology, the other with a less identifiable ideology.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 24 2016, @06:10AM
Lol demagogue of the 1%
You two are hilarious in your attempt to redefine words.
We can see the gears turning in your feeble, delirious brains: demagogues are bad, clinton is bad, therefore clinton is a demagogue!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by butthurt on Wednesday November 23 2016, @10:13PM
[...] there aren't [fragments] thrown from the grenade [...]
One of the protesters claims that "doctors found grenade shrapnel in her arm. [time.com]"
According to that person's father:
Witnesses that I’ve spoken to said that the police officers—it takes seven seconds for these concussion grenades to go off. And Instead of throwing them on the ground, they pulled the plug, held them for five seconds and threw them directly at her.
-- https://www.democracynow.org/2016/11/23/father_of_activist_injured_at_standing [democracynow.org]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @10:57PM
It's still ~12 hours away.
...and the cops insisted that she blew up her own arm.
...and Lamestream Media printed their obvious lies without batting an eye.
Cops and legacy media are doing everything they can to reduce their credibility to zero.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @05:12PM
I didn't know flashbangs could cause that much damage. I remember the case where a flashbang shot through a window and into a crib killed a baby but I figured that it died from internal injuries.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @06:48PM
The baby did not die.
He was maimed and the cops squirmed out of responsibility.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/us/georgia-toddler-stun-grenade-no-indictment/index.html [cnn.com]
The one person who was charged, the deputy who lied to the judge in order to get the warrant, was found not guilty
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/57035477-story [fox5atlanta.com]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @10:10PM
The "bad guy" they were after wasn't even in that house.
Additionally, the crime of the "bad guy" for whom that paramilitary assault was intended was selling a personal-usage amount of dope to a dude.
I have seen no evidence that says the "bad guy" had a history of using weapons.
When we discussed that story previously, Soylentils were angry like you might expect. [soylentnews.org]
The parents in the crowd could imagine themselves getting very violent with the "law enforcement" types under similar circumstances.
The youngster who had his chest blown open with that grenade and who was so badly burned they had to induce a coma was 18 months old.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday November 24 2016, @03:25AM
Even a puny fire cracker can blow off a finger.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @08:47PM
You suck. Don't talk trash about people who are braver and more committed than you.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 23 2016, @09:39PM
Braver and more committed. Mmmm. Maybe. Posted by Anoynymous Coward? Noted . . . .
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 23 2016, @09:43PM
The police are the enemy! The feds are bad!
Except when they're not! How dare people question the police and the feds?!?!
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Tuesday November 29 2016, @12:51AM
They're not really "rubber bullets" -- they're rubber *coated* bullets. They're still metal inside, and can be quite lethal if not used properly. A thin shell of rubber isn't going to protect someone if you shoot them in the head point-blank.
Which brings me to my next nit-pick with the summary itself (emphasis added):
What they are using are not "less-than-lethal" -- they are "LESS LETHAL". These weapons can, and do, kill. They are not as lethal as a bullet, but they are quite capable of killing. Especially when used improperly (which is disturbingly common), but even when used correctly it happens.
And when misused...we've got obvious issues of close range projectiles for one. Rubber coated bullets, used correctly, shouldn't really be leaving open wounds. Looks like these ones might be, which would probably indicate they're being fired from too close. There's also the gas grenades -- I've seen photos circulating from DAPL (so file this under "unconfirmed rumors") showing gas grenades that were thrown by police still wrapped in heavy black tape. Which potentially turns a gas grenade into a fragmentation grenade by plugging the release vents, which could explain how a woman lost an arm from one. But then they go on the news and say everything is perfectly fine and safe and everyone repeats this "non lethal weapons" line, even though the weapons aren't entirely non-lethal if used properly, and CERTAINLY aren't non-lethal the way they are actually being used. And the same can be said of the fire hoses -- on a hot summer day in Atlanta it's probably fair to call that "less than lethal". In below freezing weather at night against people without adequate shelter, it becomes a very different weapon.