hallibacon : Houston Indymedia

Upon ducking out of a parking lot adjacent to my own car's location, in the absence of my native affinity group, I joined the code pink for peace march. It was a somber themed funeral march reenactment acting as a eulogy for the people of iraq. We were at the space by 8:30.

When we arrived, the police were in mass in front of the protest lines, maybe 20 mounties lining the barricades. I joined up with the black bloc and began surveying the scene. I recognized my friends, and where i wanted to stay. i handed out water to who i could, and donned a banner I brought along. The plan was to break through the barricade down the road.

We walked down towards the corner, chanting and singing "we're not gonna take it!" only to be headed off by the cops and forced to divert our march around the corner. We marched with some confusion and with less unity than desirable. the banners were not properly manned(or wymminned) and our protection was weak at best. i looked to my left after 3 blocks, and a young wommin next to me told me that people were refusing to hold the banner, and we were sitting ducks without more protection.

she was right.

the cops attacked, and rammed us with their horses and the battle was in the street. the cops wipped the activists and ran them onto the sidewalk where a young woman was trampled by a horse. at this time a bike was stolen from one of our ranks and trampled. the horse got itself stuck into the chain of the bike and destroyed it. the cops pulled the bike to the other side of the street. the chanting began "give back the bike" and two brave wimmin ran across the lines and stole the bike. people cheered as cops shouted and the bike got past our lines and it was reclaimed.

it was time to rejoin the mass.

when we returned we were greeted by cheers and applause.

nine people had been arrested. two wimmin had been hit with horses. the cops were getting heated. the horses in their riot gear were getting nervous. things were tense. so we pushed the barricades back. we gained several feet, and the pigs rushed in, both on horses and on foot. they pulled their clubs and started swinging. the barricades were restored and we went to the paddy wagon to visit our fallen.

chorus of "solidarity forever" greeted our comrades. we knew they could hear us and see us. they knew we were there. and they could hear our heckling of the cops.

it occured to me that i was alone. those i had been counting on had been arrested, after we had been seperated. the cops were slowly pulling us apart

after a blur of barricade rushing, breakaway marching, and close encounters with cops, our strength was regained when we saw the shareholders themselves crossing an overhead bridge between the hotel and the parking garage with a full police escort. the thought donned on me how many murders and rapes could be being prevent if only one half of these cops were doing what we pay them to do...instead of defending these criminalss.

back to focus. we knew that the shareholders we going back to their cars, so the call was for the exit to the parking garage. we were harassed and mostly surrounded by the cops and we amassed and linked arms in front of the bay. i broke away to get pictures of the spectacle. the tension was high.

a man in a two piece suit came out of the depths of the parking garage and signalled the cops...it was time. they began pushing through, and waving thier arms insisting that we disperse. the banners were manned, and the mass pushed ahead. the cops wipped into the crowd, and the activists were pushed into the streets, only to be greeted by billy clubs, threats, and demands to get back on the sidewalk, only to be pushed again. we stood our ground. several arrests were made. people were scraming. a cop tripped over an activist running in the other direction, then arrested them-assault. the chaos was thick, and someone grabbed my arm. i recognized my friend and linked up. a mountie pushed us around the corner and split the crowd. people were hurt.

we shouted shame at the pigs for their treatment of the horses, and their treachery to the people. we yelled shame at the shareholders as they drove away in their lexus cars. we yelled shame at halliburton for everything they've done.

we were roped in for another half hour, as minor disputes ensued between activists and cops. signs were stolen and destroyed. i realized that collecting badge numbers was impossible as the bastards only had last name plates.

once we were released from the corner we amassed in the park across the street where the iraq cow still stood. we updated one another and legal teams informed us of those arrested and their charges.

we discussed the need for the continuation of the campaign.

we were commended on our efforts and we went to the paddy wagon together to offer solidarity to our martyrs. many were arrested inside for civil disobedience actions, and many outside. 16 total.

houston's politics are getting consistently more toghtly woven and largely radical. one of the things that this morning demonstrated was the need for unity within the movement. there was almost equal disagreement among the bloc as there was among the cops and the kids. this is where the campaign comes in. with planning comes organization. and with practice with come victory. houston is headed for it. see you next year, hallibacon!

<3 @

Manning the signs was quite difficult. When it came down to it, we was only us who were defending from the cops in the streets, so we were easily pushed back. There are many pictures to show this. If we had the BLOC with us instead of just us, we would have been able to get across the street given we only started retreating when we realized we had no support.

No big deal, though. The meeting was stalled thanks to everyone's involvement AND this is one of our first rowdy demos. More are soon to come.

Good writeup.

You all showed some amazing courage and solidarity yesterday. Great organizing and messaging. Your actions inspire and uplift those of us who couldn't be there.

right on dude! our resistance is building.

It seems to me that you were closing off the wrong parking garage. The shareholders were parked in the garage under the 4 Seasons Hotel not the Houston Center garage. The exit was on the back side of the hotel building. The people in the walk-over were heading back to headquarters. I was not impressed with the organization. It seemed the break-away action was away from the site of the demonstration and on other streets where there were no people and no reason for it. It was not well organized as to where to go and why. Also, I walked into the meeting area before it started, security was a joke. You could have gone through the mall and to above walkway and tried to get in instead of walking around on back streets for what I don't know. This would have made more sense.

FUCK YOU, With all the fucking vedio cameras WE FUCKIN WON HPD will Pay.....

Fuck You too. if it was the wrong parking garage then why the fuck wher they assalting us W/ deadly weapons. It dosen't matter we still won HPD WILL PAY...

I stand by what I say. How do you figure you won and what? You pay the bond, you pay the court, you pay the fine, they get richer. “HPD will pay”, you sound like Tom DeLay!!

I'm not against DA, but I think you need to make more of a statement, instead of fighting the cops around the corner, like the folks that got inside did, my kudos to them! THINK!

I was there... why not show ALL of the situation? What are we afraid of? You know, when some of our number were actually cursing at the police, and pushing the barriers into the horses in the street?

Stand proud people!

Haliburton stock price:

August 2004 $26
May 2005 $46

You have them on the ropes!!!! lol

8am we had gathered at a park just down the street from the four seasons hotel. I had noticed that the poliece had already been at the sight for quite some time.we herd a fue speekers and we where off, to wards the four seasons with pig cops riding bestde us the intire way(3-4 blocks).we meet up with the group of protesters whom wher already ther with a big cow and plenty of signs.in front of the hotel we chanted danced yelled and planed,and decided to go for a walk. so we gathered our friends and our banners and proceded to march down the street, accoumpanied by 6-10 pigshorses who continued to follow us the intire way bieing total dipshits. misuseing ther horses as living breathing battering rams and barricades.we complies not willing to endanger the horses or provoke the arrholes abusing them. They continued this behavior the intire march, from stealing one innocent protesters bike and throwing in across the street. to charging us on the side walk in to a park trampaling and assaulting us.
finaly we knew they wher trying to pick us off from the rest of the group so we swiftly and loudly made our way back where the protest continued in much the same way. A trash can boom box had made it's way into the crowd accoumpening the drums in ther disapproval of hallaburton. ther wher several brake away maches following the first with the same shameful disgusting displays of power by the porkers.
when finaly we saw some of the "shareholders " (point of disagreement) crosse the bridge towards ther cars. meny of us marched to the exit of the parking garage and blocked it. we stood there for about five miniuts before I noticed a porker hasling a neerby indy. media camera man for no visible reason but he wasn't moving fast enough for his pigishly fast tasts.All of a sudden I notice a fairly large harry ass in my face and realized it wasn't a cop but his poor abused anamals butt. I tuned and voiced my disapproval of his misuse of a horse, how it wasn't made to asalt inocent people as his personal servent who dosent matter. then bam,"F*$%!!!" I went down, and was picked up and move by kind protesters to the corner (came to find out later the camera man behind me was arrested shortly after he cought it on film).
at the corner I was met with more support by several members of the block and other protesters. cyintha (sorry if I misspelled your name)with the leagal observers from dallas called the medics( and had soon after been trampled by the misuesed horses). from behind us, we herd a man say get her out of hear, as I looked behind me I noticed the porkers where all over the side walk, charging, raming and tramaling the group of protesters (witch included children and older protesters alike) agenst the wall of the parking garage and into the street.haveing been moved across the street, I saw the Chaos the poliece where causing by following the protesters across the street wher I was (and then moved from seeing as I was injered on the ground)and countinued the meyhem by attacking protesters who wher trying to block them from the side walk and the park , to try and provent injory from themselves and the sevral childern in the PARK area by moving the cow towards the street. they wher intercepted and a fue arested while the cow was dead.mayhem calmed down a little and then died as people left the site of the what was sappose to be peaceful protest. I want to end this with a big thank you to all the people that helped everyone and eachother, grate suppuor and solidarity. to all the people aressted I am so glad you all are out. to legal grate job and and mad props for getting through ,Y'all never stoped and I thank you. and to every one wo was there good job,THIS IS A FIGHT WE WILL WIN!!!!!