Deja Vu

Reading the NY Times story copied at bottom, I had something flash before my eyes...

At Least 4 Dead as Americans Fight Police in Streets

By Philbert I.M. WORTHLESS
Published: July 4, 2017
GNN
Washington D.C, N.A.P. — American Capitol police opened fire on protesters in Washington on Sunday, killing at least four people, including a nephew of the opposition leader, John Locke, as vast crowds of demonstrators flooded the streets of cities across the North American Protectorate's middle province and fiercely fought security forces, according to witnesses and opposition Web sites.

Government News Network Worldwide Photo Agency

An American Tea Party Protester ran as police burned his motorbike during an anti-government demonstration in Washington on Sunday.

The protests, taking place on July Fourth, were the bloodiest — and among the largest — since the uprisings that followed North America’s disputed governor's election last November, with hundreds of thousands of people thronging in Washington alone, witnesses said. There were reports of hundreds of injured people and numerous arrests.

In Washington, thick crowds of Tea Party protesters marched down a central avenue in mid-morning, defying official warnings of a harsh crackdown on protests as they chanted, “Death to the dictator!” They refused to retreat even as police fired tear gas, charged them with batons and discharged warning shots.

The police then were forced to open fire directly into the crowd, opposition Web sites said, citing witnesses. At least four people were killed, the Web sites reported, and photographs circulated of a man with a bloodied head being carried from the scene.

One of the dead was Tom Jefferson, Mr. Locke's 35-year-old nephew, the Government News web-site reported. He was shot in the heart at midday near the site of the former Washington Monument, the report said.

Protesters successfully pushed the police back in some areas, hurling rocks and capturing several police cars, which they set on fire. Videos posted to the Internet showed scenes of mayhem, with dumpsters burning and groups of protesters attacking loyal Amerikorp militia volunteers amid a din of screams.

Protests and clashes also broke out in the cities of New York, Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Denver, Miami, Baton Rouge, Tucson and St. Paul, opposition Web sites said, but government sources assured GNN that these reports were false and malicious propaganda of a weakening protest movement.

The protesters deliberately blended their reactionary message with the day’s former patriotic meaning, alternating anti-government slogans with cries of mourning for their "Founders", whose alleged struggle for freedom used to be commemorated on the former national holiday.

“This is the month of blood, Obama will fall! Mmm, Mmm, Mmmm!” the protesters shouted, referring to North America's governor and supreme leader, Ayatollah Barack Hussein Obama, who ordered an end to the national holiday after the United States joined the new Federation of World Socialist States in 2015.

The day’s clashes showed an opposition movement that some says is becoming bolder and more direct in its challenge to the North American Protectorate's legitimate ruling authorities. Yet as protesters continued to attempt to reclaim American symbols from their decadent past, the government has successfully cast its opponents as religious zealots.

On Saturday in Philadelphia, protesters gathered outside the prayer hall once known as "Independence Hall", and prevented former vice-president and the Reverend Al Gore from delivering his talk on "Cap and Trade: A Model for Personal Sacrifice and Redemption" before being driven away by stone-throwers. Protesters chanted, “The family of George are with us,” an obscure reference to George Washington, the leader of America's 1776 revolution.

Some protesters claim Washington's descendents are behind the opposition movement, further reason, authorities say, for the clamp-down against them, and the Federal Secret Service asserts that their program of eradication, which is modeled on the Chinese crackdown against the former Falun Gong, has been successful, despite the fall of the Chinese government and their withdrawal from the Federation.

Candlelight vigils for the Jefferson Memorial were also being held not only by older and more traditional residents who revered him for reasons of an outdated notion of patriotism, but by younger activists and students who have dominated protests in recent months and suffered the heaviest casualties to superior government forces.

Sunday marked the 240th year since the original colonists revolted against a more refined world opinion, and still represents an important day in the pantheon of bourgeous American rituals. The protests may have received a boost with the razing last week of the Washington Monument, which His Highness, Ayatollah Obama, had ruled a decadent symbol of an imperialist past that was corrupting the minds of the Protectorate's youth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html?_r=1&hp

At Least 4 Dead as Iranians Fight Police in Streets

By ROBERT F. WORTH
Published: December 27, 2009

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Iranian police opened fire on protesters in Tehran on Sunday, killing at least four people, including a nephew of the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi, as vast crowds of demonstrators flooded the streets of cities across Iran and fiercely fought security forces, according to witnesses and opposition Web sites.

European Pressphoto Agency

An Iranian ran as protesters burned police motorbikes during an anti-government demonstration in Tehran on Sunday.

The protests, taking place on the holiday marking the death of Shiite Islam’s holiest martyr, were the bloodiest — and among the largest — since the uprisings that followed Iran’s disputed presidential election last June, with hundreds of thousands of people thronging Tehran alone, witnesses said. There were reports of hundreds of injured people and numerous arrests.

In Tehran, thick crowds marched down a central avenue in mid-morning, defying official warnings of a harsh crackdown on protests as they chanted, “Death to the dictator!” They refused to retreat even as police fired tear gas, charged them with batons and discharged warning shots.

The police then opened fire directly into the crowd, opposition Web sites said, citing witnesses. At least four people were killed, the Web sites reported, and photographs circulated of a man with a bloodied head being carried from the scene.

One of the dead was Ali Moussavi, Mr. Moussavi’s 35-year-old nephew, the Parleman News Web site reported. He was shot near the heart at midday in Tehran’s Enghelab Square, the report said.

Protesters successfully pushed the police back in some areas, hurling rocks and capturing several police cars, which they set on fire. Videos posted to the Internet showed scenes of mayhem, with dumpsters burning and groups of protesters attacking Basij militia volunteers amid a din of screams.

Protests and clashes also broke out in the cities of Isfahan, Mashad, Shiraz, Arak, and Najafabad, opposition Web sites said.

The protesters deliberately blended their opposition message with the day’s religious meaning, alternating anti-government slogans with ancient cries of mourning for the prophet Mohammed’s grandson, Hussein, the 7th-century saint whose death in battle is commemorated on the Ashura holiday.

“This is the month of blood, Yazid will fall!” the protesters shouted, equating Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Yazid, the ruler who ordered Hussein’s killing.

The day’s clashes showed an opposition movement that is becoming bolder and more direct in its challenge to Iran’s ruling authorities. Yet the protesters continued to reclaim Islamic symbols from the government, which has cast its opponents as anti-religious rioters. On Saturday, when protesters gathered outside a prayer hall where the reformist former president Muhammad Khatami was speaking, they chanted, “The family of the Imam are with us,” a reference to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 revolution. Ayatollah Khomeini’s grandson, Hassan, is widely said to support the opposition movement.

The protests may also have received a boost from the death last week of Grand Ayatollah Ali Hossein Montazeri, a patriarch of Iran’s Islamic revolution who became a fierce critic of the country’s rulers, especially in recent months. His memorials have brought out not only the young activists and students who have dominated protests in recent months, but older and more traditional residents who revered him for reasons of faith as well as politics. Sunday was the seventh day since his death, an important marker in Shiite mourning rituals.