The Kennedys have been everywhere throughout the Democratic convention so it should be no surprise that one of the biggest cheers on a long day of street protests in Los Angeles should be for Jello Biafra, the singer and writer who rose to fame with the 1980s hardcore punk band, Dead Kennedys.

Addressing the crowd in Pershing Square, surrounded by hundreds of police, Biafra told demonstrators that "corporate power is the new Vietnam".

The gathering came at the end of a day of arrests and marches and the firing of rubber bullets on a crowd outside the centre where the convention is being held.

The police declared unlawful assemblies for the second time this week to disperse protesters who had gathered on the issues of police brutality and the death penalty.

So far 192 people have been arrested, 59 for felonies and 133 for misdemeanors.

"Do you want to be part of history or do you want to watch it on television?" asked Biafra who is in dispute with former members of his group because he refused to allow Levis to use a Dead Kennedys song for a commercial.

"Above all, don't give up, don't turn into yuppies like the last generation!" He urged people to vote for the Green party candidate, Ralph Nader.

The day started with 30 people being arrested outside Rampart police station, which is at the centre of a corruption scandal involving officers dealing in and planting drugs, shooting unarmed gang members and fabricating evidence.

A larger march of around 4,000 people then rallied outside the LAPD's headquarters to protest about people killed by police.

A lorry with the names of 2,000 who had been killed throughout the US was at the centre of a march which nearly boiled over after a masked anarchist set fire to the American flag.

Contributor

Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles

The GuardianTramp

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