Oh, oh, oh - very interesting! So, we have a Republican president, who's Executive Branch contains the FBI, which is in turn assisting local law enforcement in Minneapolis/St. Paul (Minnesota) with actively oppressing protesters as they prepare for the Republican National Convention (RNC) this week. Links on the story from Slashdot here and a note here about some of these groups filing suit against law enforcement.
Simply put, these are strong-arm tactics intended to oppress opposition, masquerading as "security" measures. The implication that all of these groups were somehow planning massive violent demonstrations seems a bit far-fetched, especially coming on the heels of the Democratic Convention, which, to my knowledge, only had a few minor issues, including the arrest of 3 meth-heads in a suspected assassination plot.
Ironically, nobody cares about the RNC thanks to Hurrican Gustav bearing down on the Gulf Coast. I think it would be absolutely perfect if the RNC were to be marred by a "Katrina 2" styled meltdown that once again shows the supreme incompetence of the Bush administration and GOP lawmakers. From what I've read in print, New Orleans is in a particularly bad state, with very few real improvements since 2005, meaning the city could be nearly wiped out this time given a direct hit from what looks to be a potential Category 4 storm. Anyway...
More on the RNC change in plans due to the weather at the following sites:
Think Progress
Pioneer Press
BBC News
MarketWatch
