The Old Switcheroo, Pt. 2

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• Saturday 19th November 2011

Once again, let’s take an excerpt from this AP story:

November 19, 2011

Egyptian riot police beat protesters and dismantled a small tent city set up to commemorate revolutionary martyrs in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Saturday.

The clashes occurred after activists camped in the central square overnight following a massive Friday rally. The military tolerates daytime demonstrations in the central square, a symbol of the country’s Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising, but claims that long-term occupation paralyzes the city.

The number of protesters swelled to nearly 600 people as news of the scuffles spread in the city, and thousands more riot police streamed into Tahrir Square blocking off the entrances and clashing with protesters.

Police were seen beating activists who challenged them and an Associated Press cameraman saw police arrest three people who refused to leave.

Stubborn protesters played cat-and-mouse with riot police as they were chased outside of the square and into side streets. “We are using side streets to pretend to run errands, but we are just regrouping and going back,” said Sahar Abdel-Mohsen, who joined in the protest on Saturday afternoon, after a call went out on Twitter telling people to come down to Tahrir.

Protesters were chanting anti-security slogans including, “Riot Police are Thugs and Thieves” and “Down with the Marshal” referring to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s military ruler.

And with a few minor alterations, we have this familiar-sounding story:

November 19, 2011

New York riot police beat protesters and dismantled a small tent city set up to commemorate the Occupy movement in Manhattan’s Zucotti Park on Friday.

The clashes occurred after activists camped in the lower Manhattan square overnight following a massive Thursday rally. The police tolerate daytime demonstrations in the downtown square, a symbol of the country’s two-month-long Occupy uprising, but claims that long-term occupation paralyzes the city.

The number of protesters swelled to nearly 600 people as news of the scuffles spread in the city, and thousands more riot police streamed into Zucotti Park blocking off the entrances and clashing with protesters.

Police were seen beating activists who challenged them and an Associated Press cameraman saw police arrest three people who refused to leave.

Stubborn protesters played cat-and-mouse with riot police as they were chased outside of the square and into side streets. “We are using side streets to pretend to run errands, but we are just regrouping and going back,” said Sandra Auerbach, who joined in the protest on Friday afternoon, after a call went out on Twitter telling people to come down to Zucotti.

Protesters were chanting anti-police slogans including, “Riot Police are Thugs and Thieves” and “Down with the Mayor” referring to billionaire Michael Bloomberg, New York City’s mayor and the 12th richest person in the United States.