G-20: City adopts Iran/China-style free-speech policies

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If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.
-George Washington

Less than two months after president Barack Obama, politicians, and other assorted celebrities declared themselves to be outraged by the repression and violence used against the people of Iran, a similar mindset has lead to a similar scenario being engineered for the streets of Pittsburgh. After years of red scares and wars on (certain) drugs and (certain forms of) terror which have long rendered the founding document of the US, the Constitution a meaningless artifact, the City of Pittsburgh's decision to declare any and all forms of dissent against the G-20 to be unlawful should come as little surprise to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention. Free expression is a human right and has nothing to do with dusty (and inadequate) relics in the Smithsonian (even for crazy right-wingers who want Wall St. to continue to make their health care decisions instead of DC)  and requires no permit.

Organizations who applied for various demonstration permits have been summarily denied them by the City. Aside from outlawing dissent and broadcasting a message of intolerance for free expression, the City also hopes to demoralize and waste the time, energy, money, and other resources of the people organizing against the G-20 and its disruptions of our lives in both the short and long term, challenging the City in the courts. This also makes organizing for these events much more difficult when you are unable to finalize plans due to a lack of venue.

Applying for a demonstration permit is usually a pretty good indication that a group does not intend for their action to be any rowdier than a parade (St. Patrick's Day doesn't count) making the participants less likely to be attacked and/or arrested.  These kinds of actions are a good choice for many people, who for various reasons, are unable or unwilling to be arrested, such as families with young children, people with health conditions, and people who would lose their jobs if such a thing occurred, to name a few.

Shortly after several other cities declined to host the G-20 and the gullible Boy Mayor accepted, State Senator Jim Ferlo applied for a permit to use Point State Park for what he referred to as:

...a large rally and cultural event involving national and international speakers and cultural figures around issues of the G-20, It would involve a broad spectrum of the community here, labor, faith-based organizations.

This permit was denied. Instead, the park will be used as a staging area for the armored personnel carriers, chemical weapons, riot armor, and of course the people who play with these kinds of toys, whose job is the same everywhere on earth: violently oppress the common people for the sake of the elite. Period. Whether it is Tehran, Beijing, Belfast, or Pittsburgh, the job description does not change.

Why are City employees, using City funds, to oppress and disrupt the lives of City residents, on behalf of a handful of finance ministers from other places?