On the 3ed of September, USF (University of South Florida) deployed police teams all over campus with the intention of finding and “getting” any protesters who dared to show themselves for Palestine.

Cops or the administration sent word they would find and “get” any protesters. Protesters then departed the campus and set up a press conference at 56th and Fowler to denounce the university’s violent threats, only to have the corporate media boycott the presser.

They were no doubt told about the university’s threats, and it is known that USF has a violent history of police assaults and malicious prosecution of student protesters. The April 29th tear gas attack on a pro-Palestine encampment at USF was a major news story. So was the Tampa 4. Despite all of this, not a single representative of any corporate news outlet showed up.

As this is written, it is reported that Columbia University’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter has attempted to hold a protest, only to face a police kettle and presumed mass arrests. At this happend their Instagram account was taken down.

Below is my personal take on what all of this shit implies:

We see from today’s events plus the brutal repression of the Palestine camps last April and May that pro-Israel forces are engaging in an all-out offensive here in the US to destroy any dissent against their torture and murder in now the West Bank as well as Gaza. The First Amendment is being brazenly ignored, as all of these bans are content-specific, targetting pro-Palestine protest specifically.

We have seen in just one day a coordinated campaign by police, universities, and Meta to crush this year’s student protests for Palestine before they can start. This is being done with total disregard for all law and all prior rules of engagement concerning protest in the US.

Note that students are being expelled simply for participating in protests, which means that young people will find themselves saddled with student loans that can never be paid as they have only a high school diploma. A note for high school students: if you are politically active, consider NOT going to college until this war is over, so as not to have expulsions etc on your record. Take the year off, focus on winning the war against genocide.

As matters stand today, people who want to pursue a career are being warned that if they dare to step out of line, their intended lives will be over. The US and Israeli governments are not taking half measures, that means we cannot afford to either.

If protest is outlawed, only outlaws can protest. If people are banned from employment due to their beliefs, they are effectively declared outlaws.

From Gaza to the West Bank to USF to Columbia University, this is all the same war. Speaking of that, news from Gaza today is Israel bombed a VACCINATION CENTER against polio in violation of their own pledge to consider them protected areas.

On Labor Day, with the new school year just starting up, pro-Palestine protesters in downtown Tampa chewed out University of South Florida for last year’s chemical attack (tear gas) on a peaceful pro-Palestine encampment. In addition the Democrats and GOP were both called out for bipartisan support for genocide, and warnings given that many would vote for neither if there is no ceasefire by Nov 3.

On the 30th of August, Critical Mass Orlando started at Lake Highland Park, where the rides have begun for much of this year. The ride proceeded up the bike trail to the original staging area before taking to the streets.

Since the rides are promoted on Instagram and IG is attempting to block anyone without an account from seeing posts, it may take a while for everyone to realize the starting point has moved. Passing the previous staging area picks up any such riders.

One cop attempted without success to order riders to “get off the street” and ride on the sidewalk. This order was ignored, as it contradicts Florida law declaring that cyclists on the road are vehicles (though not motor vehicles so no license required) when on the road. Bicycles on the road are thus legally not blocking traffic as they are traffic. Otherwise rush hour car traffic could be ticketed for obstructing the road.

On the 28th of August, Orlando area pro-Palestine activists gathered at the headquarters of the Orange County Democrats. They condemned the brutal physical assault of a Muslim DNC delegate from Orlando by other Florida Democrats at the DNC last week in Chicago.

Speakers also called out the ongoing role of the Democrats and the Biden administration in arming Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. One speaker warned the Dems that this genocide is forcing the younger and antiwar voters who have so often boosted Democrats to electoral victories in the past to “look outside the two party system.”

The “Great Outdoors Initiative”  is a plan leaked to the media to “redevelop” nine Florida state parks to replace wild lands with golf courses, luxury hotels and lodges, and even pickleball courts. The pickleball courts seem to be a “thin end of the wedge” to get a developer foot in the door for later plans in those same parks. ALL of the targetted parks would get four pickleball courts and a disc golf course.

Honeymoon Island is one of the parks that would initially get the pickleball courts and disc golf, no doubt to be later followed by the full programs of 18 holes of golf and a luxury resort. This plan is sufficiently destructive in and of itself to place at risk the survival of endangered species in the park.

There was talk of a shadowy “nonprofit” called the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, that tried to poach the name of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. Golf has nothing to do with flying P-51 Mustangs against Nazi Germany, and people allegedly connected to this organization have been furiously backpedaling. Capping matters, the CEO of the Tuskegee Airmen National Museum reported his organization has never heard of the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation.

On the 25th of August, a couple hundred protesters each showed up at Anastasia State Park and at Jonathan Dickerson State Park in Florida. The protesters were there to condemn and fight DeSantis-backed proposals to clearcut woods and rip out parklands to build everything from golf courses to luxury hotels.

At Anastasia State Park (protest on video here) the proposed destruction included a 350 room luxury lodge, pickleball courts, and a disc golf course that could no doubt become a full-on golf course later. Protesters showed up at 10 AM on a Sunday morning in scorching heat, and most of the protesters were park users at what was probably their first ever protest.

Florida’s DeSantis-backed “2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative” is all about “opening up” parkland to “glamping” and luxury recreation at the expense of wild lands and all other users. This has run into a firestorm of opposition across the state, including Sunday’s protests. It is literally turning out people in the streets to fight it!

A Tuesday meeting at Jonathan Dickerson State Park had been planned to “discuss” what no doubt was intended to be a done deal. This was on four days notice, with only 150 people to be allowed inside. As opposition mushroomed, the meeting had to be indefinately postponed while DeSantis’s minions mull over their next moves.

On the 21st of August, Cops attempted to arrest a protester for waving Palestinian flag from an elevated subway station. The crowd however wasn’t having it. Protesters swarmed up on the police position,apparently forcing them to release their hostage. Let’s hope the protest marshals were telling the truth about this!

Video cut from Unicorn Riot’s livestream

On the 20th of August, the second day of pro-Palestine protests at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was repeatedly attacked by riot cops, who used clubs and push bars to forcibly stop a march and temporarily kettle or nearly kettle the march.

As police swarmed in with clubs in their hands, in “pushbar” mode the famous chant from the 1968 DNC and police riot “the whole world is watching!” rose from the crowd. Again the cops were seemingly deterred from using their clubs as baseball bats or firing tear gas, as a repeat of 1968 would be incredibly toxic to the Harris campaign.

A couple dozen arrests reported but most of the crowd apparently managed to push their way out on the sidewalks after the pro-Israel counterprotesters who may have sparked the police blockade in one direction left the scene.

Video from raw clips by Ford Fischer, Talia Jane, and Unicorn Riot

On August 19th in Chicago, a march rolled in on the venue hosting the Democratic National Convention. Marchers succeeded in breaching the outer fence. The main thrust of the march was solidarity with Palestine and opposition to the Biden/Harris program of open-ended arms sales to Israel. This policy has led to a horrific genocide killing an estimated 40,000 Gaza residents directly and including all “excess deaths” possibly as many as 180,000.

With the outer perimeter fence breached cops made a stand at the inner fence, some fighting resulted. Cops made a small number of arrests, pushed most protesters back with billy clubs in “pushbar” mode. Pepper spray was brandished but not fired. Perhaps mace would invoke the tear gas of 1968?

Members of the press were threatened with having their press passes taken by the cops as the cops pushed everyone (save for arrestees) back through the breach in the outer fence.

Afterwards, police pushed again to force protesters further back from the fence. An effort to set up an encampment was harassed by cops demanding tents be taken down, results unknown to me at this time.

Ahh yes: billy clubs at the Chicago DNC. In 1968 it was joked two new TV shows came out of the DNC: “Beat the Press” and “Mace the Nation.” Again the press was hassled, so far just threats to grab their press passes though. Note that members of the press who do not intend to enter the convention can cover the protests just fine without press passes.

DNC event disrupted FROM THE STAGE!

Video by Nader Dissa originally posted to Twitter

On the 18th of August, a pre-DNC event got disrupted FROM THE STATE by a masked protester who charged the stage and condemned US support for genocide in Gaza.

The DNC hasn’t even started yet, and ALL layers of security must have been defeated for this to go down

Protests on the pier outside pre-Convention event.

Video by Tom Shuba, originally posted to Birdchan (Twitter/X/Musk)

While at least one protesters defeated all the security for a DNC welcome party and got inside, their comrades were outside on the pier with bullhorns, chants, and Palestinian flags.