Too bad to check: New York cop knocks bicyclist over for no apparent reason
posted at 8:51 pm on July 28, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Three weeks on the force and already stripped of his badge and gun. Even worse than the crime, the apparent cover-up:
What the video doesn’t show is Pogan arresting Long for attempted assault in the third degree, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct – charges that kept the Bloomfield, N.J. man behind bars for 26 hours before his release late Saturday…
In court papers, Pogan accused Long of purposely swerving his bicycle to block traffic and then using it as a weapon to run down the officer, knocking him off his feet and causing a “laceration” on his forearm.
Watch the clip to see who ran down whom; linebackers get paid good money to make open-field tackles as crunching as this. The only semi-exculpatory explanation I can think of would be if there was a run-in earlier with the same bicyclist such that the cops had reason to believe he was dangerous and needed to apprehend him by any means necessary. I’m skeptical, but we’ll see. Exit quotation: “If it wasn’t caught on video people would not have believed it.”
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Marion Barry belongs in jail, forever.
AprilOrit on July 29, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Crowd – “Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan!”
Coronagold on July 29, 2008 at 11:33 AM
“Marion Barry belongs in jail, forever.”
When he dies, DC will mummify him and keep electing him.
The felonies didn’t keep him from getting elected, why should death?
And why shouldn’t the dead have a representative? They vote too.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 11:35 AM
They are like PETA on wheels, instead of kethup & mustard squeeze bottles and cans of paint they have bikes. But still the cop was stupid to do what he did.
Cops are ambassadors, stewarts, he is supposed to represent this city as NY’s finest.
AprilOrit on July 29, 2008 at 11:36 AM
NoDonkey:
The story sounds credible, and it is horrible. However, it is completely unrelated to my defending Iran’s right to enrich uranium. And if the US attacks Iran, that action will be immeasurably more immoral than anything Iran has ever done.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 11:39 AM
“Cops are ambassadors, stewarts, he is supposed to represent this city as NY’s finest.”
Agree, but I still suspect there is a lot more to this story.
In all seriousness, you can’t have cops doing this.
But I would like to hear his side of the story, which we won’t get.
That’s the thing with these stories. The victims get to tell their story, but because he can’t talk freely due to the investigation, we aren’t getting the whole story.
The Rodney King video looked horrible too, but then we found out how he was hepped up on PCP and had led cops on a dangerous car chase, how the other guys in the car cooperated and were not injured.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 11:41 AM
But dave, Iran does things like this regularly (and I saw a lengthy documentary on it, on National Geographic where they interviewed people who saw her hanged, including her grieving father), and they have a President who regularly threatens another nation with annihilation.
Asking them to stop enriching uranium is reasonable.
If they aren’t stopped, there will be a day when people ask why we didn’t have the humanity to do so, when we could have.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Actually, we did.
Obviously part of that is a lie. The cop was not knocked down as we can clearly see.
And after the cop’s side of the story and the biker’s were both heard, the cop was the one who lost his job.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 11:46 AM
NoDonkey:
Here is his side:
“Officer Pogan said Mr. Long was weaving in traffic, ‘forcing multiple vehicles to stop abruptly or change their direction’ to avoid a collision.”
NYT, “Officer Investigated in Toppling of Cyclist” July 29, 2008
A witness said this:
“Mr. Radhuber said Mr. Long had not been weaving in traffic, as Officer Pogan alleged. ‘There was no traffic behind us — there was no traffic to weave in and out of’, Mr. Radhuber said. ‘The police officer looked to see who he was going to pick off.’”
When you look at the video, you see at the start of it that the traffic was stopped at a traffic light. How did multiple vehicles have to stop abruptly or change their direction if they were not moving? Even if true, making a vehicle stop abruptly does not warrant a physical assault.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 11:50 AM
thekingtut:
Let me guess. You are either a cop or in the military, and if you met me you would beat the crap out of me. Right?
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 11:57 AM
There are statements you can make in an investigation and statements you can’t make. I still don’t think the whole story is available.
Intentionally disrupting traffic is a serious offense and more of these idiots should have been thrown down and arrested, if that’s the case.
Disrupting traffic imperils lives. These bicyclists have no regard for the drivers of these cars.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 12:00 PM
I wonder why he singled this one biker out when there were so many going by. Was it a matter of, ‘Hey, buddy, watch me take one of these clowns out.’?
cntrlfrk on July 29, 2008 at 12:03 PM
And there you have it.
hillbillyjim on July 29, 2008 at 12:03 PM
“I wonder why he singled this one biker out when there were so many going by. Was it a matter of, ‘Hey, buddy, watch me take one of these clowns out.’?”
Makes sense to me. Make an example out of the little punk.
Chalk it up to inexperience. He should get his badge back, after a little more training.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 12:11 PM
That’s because of the Police Union!! The PBA will be involved and we will never get to hear anything, they always tell them not to make it public.
AprilOrit on July 29, 2008 at 12:13 PM
It is obvious from the video that the bicyclist was trying to avoid the officer who was walking towards the path the cyclist was attempting to take. The officer still had to “reach” for the cyclist to hit him as he did! Also, given that the officer NEVER made any signal that he wanted the cyclist to stop, the officer has no defense for what he did.
Wildcatter1980 on July 29, 2008 at 12:17 PM
Obnoxious cyclist decked by obnoxious cop.
THEY DESERVE EACH OTHER!
RobCon on July 29, 2008 at 12:36 PM
wooooooooow do you ever lead a sheltered life. Keep that bong warm for me.
That said, the cop SHOULD be fired. Horrible representation of the NYPD, and a similar offense in any other corporate setting I would hope would end the same way.
This is NOT indicative of normal NYPD behavior, and not only should he be disciplined from within, he should be brought up on assault charges, possibly aggravated assault.
beefytee on July 29, 2008 at 12:37 PM
NoDonkey:
This is untrue. Ahmadinejad has not threatened Israel with annihilation. It is the US president that threatens to attack Iran. Moving beyond mere threats, who is it that actually annihilates countries? That would be the US.
Why? Because they executed a child? This is insane. Nothing in the NPT says that Article IV rights are forfeited if you execute a child.
If what you say is true, then asking the US to disarm its nuclear weapons because they routinely attack other nations based on false accusations, causing millions of deaths, is also reasonable.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 12:38 PM
It’s time we stepped on the necks of some of these protest groups and rioters and the like. They’re completely out of control. The Kent State incident saved lives (and the only mistake the Guard made, in my opinion, was firing over the heads of the crowd — because those rounds ended up striking innocents who were far away from the incident). Those punks turn tail and run when you fix bayonets and charge!
Outlander on July 29, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Gee, so many things to write about…listen these guys are part of a mob.
The thing about a mob is that the individuals may be by and large nice people, but when they get into a mob they become destructive.
You say they were not part of the group that attacked the man in the car, and I say they are the same mob mentality. The same actions that sent a man to the hospital, is the same action the CM mob shows wherever they appear. Look at the post from hillbillyjim with their own definitions.
Okay, you support mob mentality, and I don’t…thatd where we differ…you think it is okay to bully people, I don’t. And you think being caught in a “traffic” jam caused by these people have no negative consequences. Okay we differ on our views…
I think this tells all we need to know about how “objective” you are.
Brilliant…simple brilliant
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Then what do you call threatening to wipe Israel off of the map?
What country?
Wow. You sound like a Truther.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Congratulations, dave, you have now completed Shark-Jumping 101: the basics
For extra credit, expound on why Ahmedinejad and Chavez are your heroes.
hillbillyjim on July 29, 2008 at 12:52 PM
I will make you a deal, if I come up with a quote where Ineeda dinnerjacket says that Israel should not exist, or where he called for the complete destruction of Israel, you will stop posting here?
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 12:58 PM
The scary (and sad) part is that I think he actually believes some of this drivel.
Wow indeed.
hillbillyjim on July 29, 2008 at 12:58 PM
..purposely swerving his bicycle to block traffic
This happens all the time at Critical Mass. The difference is that this particular jack-ass won the Wonka ticket in the idiot lottery.
I guess this cop missed the class in the Police Academy about “not getting caught”.
RobCon on July 29, 2008 at 12:59 PM
Ethier:
The “wiped from the map” quote is from the “World Without Zionism” Speech of Oct. 26, 2005, but Ahmadinejad did not say that Israel should be wiped from the map.
First of all, there is no such expression in Farsi. Second, he was speaking of the Israeli government, and not the country itself. He said that the Israeli government should “vanish from the pages of time.” He had just finished talking about how this had happened with respect to the Shah’s regime in Iran and the regime in the Soviet Union. He was talking about regime change, not military obliteration of another country. Find someone who knows Farsi, and have them translate this: صفحه روزگار محو شود . It means vanish from the pages of time, and it was directed at the Israeli government.
He repeats this theme often. On Dec. 12, 2006, he said:
“As the Soviet Union disappeared, the Zionist regime will also vanish and humanity will be liberated.”
Once again, he is talking about the Zionist regime vanishing as the Soviet Union did. As I remember, nobody wiped the Soviet Union from the map, it collapsed internally. That’s what Ahmadinejad is talking about in relation to Israel.
Arabic media confirmed that Ahmadinejad was misquoted. From Al-Alam TV:
“Ahmadinezhad’s statements which, contrary to reports carried by the news agencies, did not contain any call for putting an end to Israel’s existence or erasing it from the map; instead they were an analytical reference to the bitter reality facing the Palestinian people who are defending, as he put it, the Islamic nation by proxy.” (1)
Everyone in the Middle East knows that Ahmadinejad was misquoted. It’s only American’s under the spell of their “free” media that believe it.
I do know of a couple on incidents where the term “wiped off the map” was used, but it was not by Ahmadinejad. One was by Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, the Commanding General of the Western Defense Command in WWII, who said, “the Japs we will be worried about all the time until they are wiped off the face of the map.” The other was from Israeli cabinet minister Meir Sheetrit, who said, “We must take a neighborhood in Gaza and wipe it off the map.” (2)
The only examples I find where this term was really used is from the US and Israel, not Iran. Because it was the US and Israel that used this term, and not Iran, does that mean it is “reasonable” to ask the US and Israel to stop enirching uranium?
1) BBC Monitoring International Reports, “Iranian Leader Did Not Call For ‘Erasing Israel From Map’ –Al-Alam TV, Oct. 28, 2005
2)washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/10/AR2008021002727.html
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 1:00 PM
right2bright:
If I show you that whatever quote you bring up is BS, like I just showed above with the “wiped off the map comment, will you stop posting?
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 1:02 PM
The thing is the cop could have said stop, could have done a thousand other things then just body check the guy off the bike. There are good cops, there are bad cops, and unfortunately we see the video’s of the bad cops because the good ones are “boring” by today’s standards (even though COPS is still a killer show)
spacekicker on July 29, 2008 at 1:06 PM
When you are a respresentative of anything – a company, the city, a country, you are suppossed to remain cool, even under stress. You are an example, supposed to be a leader that people look up to for direction.
As much as Rudy was that for us he was not able to translate that and hand it over to them – at all.
After they filled the Africa full of lead he was screaming at them about having to now represent them and this city – and their blunder – to this poor man’s family. And some have still not completely grasped the notion of being stewards and ambassadors, it’s foreign to many of them.
There was no reason for that cop to loose it the way he did. He was not in a stressful situation at all.
He deserves to be re-evaluated and dealt with accordingly.
AprilOrit on July 29, 2008 at 1:07 PM
And this is NOT a direct threat to the existence of the sovereign nation of Israel WHY??????
On second thought, forget about it. If you’re going to keep coming back with nonsense, this is a colossal waste of time.
hillbillyjim on July 29, 2008 at 1:07 PM
Note to fellow HA posters: this dave742 clown has been sent here by his handlers to stir the pot. He and his arguments are ignorant, hateful of America and irrelevant to debate.
Let this maggot move on to someplace else.
Et tu Brute on July 29, 2008 at 1:10 PM
Sounds like a deal to me…are you on?
I am assuming AP, Reuters, Al Jezzra, NYT, Newsweek, Time, any of those would suffice?
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 1:10 PM
hillbillyjim:
Wanting a regime to “vanish from the pages of time” means that he wants regime change. I want the Bush regime to “vanish from the pages of time” as well. That does not mean I want the US to be militarily wiped off the map.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 1:12 PM
right2bright:
The only thing that would “suffice” is the truth of what was actually said. Why don’t you just show me your quote.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 1:13 PM
The fact that it’s not wiped off of the map and is instead erased from existence doesn’t really make your cause one to celebrate.
I know he didn’t use the words “wipe of the map,” as I know he wasn’t speaking English. Obviously that was one person’s interpretation, and translations are often interpreted differently.
However, with his actions and his words, it’s clear he means more than just a change in government. After all, he’s the one who routinely wonders aloud why Israel has to be there in the first place and why Jews weren’t given a home in Germany, that is, if the Holocaust even happened in the first place, which he’s not entirely certain of.
Because we strung those words together in a sentence?
Look, I’m sorry that you don’t seem to understand that Iran is a problem. Even the most liberal socialist politicians understand that.
Not only is Iran a threat to Israel, it has also been infiltrating Iraq, sending weapons to the terrorists there and even sending their own troops. Of course taking hostages hasn’t helped either.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 1:13 PM
Esthier:
Do you know who else wonders this? British historian Arnold Toynbee:
“I can understand the Jews demanding, after their experience at Nazi hands, that they should be given some piece of territory somewhere in the world, where they would be masters in their own house and where there would be an asylum for any Jews who, in future might be threatened with a repetition of what the Nazis did.
But, if the Jews had a claim to be given a piece of territory, this should have been done at the expense of the Western nation that had done its worst to exterminate the Jews.
If the creation of a new state of Israel was judged to be a legitimate form of compensation to the surviving Jews, the territory for this state should have been taken from the Europeans, not from the Arabs.
The new Israel should not have been carved out of Arab Palestine; it should have been carved out of Central Europe.
This point seems to me to be simple and obvious. But, once, when I made it in a lecture in a Western country, (not Germany, not Britain), it was received with shouts of laughter.
The people who laughed were not Jews; they were non-Jewish Westerners, and the country was one that has been traditionally opposed to colonialism.
Yet, they laughed because it seemed to them preposterous that a Western nation should be made to pay for its own crimes with its own territory, when the West’s moral debt to the Jews could, so it seemed to these Westerners, be settled by giving the Jews the territory of a non-Western people that committed no crime at all against the Jews.
This laughter shocked me because it revealed to me what seems to me a shocking persistence of the colonialist attitude of mind. A guilty Western people’s territory was to be sacrosanct, because, though guilty, they were Westerners.
An innocent non-Western people’s territory could, it was held, legitimately be given away to the Jews by the victorious Western powers.This amounts to the declaration of the inequality of the Western and the non-Western sections of the human race.
It is a claim that Westerners are privileged, however guilty they may be. It is a denial of those universal human rights that, in truth, are possessed by every man, woman, and child in the world, irrespective of differences in civilization; religion, nationality and race.”
Arnold Toynbee, Two Aspects of the Palestine Question, in Arnold Toynbee, Importance of the Arab World (1962).
Should we invade the UK as well??
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 1:18 PM
And here is a quote from ANAN of the UN
(
Bye bye Dave742, CNN and AP, can’t get better more liberal news then that, and even they had to quote. And the quote from the liberal U.N. Annan…priceless.
Thanks for posting, bye bye…
Now let’s see if you stand by your word.
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 1:20 PM
The post is about NYC, why are we talking about the girly man from Iraq??
AprilOrit on July 29, 2008 at 1:20 PM
Esther:
Tell me. What actions. What words.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 1:20 PM
…and the destruction of Israel???
AprilOrit on July 29, 2008 at 1:20 PM
Desperate, he was speaking of Israel, not a regime…read the context of the quote.
Oh yeah,
Bye bye…
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Is Arnold in a position of authority in the UK or is he just some idiot who doesn’t understand history? The answer to my question holds the answer to yours.
Also, Iran is simply dangerous for more than just words.
Right. Like I’m going to get completely into this with you.
I don’t know you, but this seems to be your pet issue. There’s really no way you can convince me that a full discussion like that is even worth my time since you’re very obviously completely wedding to your ideas on the subject.
Besides, I find moral equivalence in Americans to be completely depressing.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 1:25 PM
Dave742 is no longer posting here…
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 1:27 PM
Why not? It’s your very own little make-believe daveworld, so have at it.
You have zero credibility; none. Go and play with your Ahmedinejad GI Joe and Chavez Ken, and don’t forget your little NorK buddy, Kim Jong PotatoHead. Fare thee well, dave742.
hillbillyjim on July 29, 2008 at 1:32 PM
> Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
> I’m sorry dave742, I can’t do that.
Et tu Brute on July 29, 2008 at 1:32 PM
Yep. A condemning statement, but not of the US.
FloatingRock on July 29, 2008 at 1:48 PM
Accurately describes the Critical Massholes. By any definition, their blocking traffic and assaulting motorists is sociopathic.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 1:50 PM
Ask your wife if masses of cyclists blocking traffic during rush hour on Fridays is at all sociopathic. Ask your wife if attacking a Subaru driver for daring to exit a parking lot is sociopathic. Ask your wife if surrounding a car with a mob and screaming threats is sociopathic.
If it was your wife in the car, I’m sure you’d be singing a different tune.
Unlike the Critical Massholes, I actually use a bicycle for transportation. I can’t think of a single person who uses a bike for transportation or is a serious recreational cyclist that has anything good to say about CM.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 1:57 PM
As a cyclist, if I was driving and was surrounded by a mob of Critical Massholes who were threatening me and pounding on the car, I’d defend myself with the only tool available, run the massholes over and take my chances with a jury.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 1:59 PM
“run the massholes over and take my chances with a jury.”
I would love to be on that jury.
You would be free before the morning coffee break.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 2:02 PM
Esthier:
It’s hilarious that you question the historical knowledge of Toynbee. So you are saying here that if the UK elected Toynbee as Prime Minister, then it would be OK for the US to attack the UK. Awesome.
right2bright:
Once again, Ahmadinejad is talking about the “Zionist regime”. Wanting the elimination of Zionism is not the same as militarily attacking Israel. You do not seem to understand that. Joel Kovel was nearly a candidate for presidency for the Green Party. He wrote a book called “Overcoming Zionism”. He does not want to attack Israel, however. Zionism is not the same as being Jewish. My mother in law is Jewish, but she is no Zionist. Try to understand the difference. Because NoDonkey is very concerned with context, here is the entire speech that you quote from:
“In the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate.
The honourable president,
Please accept the warm greetings of our nation.
First let me thank the esteem Malaysian prime minister and the OIC chair who has made it possible for the leaders of the Islamic countries or their representatives to gather here to review the tragic events in Lebanon which have been caused by the ruthless attacks of the rouge Zionist regime.
As you know, a number of western powers pre-planned the establishment of the Zionist regime in Palestinian land under the pretext of compensating the victims of the WWII. To achieve this, they appropriate another nation’s land and made millions of people homeless. They killed thousands of people and imprisoned thousand others. In fact, it was the Holocaust which brought about the realization of a claim in the Palestinian land. It is obvious that this regime is fake and lacks legal legitimacy. Later it became apparent that the establishment of this regime in fact facilitated the creation of a permanent base to threaten, violate and oppress people within the Islamic heartland.
The establishment of this regime was aimed to prevent unity among the Islamic nations and countries in the region and to plant the permanent seed of discord among them. The progress and advancement of the countries in the region was slowed down, because, on the one hand, great segments of financial and moral resources of the countries were allocated towards preparing themselves for possible threats and attacks, and on the other hand, any scientific and technological advancement was met with opposition by the supporters of this illegitimate regime – under the pretext of deeming it against that regime’s security.
The existence of this regime is an ongoing humiliation of all the nations. Western countries supporting this regime impose unjust agreements on regional nations. They use this regime as a tool to further their own political, economic and security objectives in the region. I stress that the existence of this rouge regime is the cause of a lasting rift in the Islamic world and Middle Eastern nations. A great deal of the discord currently evident in the Islamic world is caused by the Zionist design and actions. In fact, the mission of the Zionist regime is to threat, assault and divide – all aimed at laying the groundwork for the superpowers to consolidate their hold over that land. In return, they ensure this regime’s existence and security. This is the unifying factor among the western superpowers. They see their interest in defending this regime.
Esteemed guests and honourable representatives,
What happened in Lebanon last week, and still continues, clearly shows that America, Britain and a significant number of Arab governments have offered their unlimited political, propaganda, financial and arms support to the Zionist regime. They are prepared to sacrifice all those principles which they claim to promote in their support for this regime – Values such as human rights, the right to determine one’s own destiny, respect for democracy, respect for governments and borders. The international laws prohibiting the killing of civilians, women, the innocent people and the use of banned weapons such as cluster bombs mean nothing to them. These countries don’t believe Lebanon has the right to defend itself. They don’t think Hezbollah which symbolizes the struggle of the Lebanese people and is considered the representatives of the Islamic resistance should defend this land. They believe it should be eliminated so the Zionist state can emerge in Beirut and strengthen the supporters of the regime.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,
The unlimited support for the Zionist regime has gone as far as sacrificing the UN Security Council. This council has the responsibility to defend the legitimate rights of nations. It must defend the security of countries. It must focus all its efforts on ensuring regional and global security. But, under pressure from bullying powers, it has failed in its duty and has vetoed a call for ceasefire. Does this organization have any credibility left? A few bullying powers are using the Security Council as a tool to further their own objectives. This is a painful tragedy for the UN.
Dear friends,
The attack on Lebanon is not a simple act of aggression by a government against a country. It has much wider dimensions and far reaching goals. The US State Secretary of State blatantly announced that the war in the Middle East would continue until the Greater Middle East plan is realized. This shows that the Lebanon incident had been pre-planned.
Their attack is aimed at breaking the resistance of the Islamic world against the greedy and selfish aims of the bullying superpowers which aim to consolidate their hold over Lebanon and the region. And in case they failed, they would like to create an atmosphere of fear and terror not unlike the one they’ve created in Iraq. This is also aimed at destroying any resistance in the neighbouring areas of the Zionist regime which would help to strengthen the regime. They want to weaken the resistance in the occupied land and the elected government – pushing it out of office.
The whole world is witnessing what the Zionist regime is doing in the occupied land. They are attacking the defenceless people of these areas with tanks, planes and guns, or they attack their leaders through targeted assassinations.
By laying the groundwork for the Zionist domination of the region, they aim to crush any opposition that stand in their way of achieving their objectives.
Mr President and dear friends,
We, as the important segment of the Islamic world, shoulder grave a responsibility. By assuming appropriate stance, adhering to human values and protecting our nation’s interest we can make decisions that would stop the aggressions and bullying tactics. We can sooth the pain and suffering of the people of Lebanon. The ultimate cure is the elimination of the Zionist regime. But at this juncture, we must call for an immediate ceasefire. All violations of Lebanon’s international borders must be stopped.
Peace and security must be restored on Lebanon’s borders by Lebanese government and nation. The presence of foreign troops is not acceptable in any form or shape unless it is implemented justly and according to the UN regulations. Lebanon’s unity and territorial integrity must be maintained. The groundwork for the return of the refugees must be put in place. Prisoners must be exchanged.
Restitutions must be made by the aggressors and their supporters, especially America and Britain which are the main partners of the Zionist regime in its attack on Lebanon. These two governments must be held accountable for their crimes in Lebanon.
The Islamic countries must help Lebanese government and people to rebuild their country. They should form a committee in cooperation with the Lebanese government to achieve this.
We also suggest:
All covert and overt political and economic dealings of the countries in the region with the illegitimate and rogue Zionist regime must be severed immediately.
America and Britain which have played major roles in this aggression and other countries supporting the Zionist regime must be condemned and isolated.
America and Israel are not qualified to be members of the UN Security Council, because their goals and actions contradict the aims of the Security Council. They defend aggression and war. They don’t defend justice and security.
Today, a great segment of the Muslims in all Islamic countries are supporters of Lebanese and Palestinian people. Governments must take measures to provide effective supports for people.
The Zionist regime, unfortunately, during its Lebanon war has repeatedly attacked Palestinian lands in the West Bank and Gaza. It has killed dozens so far and destroyed many houses. Nations and countries should not neglect these aggressions.
The honourable President, dear ladies and gentlemen,
Today, Islamic nations shoulder grave responsibilities. The decisions by this conference can play an important role in preventing future aggression.
As we have said many times, the root of all these evils is the usurper Zionist regime. The region’s salvation rests with the formation of a unified government in Palestinian land through referendum. The true Palestinians residing in Palestine and abroad should take part in this referendum.
This is the only way, because unrest, threat and distrust will continue unless that regime is uprooted.
Sixty years of experience is enough.
The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the gathering of the Islamic countries aimed at implementing with the decisions of this conference.
In conclusion, we offer our sympathy to the people of Lebanon and all those who lost their loved ones in these savage attacks.
Once more we thank the honourable Malaysian prime minister for hosting this meeting. We hope the conference to achieve positive results.”
What Ahmadinejad wants for the region is for a referendum to be held, and he brings it up in the speech. Holding a referendum is very different than militarily attacking a country. He reinterates this often, as here:
“Only a government chosen by the people can resolve the problem of Palestine and the people of the region. The right to govern belongs to all people of Palestine and they must decide the governing model of their choice and elect their own officials. For this purpose, there must be an opportunity for all genuine Palestinians; be they Muslims, Christians, or Jews, residing in Palestine or in Diaspora, to participate in a referendum to decide the political system of their choice and elect their leaders. In other words, the only rational way which is compatible with the generally recognized international norms is holding of a referendum for all genuine Palestinians. The supporters of the Zionist regime prefer to remain silent in face of this reasonable proposition.”
This is enitrely reasonable. As for the Jews in Israel, he calls for them to vote as well. He wants a vote, not a war.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 2:08 PM
I would join the discussion about Iran, but that’s not the topic of this thread.
FloatingRock on July 29, 2008 at 2:12 PM
No, but you’d know that if you actually read the rest of my response.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 2:13 PM
Dave, I think the cop was totally in the right and it’s just sad that he didn’t tackle all of those people. He can do better next time. Nothing makes me happier than seeing some liberal scumbag being tackled by a sociopathic cop. Sociopathic cops get the job done.
If you don’t like what that cop did, just stay away from him, dude. He was doing the right thing to take out a lib like that. The fact that it happened in front of all those people made it even better because now the lib is humiliated too.
You’re batcrap crazy if you don’t think that cop did the right thing.
Jeez.
Metro on July 29, 2008 at 2:15 PM
rokemronnie:
I bike to work down the Charles River in Boston. It’s very nice. I like the critical mass events. My wife used to ride in them in San Francisco. Sounds fun. So now you know someone.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Dave742, if you weren’t a coward, you’d post your full name. Of course then you’d have to deal with the legal consequences of slandering me as a sociopath. If you want to cite your wife, fine, we’ll ask her professional association if she’s acting professionally.
You’re so intent on seeing right wing boogeymen that you don’t even bother to read the comments fully.
I don’t like authority. I have a particular distaste for rogue cops who push people around. However, based on what I know about cycling, the Critical Massholes and based on what the video shows, I cannot condemn the cop.
As has been pointed out, the cop is a pedestrian, the bicycle is legally a vehicle that must yield right of way to a pedestrian. The cyclist made no attempt to yield right of way.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Ask your wife about “projection”.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 2:27 PM
rokemronnie:
The fact that this is how you see the video above shows quite clearly that you are psychotic.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 2:28 PM
I’ll tell you what. You stand still while I ride all of my 190 lbs. into you on a bike doing 15 mph and when you get out of the hospital you can tell me that cyclists aren’t dangerous.
Cycling is the single most dangerous sporting activity in the US.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Hey stooopid, even Annan knew what it meant. Your long post was for naught.
AP knew it, CNN knew it, Annan knew it…now hold up to your bargain, and quit mincing words.
If you read everything I posted, you would have seen the reference to the word “regime”. That was an interpretation of “state”, get it? Even Ineedadinnerjacket admitted it was state. He talks about the Zionist domination, do you think he meant Zionist regime?
That is why we so mock the left, because there poor excuse for an argument is so weak. But this may be the weakest of all.
Annan knew, and he was no “enemy” of these guys, even he forced this thug to back off of his statements.
So now you are saying Annan and the security council got it wrong? Learn to read…
Now get off the post and honor your agreement.
You have been self banned…and now banned for being more of an idiot then I could ever imagine.
right2bright on July 29, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Not surprising.
I’m one of many here who felt the cop’s actions were inexcusable based on the video alone, and I’m a bike rider, but I think that law enforcement should crack down on Critical Mass, at least so long as they continue disrupting traffic and harassing people. If the cop had clearly indicated that he wanted that bike to stop, and it didn’t, I’d say the bicyclist had it coming. If the cops had established a line clearly indicating that the bikes should stop I’d be fine if they pushed every one of those riders over or stuck their nightsticks in their rear wheels. The riders, having refused the command to stop, would be entirely responsible for any injuries or property damage.
As a group, Critical Mass is far from innocent.
FloatingRock on July 29, 2008 at 2:31 PM
FIFY to better reflect reality, IMO.
FloatingRock on July 29, 2008 at 2:35 PM
Stalin starved millions to death. Mao was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese. Then there were the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and the Nazis. More black Africans were enslaved to the north and east (the Muslim world) than to North America.
So how does the US become the moral nadir of the world?
Only in your perverted perspective.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 2:41 PM
right2bright:
regime refers to government. If you cannot understand that and the supporting information I gave you, that’s your issue.
Of course, imbecile. He uses the term “Zionist regime” 13 times in the speech. What the hell else do you think he’s talking about?
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 2:43 PM
Fixed.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 2:44 PM
He hasn’t lost his job. He was given administrative duties while the case is being investigated. As of now, the only one with active charges against them still pending is the cyclist.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 2:49 PM
Not a witness. A Critical Masshole. He’s lying. You can see in the beginning of the video how bicycles are streaming around cars waiting at that light. The light was an intersection, the riders were blocking cross traffic.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 2:53 PM
FloatingRock
This may very well be true. However, it is never OK to single out an individual for the actions of other individuals just because they belong to the same group. As most non-sociopaths can easily tell, the cop in the video is also far from innocent. There are many, many cops that are far from innocent. This fact, howver, does not give me any moral right to walk up to any random cop and cold cock him just because he belongs to a group that contains many members that are “far from innocent”. This is the action of a sociopath. And those who would support this action are also sociopaths.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 2:55 PM
Sorry. I stand corrected. We’ll have to wait and see if he loses his job. In the meantime, he’s lost his badge and gun.
Yes, charges pending against him because of a cop whose own job is in jeopardy.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 2:55 PM
Actually, I was one of the people who got bullied in school.
Most of the bullies I knew in school never made anything of thier lives, let alone enlisted. In fact, I know of at least a few of those – who are either toking it up in thier parents’ basement or are in prison. While I served my country, a few of those former bullies became a lot like you. With all due respect, you probably would not have the slightest clue of what serving your country meant if it bit you in the @ss.
The cop will get his day in court. Enough said.
As for Critical Mass, I’ve seen the results of their rides on several trips to SFO. At least in San Francisco, they are no better than a street gang on bikes.
My suggestion to you – grow up.
Suihei Deloi on July 29, 2008 at 2:57 PM
Suihei Deloi:
The bullies you knew became antiwar-anarchists? I never would have expected that.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:04 PM
Actually, there are people in the street blocking the cross traffic.
Either way, unless the light turned green in the 5 seconds it took that guy to weave through the cars stopped at the light, the cyclist wasn’t weaving through traffic.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 3:04 PM
Dave742,
Toynbee’s antagonism to Jews is well documented. He denied that Jews were a civilization because it pained him to put Jews on the same level as Europe. He considered Jews and Judaism to be a “relic”.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 3:05 PM
An anarchist. That explains so much.
Though it’s very odd that you’re married. That’s so “establishment” of you.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 3:06 PM
Esthier:
Being married means paying less in taxes. Paying less taxes means less money for the US government to buy bombs with.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:09 PM
It depends on the group. Al Qaeda? Yes. Critical Mass, no, (from the perspective of guilt by association). However, if the guy on the bike had been blocking traffic or committing another offense and the cop had clearly indicated he should stop, but didn’t, then the guy on the bike would’ve deserved what he got. The problem is that there is no indication that the cop did so.
If law enforcement decides to crack down on CM’s unruly behavior, and I hope they do, we are likely to see more videos like these in the future, but the intent of law enforcement should be made clear. After that, if the cyclists refuse to stop then…. well, I’m looking forward to seeing those videos.
And if the cops have problems catching these guys then I hope they use whatever means necessary, even if some of the cyclists get seriously hurt after refusing a lawful order, so be it.
FloatingRock on July 29, 2008 at 3:10 PM
No they’re not. They’re just regular people who are sick and tired of a mob flouting the law without consequence. The people responsible for their feelings are the authorities who have continued to allow this situation to continue unchecked.
FloatingRock on July 29, 2008 at 3:14 PM
This is enitrely reasonable. As for the Jews in Israel, he calls for them to vote as well. He wants a vote, not a war.
This is entirely disingenuous. Eichmanthenutjob already qualifies he statement with the phrase “genuine Palestinians ; be they Muslims, Christians, or Jews, residing in Palestine or in Diaspora,”.
Which diaspora do you think he’s talking about? You think he’s enfranchising the 8 million Jews who live outside of Israel? No, by diaspora he means the Palestinian “diaspora”. Zionist Jews, by Mahmoud’s definition, whether in Israel or outside would not be considered “genuine Palestinians”. They’d be disenfranchised and not allowed to vote in this referendum.
Dave, look at the history of those who have chosen to be enemies of the Jews. You sure you want to be on the losing side of history?
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 3:15 PM
This is another case where irresponsible jackasses push the envelope of their “rights”, imperiling other people (drivers/pedestrians), deliberately provoking other people in an effort to make some silly, childish point during some worthless “protest”, and we’re all supposed to be fine and dandy with that. That’s the price of “freedom”.
But let an authority figure act (possibly) irresponsible, and it’s tyranny, the end of the world as we know it, etc.
I’ve seen morons like this march through the street during the ANSWER rallies. The cops are remarkably restrained and have to put up with a lot of guff from these idiots.
I can’t get worked up when one cop loses it. Just can’t. These idiots deliberately try and provoke citizens and the police and when someone finally reaches the end of their rope and acts upon it, they squeal like stuck pigs.
Zero sympathy for the idiot bicyclist. He got exactly what he deserved.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 3:17 PM
I don’t know you. You won’t even use your real name so how can I know you?
Just what is it that you “like” about Critical Masshole events? Blocking traffic? Impeding emergency workers? Assaulting drivers? Acting like the assholes they are?
Now that we know that you’re married to a sociopath, perhaps we shouldn’t be so hard on you.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 3:21 PM
That would be a good portion of my home town in a nutshell: druggies on welfare, anarchists working at Starbucks/McDonalds/Pizza Hut/etc, and city officials who kowtow to environmentalists on bringing any kind of jobs into town.
The tagline – ‘Tourism will support us forever – until the place gets so run down no one wants to show up anymore. Then we’ll simply tax everyone to death.’
And people wonder why I moved.
Out of curiousity, what will you do about the tax increase you’re going to receive when the ‘marriage penalty’ comes back in 2010?
It sure does explain things, doesn’t it?
Suihei Deloi on July 29, 2008 at 3:26 PM
That’s a little bland. If you really wanted to take money away from the government there are actual radical things you could do. A friend of mine is very good at it and can even get someone out of paying a speeding ticket, and he’s not even an anarchist.
Seems to me that most people who say they are still live very much with in “the system.”
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 3:27 PM
FloatingRock:
Why can’t I say this about cops? They routinely break the law (as in the video – there is no law that allows for what the cop did, regardless of your “what if’s”) and there is no consequence, because they are cops. Many people view cops as a gang, and I don’t disagree. They’re a gang that cannot be held accountable.
Over 100 cyclists in NYC alone have been killed and 20,000 injured by autos since 2000. But if a cyclist tries to draw attention to this problem and commits the unpardonable sin of lengthening someone’s commute, then they are subject to whatever additional violence comes their way. What if society actually addressed the problem of dead bicyclists? Nah, let’s just beat the crap out of them.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:28 PM
Esthier:
You’re very correct. I am as much a part of the system as anyone else. I could go live in the woods, but I don’t think that would have any effect. I will stay within the system and do what I do to oppose it and bring it down. I decline to tell you what that is.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Hey, ah, Dave742? Why are you still here? You just got pwned a couple posts ago. You said you’d leave if somebody quoted Ahmadinejad’s desire to destroy Israel. Right2bright did that. You’re still here, insisting that that’s not what he meant or something.
Look, everybody and their grandmother would recognize those statements as a threat. It’s only with great effort that you are able to try and interpret them as just a harmless desire to see different leaders in power in that country, or whatever you’re on about, and even then your explanation is laughable in the face of history, Iran’s ongoing sponsorship of terrorism, and what Ahmadinejad actually said. The fact that you are insisting it was not a threat means one of two things. Either you are a liar, or you are an idiot. If it’s the latter and you really believe this, then please, go back to elementary school. Try not to drop out this time.
Well, I’ve met my leftist lackey bashing quota for the day. Back to the actual topic, I thought that this was just an ordinary bicycle race until I found out it’s actually an anarachist stunt. If I came across these guys while driving along, I can’t say I wouldn’t just keep driving. Of course, I’m sure they’d move out of MY way. Bikes aren’t known to win head-on collisions with cars, after all.
It’s funny, though. Anarchists try to tear down systems of order or civilization, but like their close relatives, terrorists, they need those very same systems to do it. If they ever succeeded in their goals, who exactly would protect THEM from the world they’ve created?
R. Waher on July 29, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Suihei Deloi:
I didn’t know about this. In the past, the marriage penalty applied to those who made close to the same salary. This is not my case. I doubt it will apply to me.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:33 PM
I don’t really care what you do. Whatever it is, it’s failed.
I don’t know you, but I don’t believe you could live in the woods. Like many of us, you need civilization and just don’t want to admit it. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be online here.
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 3:33 PM
In my experience rokem, it’s apparently more convenient for some people to rewrite history to thier liking rather than learn from it. Kind of a shame really. Of course that makes me wonder – does an anarchist have a need for real history?
Suihei Deloi on July 29, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Your wife’s the breadwinner, leaving you to “fight the good fight” while still being part of the problem/system?
Esthier on July 29, 2008 at 3:35 PM
R. Waher:
I think history backs me up rather well. The Persians have not launched a war of agression in 1000 years. With this history in mind, it is hard for me to believe they are going to start now just because Iran’s president doesn’t like another State’s government and wants it to fall.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:36 PM
“Over 100 cyclists in NYC alone have been killed and 20,000 injured by autos since 2000. But if a cyclist tries to draw attention to this problem and commits the unpardonable sin of lengthening someone’s commute, then they are subject to whatever additional violence comes their way. What if society actually addressed the problem of dead bicyclists? Nah, let’s just beat the crap out of them.”
One reason I live so close to work is because a good many drivers in this country are simply incompetent. So it’s not just bicyclists who are imperiled. DC area drivers are horrible.
We have 40,000 people motorists killed on our road every year. If they want to lobby the states about making driver’s licenses more difficult to get and to maintain (they’re seemingly distributed via cracker jack box) or for law enforcement to monitor something other than speeding, I’d be all for them. I might even join them.
But moving blockades and impeding traffic isn’t going to persuade anyone. And they don’t seem to want to persuade anyone of anything, they’re just throwing a collective, pointless tantrum.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Esthier:
No, Esthier. I make several times my wife’s salary.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:38 PM
Time to go have lunch. Have fun with the thread folks.
Suihei Deloi on July 29, 2008 at 3:38 PM
rockemronnie:
This is the third time you have asked me my name. Why do you want to know? Do you want to date me? Go ahead and ask. Don’t be shy.
dave742 on July 29, 2008 at 3:43 PM
A bicycle is a vehicle that must follow traffic laws. A cyclist, by law, must yield to a pedestrian. The cop, when in the street, is a pedestrian. If this makes me psychotic you must be using an idiosyncratic definition of psychotic.
Why don’t you ask your wife, the quasi-psychologist, whether it’s appropriate for laymen to throw around terms like sociopath and psychotic.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 3:57 PM
How blind do you have to be to not see that cop was way out of line? I don’t know what this kid has done but it isn’t a cops job to dole out punishment. God help you if you think having a police force with the authority to be judge, jury, and executioner. The sad thing is it seems many cops think they should be just that and perhaps some of the pseudo-conservatives on this board.
sirmyth on July 29, 2008 at 3:59 PM
Fine the cop. Story over.
spmat on July 29, 2008 at 3:59 PM
So as an anarchist you’d have no problem with me invading your home and helping myself to the things there? After all, property is theft, isn’t it?
Got an iPod? Fork it over.
rokemronnie on July 29, 2008 at 4:03 PM
“How blind do you have to be to not see that cop was way out of line?”
How blind do you have to be to take the word of an irresponsible group of violent “activists” along with their highly selective video?
“God help you if you think having a police force with the authority to be judge, jury, and executioner.”
Was the execution off video? Because I missed that.
NoDonkey on July 29, 2008 at 4:04 PM
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