Conventional Readiness

From new police equipment to restricted airspace; rooftop snipers to shutting down an interstate for four hours – these are a few of the things that the Denver police are doing to deal with the Democratic national convention this week.

Most convention goers will behave peacefully but some groups planning to attend promise to “disrupt” the week. What this means, exactly is hard to say. But Federal and local security personnel feel that they are prepared.

"That's not to say that things won't happen, but what we're saying is that we're prepared to deal with anything," says Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Chinese Paramilitary on US Soil

No, we weren’t invaded. We allowed them in.

Perhaps you’ve seen them – men in white and blue track suits running alongside the Olympic torch bearers as they make their way through the crowds of protesters and supporters that are ever-present in this year’s torch run. They aren’t just security; they are a handpicked group of paramilitary police chosen for their experience and fitness to bring Chinese values to every country hosting the torch relay.

For their job description seems to extend beyond providing security for the torch and its bearer. There have been complaints from torch bearers about their rough treatment calling them thugs and accusing them of being more interested in crushing dissent – you know, free speech? – than actually providing security.

In one of the more benign examples of their actions Majora Carter, one of the torch bearers, was roughly pulled out of the procession after she produced a small Tibetan flag. "The Chinese security and cops were on me like white on rice, it was no joke," said Carter. "They pulled me out of the race, and then San Francisco police officers pushed me back into the crowd on the side of the street."

Fine, China doesn’t want any public discussion of Tibet. The sovereign nation of China can do what it wants within its borders and it’s up to the rest of us to decide how we want to react to that. But do we really want to invite a thuggish band of cops who are universally described as paramilitary inside OUR sovereign borders? I say no and I’m glad they’re gone.

Australia is displaying the common sense to tell them that they’ll have to stay on the bus.