Kudos to our comrades taking struggle into the streets for the Group of 20 summit held today in Pittsburgh. I've been following most reports updated on the G-Infinity indymedia site, and some of the local TV stations coverage. A quick rundown, over 1,000 people came out in opposition to "abstractions" like the misery of global capitalism, the day saw lots of confrontations with police, some police vehicles attacked, rock throwing at riot police, a few attacks on banks, and some destruction of corporate businesses. Nice start.
Aside from our usual expectations of the state (massive riot police presence, indiscriminate brutality, use of chemical and "less lethal" weapons, deployment of military to assist policing/surveillance) in response to protest and confrontation, today has seen an escalation by the authorities with the introduction of the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) military sound weapon. Before its deployment today, the LRAD was being used against insurgents in Iraq and more notably repelling Somali pirate attacks from their raids on cruise ships.Below is a video of the LRAD in full effect today, as a precaution you may want to lower your computer's speaker volume.
A friend in Pittsburgh said tomorrow should be an interesting day, as there were a low number of arrests, with the latest estimate being 20, hopefully anarchists and other anti-authoritarian militants will continue to confront the state and capital in the streets of the PGH.
