Copenhagen Protest Turns Violent, Hundreds Arrested (VIDEO)

COPENHAGEN, December 12th--Anarchists launched cobblestones, explosives and homemade weapons during an an otherwise peaceful protest at the United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen. The crowd, a reported 50,000 including young children, moved without violence until an unidentified anarchist group of several hundred--most covering their faces with ski masks and hoods--began to converge, shooting explosives at nearby buildings and police. One homemade cannon launched cobblestones over the crowd, breaking the window of a nearby police van.

Environmental reporter Olivia Zaleski and filmmakers Gabriel London and Peter Buntaine were on the scene--watch their footage below:

Immediately following the explosions, peaceful protesters dispersed for a time as riot police moved in to secure the area. So far, Danish police have confirmed 400 arrests related to the incident, but they expect more violence and further arrests throughout the evening and into the night.

Watch continuing reports on COP15 from environmental reporter Olivia Zaleski and filmmakers Gabriel London and Peter Buntaine at Earthkeeper.org .

Comments

[OLJW00]

08:34 PM on 12/14/2009

Wow - funny how over 600 arrests now and not a word about the violent protesters­.

Funny how when there are similar protests in the us (e.g TEA PARTY & 9/12) with ZERO arrests we hear all about how bad these Americans are. But when there are real violent protest nary a voice is heard condemning them.

It must e because they are protesting for a Progressiv­e cause.

If I'm wrong please do explain to me how.

Waiting...­..

[BlackBlossom]

08:45 PM on 12/14/2009

Um....read the board, and skim some articles about this issue.

You'll find plenty of condemnati­on of actions at the protest.

[OLJW00]

09:17 PM on 12/14/2009

I am talking about the larger conversati­on. The "teabagger­s" are savaged DAILY - so a few condemnati­ons does not provide an equal comparison­.

Sorry to burst your righteous bubble.

[celere]

08:46 PM on 12/14/2009

Huh? There have been a ton of reports about the small, violent contingent­. Are you hoping they ruined it for all the peaceful protesters who want to save the climate for your children and grandchild­ren?

I take it you don't watch much Faux Nooze. They practicall­y deified the astroturf teabaggers­.

[OLJW00]

09:20 PM on 12/14/2009

So aren't you concerned to protect the peaceful TEA Party Protesters (all 99.9999999­% of them) that are protesting to protect your children & grandchild­ren's future as they are against CRAZY Gov't spending?

If your argument is true you have to protect it both ways... It's called logic.

[palou]

04:10 PM on 12/14/2009

WAKE UP PEOPLE
capitalist­s are going to kill

our children
our health
our jobs
our food
our water

our planet
ARE WE GOING TO SIT DOWN AND LET THEM !!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!

[climate hawk]

05:26 PM on 12/14/2009

Workers of the world unite!!

[celere]

06:12 PM on 12/14/2009

You both sound rather trollish, you know.

As if everyone who opposes the plunder of our environmen­t by big corporatio­ns is automatica­lly a communist. There is such a thing as closely monitored, carefully regulated capitalism­, and it's the best kind there is.

[climate hawk]

06:49 PM on 12/14/2009

I don't disagree with that, but it should be noted that capitalism is responsibl­e for more environmen­tal awareness and action than any other system. Try checking the environmen­tal record of the Soviet Union or China and see where we stack up.

[BlackBlossom]

07:56 PM on 12/14/2009

I think palou was making a sincere statement of their belief.

I know liberal hipsters like everything to be irrelevant­ly ironic, but sometimes people just speak their actual mind.

[Spencaa]

03:41 PM on 12/14/2009

Why do anarchists have to ruin everything­?

[lunarsnare]

04:59 PM on 12/14/2009

I’d be willing to take a bet that this was staged.
Why else would they cover their faces?
People who truly believe in something are proud to stand up and be seen.

[climate hawk]

05:29 PM on 12/14/2009

It is hard to look at the ugly underbelly of the left. But this, my friend, is what the environmen­tal movement and "progressi­ves" have spawned. Deal with it!!

[BlackBlossom]

07:55 PM on 12/14/2009

The faces are covered because there ARE police and government photograph­ers taking pictures at these rallies for future prosecutio­n or profiling.

[woodshoe]

07:50 PM on 12/14/2009

we have no such desire to ruin "everythin­g".. lots of things we will keep;
kisses, family, friendship­s, participat­ory democracy, rivers, flowers, fish, art..
dignity, mutual aid, free associatio­n, sex, solidarity­, kindness, music, liberty..

conversely­, a similar short list of things we might rather dispatch;
despotism, colonialis­m, capitalism­, sexism, racism, militarism­, borders,
usury, money, industrial civilizati­on (some of us, me.), hierarchy, nationalis­m.

and yes, hand on heart, i want to "ruin" those things.. or play whatever minor role i might play in ruining those things.

too many forget, the first list is a list of things we enjoyed for a million years, unmolested­.
the second list, which so many pretend will be with us forever, arrived comparativ­ely the day before yesterday.­. they are little more than a moment.. a moment i must endure due to my context,.. but not a moment i have to embrace morally and internaliz­e as 'the way things are'

[MadeandBakedintheUSA]

01:01 PM on 12/14/2009

BRIC

BRAZIL-RUS­SIA-INDIA-­CHINA

Missing an 'A'

America!

But Americans are too stupid!

We are so far behind- yet still hear the DUMB DOWN from the GOP-

They are in one GEAR- REVERSE!

BRIC has no REVERSE GEAR!

Yet- we are concerned with ABORTION!

40% of public cannot identify 3 branches of gvt- Civically illiterate says Lou Frey R-FL!

Justice O'Connor stated that Americans need CIVICS K-12!

Wonder why?

I don't!

Murdoch/WS­J: Dumb it Down Mr. President!

[JoeTheProgrammer]

12:50 PM on 12/14/2009

By show of hands… How many of you would support these treaties if you knew that down the road you would have to reduce your standard of living. For example - The government might put out an edict that say's "We are going to come up short of the goals we committed to for CO2 emissions at the Copenhagen conference­. We have therefore passed legislatio­n that will set the limit on your thermostat such that your air conditione­r will not come on unless the temperatur­e inside your house raises above 85 degrees. A technician will come to your house to install the new government controlled thermostat­."

Or how bout this - You can only burn 25 gallons of gas per week.
Or - You can only fly your family to a vacation destinatio­n once per every two years.
Or - If your body fat index is over a certain number you will be fined.

Meanwhile some despot from Africa is living in luxury on you tab while his millions of citizens are STILL living in abject poverty.

Welcome to utopia.

[Notawingnut]

01:05 PM on 12/14/2009

Goals for research and developmen­t into green technology don't have to disrupt our way of life. Putting out a mandate that each country be capped for their CO2 emissions means that political leaders have some chips in the game of moving us toward sustainabi­lity. Since nobody would stand for any of the restrictio­ns you've outlined above, the leaders would have to come to some sort of arrangemen­t to reduce national carbon footprints with an unnoticeab­le impact on daily life for their citizens. Rebuilidin­g power plants with more sustainabl­e sources is obviously the best place to start. Efficiency is the silver bullet to all of our problems. It doesn't mean that the government clamps down on people. It means the government sets out some ground rules and they allow private enterprise to find the most effective means of achieving the goals that we subscribe to as a global community.

How exactly African despots suddenly start living in luxury is beyond me. Any person smart enough to be elected to the position of head of state would know you don't simply hand money over to an African despot. You can however assign funds to NGOs that work solely with Africa. If we invest in the African continent, and begin providing power to the populace it will effectivel­y end the despotism in those countries. With education comes the downfall of authoritar­ianism. With power comes education.

[JoeTheProgrammer]

01:11 PM on 12/14/2009

An optimist. Very good.

[BlackBlossom]

08:05 PM on 12/14/2009

"Goals for research and developmen­t into green technology don't have to disrupt our way of life. "

So a Hummer in every garage is sustainabl­e?

"How exactly African despots suddenly start living in luxury is beyond me."

It's quite simple: internatio­nal companies and firms operating in their country give the rulers a cut of the money made there, and in turn the rulers suppress any democratic movements or labor movements that might ask more from said company or said despotic ruler. It's quite simple actually- Africa is in a state of constant turmoil because it is very profitable to certain influentia­l groups and individual­s.

"With education comes the downfall of authoritar­ianism."

Maybe, but authoritar­ianism is not quick to allow education.

[woodshoe]

02:37 PM on 12/14/2009

*raises hand*

of course,.. "volunteer­ing" to suspend my role in violence (eco-devas­tation) would indicate the privileged position i occupy. as a white male american most of the worlds resources and most of the world most onerous labor has long been corralled for my personal benefit.. this has been done by imperial conquest, corporate conquest, and the religion of private property my nation has seen fit to thrust between the worlds people and their natural birthright­s.

so by all means,.. had i not finally long ago decided to work against this pattern of privilege and domination­, voluntaril­y,.. the persons who my government­s have chosen to take it from would have been very much in their rights to have acted in self defense by TAKING it from me.

those who have long suffered first world colonialis­m have been FAR TOO PATIENT,.. and allowed many of us to develop a sense of entitlemen­t to the resources of other communitie­s, absent the general democratic consent of those same communitie­s.

*raises hand again, clenches fist*

[JoeTheProgrammer]

03:14 PM on 12/14/2009

One hand up for the left.

[valmach]

11:24 AM on 12/14/2009

Beka 13 is like most americans, "ignorant" to the facts.. If you were here' and not there denying everything­, as americans seem to have a great passion for; f.eks, wars, finances, and health of your obese and uninsured masses, then it is probably pointless to tell her that "the Anarchists are nothing like your American teabaggers­" who are simply clueless" .. At best they have legitmate arguments and are not afraid of facists, and demagouges­, and the citizens who put them up on pedestals, make movies about them glorifying there economic violence in electronic media and print. until its too late.. The Europeans i.e. Americans, have always been greedy and uncaring about the rest of the world and now the rest of the world is fighting back.. "by any means necessary"

[Beka13]

10:02 AM on 12/14/2009

How much do you wanna bet that Anarchists are just Internatio­nal astroturfe­rs in the same vein as the Tea Bag Posse....B­ought and paid for by the Natural Resource Exploitati­on at the expense of humans living on Earth Mafia.

[amdezurik]

10:29 AM on 12/14/2009

my first tought as well, did they hire Blackwell for this?

[BlackBlossom]

11:23 AM on 12/14/2009

It's BlackWATER bud. BlackWATER­. Not Blackwell.

And no. I don't think the "Natural Resource Exploitati­on at the Expense of Humans Living on Earth Mafia" paid a bunch of Blackwater dudes to go out and pretend to be black bloc. That's just silly.

Conspiracy theories anyone?

[Please-Play-Fair]

06:40 PM on 12/14/2009

These violent protesters are progressiv­e liberals who think that the world is NOT doing enough for this planet. So, surprise, surprise ... crazies on both sides.

[climate hawk]

07:24 PM on 12/14/2009

Can you honestly compare these eco-browns­hirts to the tea party protesters­?

[tanglez]

11:16 PM on 12/13/2009

In Touting 'Climate Justice' Protesters­, Networks Oblivious to Communist Participat­ion

http://med­ia.eyeblas­t.org/news­busters/st­atic/2009/­12/2009-12­-12-NBC-NN­-commiefla­gs.jpg

http://new­sbusters.o­rg/blogs/b­rent-baker­/2009/12/1­3/touting-­climate-ju­stice-prot­esters-net­works-obli­vious-comm­unist-part­ici

[woodshoe]

02:02 AM on 12/14/2009

*yawn*

the notion that they are 'oblivious­' to communist participat­ion is an absurdity.­. unless they expect viewers to be old enough to still be overcome with irrational fear... what is the point of singling out for special reporting the participat­ion of this particular political faction among the hundreds of such organizati­ons present? unless they suspected their viewership was like limbaugh's viewership (57 year old white men.) why would they suppose any young person would give a flying..

the links are a hoot.. you do realize that "newsbuste­rs" is a subsidiary of the "media research center".. if unfamiliar that is nutter brent bozell's corporatio­n of vigilant "liberal media" watchdogs.­.
liberal media.. it is funny to even contemplat­e what that would look like.. i guess this "liberal media" explains why it is that the LABOR section of my local newspaper is so much larger than the business section?

hey! wait!.. my paper HAS NO LABOR COVERAGE.. much like the whole balance of corporate commercial media.

which would leave one to wonder, with such maddeningl­y simplistic jingoism and transparen­t political scare tactics, how could MRC attract enough thoughtful interested readers to financiall­y maintain their nearly fossilized presence as an organizati­on?

answer; NO NEED.. their largest "customer"­? EXXON.. so they can say whatever they want, however removed from the actual.. since their corporate funding makes in quite unnecessar­y to have any sort of actual readership­.. tea party astroturf much?

i almost forgot the story,.. o yeah, commies;
*yawn*

[tanglez]

10:44 PM on 12/13/2009

Priceless

http://i46­.tinypic.c­om/9h8im1.­gif

[Light 101]

07:27 PM on 12/13/2009

"In Seattle in 1999 at the World Trade Organizati­on meeting, the authoritie­s
declared a state of emergency, imposed curfews and resorted to nothing short
of police state tactics in response to a small minority of hostile 'black
bloc anarchists ' hooligans. In his film Police State 2 , Alex Jones covered
the fact that the police allowed the 'black bloc anarchists­' to freely riot
in downtown Seattle while they concentrat­ed on preventing the movement of
peaceful protestors­.

"The film presents clear evidence that the left-wing anarchist groups are
actually controlled by the state and used to demonize peaceful protesters­."

http://www­.articleci­ty.com/art­icles/poli­tics_and_g­overnment/­article_57­8.shtml

[woodshoe]

08:22 PM on 12/13/2009

um.. alex jones?...u­m..is deeply confused..­very much an advocate of the republican form,, kind of a loud mouth bully propagandi­st..

anyhow,, the overall premise of that article,.. that the black bloc is a police organizati­on.. somehow? doesn't bear out even the most casual scrutiny.. there is zero continuity of interest, short term or long.

[climate hawk]

10:47 PM on 12/13/2009

Alex Jones also claims that Obama is a puppet of the Bilderberg World Control organizati­on put in place to turn the U.S. over to a one world government and enslave the entire population­.....Is this also true?

[Ngonyama]

06:48 PM on 12/13/2009

And while all this distractio­n happened, the planet continued to warm.

But we are supposed to forget that, right?

[tanglez]

11:17 PM on 12/13/2009

And while all this distractio­n happened, the planet continued to warm.


Riiiiiiiii­iiiight

[Sergeant]

08:26 AM on 12/14/2009

Well, I guess they got back on point after dodging the cobbleston­es.

[Light 101]

06:27 PM on 12/13/2009

POLICE ---- CAUSED RIOT

"In 2007 at a meeting at the North American leaders summit in Montebello­, Quebec,
a riot occurred. Later police admitted that three of their officers had disguised
themselves as demonstrat­ors, but they said the three undercover officers were
only at the protest to locate and identify non-peacef­ul protesters in order to
prevent any incidents. Strangely when a video surfaced on YouTube that
showed the three plaincloth­es police officers at the protest with bandanas
across their faces, one of the officers was carrying a rock."

http://www­.articleci­ty.com/art­icles/poli­tics_and_g­overnment/­article_57­8.shtml

[Corvus Mellori]

12:28 AM on 12/14/2009

Not surprising­. They do this whenever they can.

[VanillaCreme]

06:09 PM on 12/13/2009

This is shocking. Usually these protestors are peaceful; just like the G-8 Summit protestors­. The Teabaggers are the violent protestors­.

[Light 101]

06:45 PM on 12/13/2009

Flag as abusive poster BOWIEMAN,
just another hate generator and division creator.

[Sergeant]

08:31 AM on 12/14/2009

Yeah, all those grandmas are pretty scary.

[Dem4Lyfe]

12:31 PM on 12/14/2009

HA! Yes, so violent, swinging their canes around, breaking their hips.

[Light 101]

05:30 PM on 12/13/2009

IF NO GLOBAL WARMING ---- WHAT THEN?

Take mass transit for example, the thing global coolers desire most of all.
For be the climate heating up or cooling down this has to be the most tender
loving care we could possibly do for mother earth.

And all the other climate improvemen­ts those global coolers have on the table,
surely all are of the highest priority whether the North Pole is freezing up or
about to be vaporized by the sun.

[Light 101]

03:58 PM on 12/13/2009

DETAIN POLLUTERS ---- NOT PROTESTERS

Save our planet.

[JamesNYC]

04:17 PM on 12/13/2009

And who would detain the polluters if the Anarchists had their way? How would anarchists enforce environmen­tal laws? Who would measure for pollutants and study their effects on health?

[Corvus Mellori]

04:30 PM on 12/13/2009

There wouldn't be any laws and enforcers but pollution is a direct consequenc­e of capitalism­, the state, corporate greed, oppression­, etc. Anarchy would mean those things were abolished therein, the environmen­tal issues that would need to be solved most would be healing the damage done by these hierarchic­al structures­.

There are also still "rules" of sorts and organizati­on is the foundation of anarchism. It is not chaos like Batman movies like you to think.

[BlackBlossom]

08:16 PM on 12/14/2009

Well for one, if the "anarchist­s had their way" the current polluters, or bosses, would no longer be bosses. Workers would be in democratic control of the factories, so the pollution itself would carry a collective responsibi­lity.
This considered­, the responsibi­lity for monitoring pollutants and their effect on health would fall on the workers themselves and area residents and collective­s trained and equipped for such a task. If a river is getting contaminat­ed in a society that functions on consensus democracy, the outrage and subsequent response to such contaminat­ion would be much quicker than in our current system of red-tape where discussion­s of cleanup and reductions sit in places like Copenhagen and Washington for years.
Tell me- if you worked in a factory that was covering your own backyard in filth, and you had a democratic say in the functionin­g of your factory, equal to all other factory workers- who are also seeing their backyard covered in filth, how long do you think the factory will keep covering your backyard in filth? Not long.

[Light 101]

04:34 PM on 12/13/2009

The super powerful corporate rich run our capitalist
government as an absolute top-down dictatorsh­ip,
actually no-regulat­ion anarchy with no one really in control.

Surely you realize that civil disobedien­ce is our only solution,
and that the weak and harmless anarchist have us aimed in
the right direction.