If You're Attending These Actions...
https://twitter.com/freedomrideblog/status/1266556294732877824
"...Turn the Location off on your phone. Wear a mask...ALWAYS record the cops."
Police State
Sat, 2020-05-30 11:53
#402
Sat, 2020-05-30 17:04
#403
UPDATED: Protesters Demand Answers in Death of Regis Karchinski (and vid)
"Justice for Regis' chants echoed throughout the streets of downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon as thousands of protesters demanded answers in the death of 29 year old Regis Korchinski-Paquet, who fell from her apartment balcony in High Park while police were present. In a series of messages posted to Twitter on Saturday, the group Not Another Black Life, which organized the rally, said it is holding the event 'for Regis' and 'for every known and unknown black and indigenous life lost to police brutality and white supremacy..."
Sat, 2020-05-30 17:22
#404
UPDATED: Protesters Demand Answers in Death of Regis Karchinski (and vid)
"Justice for Regis' chants echoed throughout the streets of downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon as thousands of protesters demanded answers in the death of 29 year old Regis Korchinski-Paquet, who fell from her apartment balcony in High Park while police were present. In a series of messages posted to Twitter on Saturday, the group Not Another Black Life, which organized the rally, said it is holding the event 'for Regis' and 'for every known and unknown black and indigenous life lost to police brutality and white supremacy..."
This isn't fair to the responding officers. She had mental health issues, they were called in because people were afraid. It is possible the police did something wrong but it is also possible she jumped. We don't know what mental health issues she had. There is no evidence that they shot her or threw her off the balcony. There is no evidence this has anything at all to do with her race.
Sat, 2020-05-30 17:24
#405
Activists on Floyd Death (and vid)
https://twitter.com/RicWilson/status/1266494410063319041
"Arrest the cops. Charge all the cops. And don't talk to us about looting. Y'all are the looters..."
Sat, 2020-05-30 17:50
#406
'It's ANTIFA and the Radical Left!' Trump
'Russia Trying To Stoke US Racial Tensions Before Election, Officials Say': NYT
"When the South has trouble with its Negroes - when the Negroes refuse to remain in their place - it blames outside agitators and Northern interference. When the nation has trouble with the Northern Negroes, it blames the Kremlin." - James Baldwin -
Sat, 2020-05-30 19:07
#407
#torontoprotest
https://twitter.com/TinaYazdani/status/1266864165840453632
Stunning aerial views for today's protest downtown.
Sat, 2020-05-30 19:33
#408
It's Going Down...
George Floyd Protests Spread Nationwide
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-05-30-20/index.html
"Protests have erupted in at least 30 US cities...
Sat, 2020-05-30 20:12
#409
Events UPDATING
Sat, 2020-05-30 20:26
#410
#torontoprotest
https://twitter.com/TinaYazdani/status/1266864165840453632
Stunning aerial views for today's protest downtown.
..great turnout. this bodes well for the future. there's a lot peculating beneath the surface that we don't see. waiting to be ignited by some future event. imo.
Sat, 2020-05-30 21:07
#411
Soldiers Headed For White House
https://twitter.com/jonathanq_/status/1266894865645871105
Unicorn Riot
Sat, 2020-05-30 22:44
#412
"It's hard to remain peaceful when the NYPD is doing stuff like this..."
Sat, 2020-05-30 22:54
#413
Sun, 2020-05-31 00:45
#414
"These protests are not the product of George Soros' backing. They ain't what Putin wants. These protests are an uprising against a white supremacist, capitalist empire in decline. They are an expression of rage the vast majority of people rightfully feel with the system."
Sun, 2020-05-31 01:03
#415
"If you do one thing today, watch this clip of Cornel West on CNN (and vid)
https://twitter.com/twinkpersister/status/1266538391442731013
Sun, 2020-05-31 12:54
#416
Protesters Demand Justice For George Floyd
quote:
Speaker 2: A potential democratic vice presidential nominee, Amy Klobuchar has come under fire because while she released a statement, demanding Floyd’s killers be brought to justice, as chief prosecutor of Minneapolis, she failed to prosecute officers accused of wrongdoing. While she increased prosecutions overall, she didn’t go after cops, such as the ones I’m involved in Floyd’s killing that were previously accused of wrongdoing.
Lawrence Brown: Yeah, I mean, it ultimately speaks to, I think the hypocrisy in America. I think a lot of Democrats often will try to posture and position themselves as if they’re for justice, but ultimately often pass policies and enact practices that are just as harmful as the ones that Republicans enact and practice as well. And so I think that situation, it calls into to sharp relief the way in which many of the instances where we’ve seen police brutality, the prosecutors, the police, the mayors, they’re often Democrats. The governor during Mike Brown’s killing and the response to that was a Democrat. The mayors in Baltimore, Democrat. Mayors in Minneapolis, Democrat. And so I think sometimes there’s a belief that there’s just one party where the hypocrisy of American democracy is exposed, but it’s really both parties because white supremacy in America is just so baked into the political structure.
quote:
Jaisal Noor: So during this pandemic, we’ve seen growing calls to defund the police and defund social services, jobs, healthcare that people don’t have, people are dying for those reasons on a mass scale in this country. I was struck by this tweet by Josie Duffy Rice, president of The Appeal. She said, “Many people in America already exist in a world where police and prisons do not exist. Go to any middle to upper class suburb in America, cops aren’t wandering the streets. People aren’t being arrested, neighbors aren’t being sent to prison. And generally everyone is fine.” And I would add to that go to any white neighborhood in cities too, like right here in Baltimore, it’s the same dynamic here, although some of those neighborhoods have private police forces, it’s worth mentioning. Your response to that.
Lawrence Brown: Well, the reality is America is an apartheid state and urban areas are often areas where apartheid is endemic. Baltimore city created urban apartheid in 1910 when Baltimore Mayor John Barry Mahool passed the first residential racial zoning law in America in December of 1910. So Baltimore, I think, is a perfect example of where you have white communities that are privileged, that don’t experience hyper policing, that have tremendous benefits and capital influx. Well, you have a black butterfly, where black neighborhoods don’t matter, where black neighborhoods are hyper policed in a hyper segregated city. And so Baltimore apartheid is a part and parcel of American apartheid. And I think that is the root of why we are seeing everything from COVID-19 to hyper policing, disproportionately impact and devastate black communities and until America confronts this apartheid construct, then we’re going to continue to see global pandemics, police brutality have devastating impacts in black neighborhoods impacting black people.
quote:
Lawrence Brown: I mean, you’re absolutely right. One of the biggest issues in Baltimore is the fact that it also has an apartheid budget. And what that means is that you have a city that spends more on policing than it does on health, housing, arts, parks, workforce development, and civil rights combined. And there’s no way that a city is going to actually practice and fulfill the promise of racial equity when you have an apartheid budget in place. And so we’ve seen that from Martin O’Malley as mayor to Sheila Dixon, to Catherine Pugh, to Jack Young and I think that’s the reality. And now you have a global pandemic on top of all of this. Now you need a well-funded health department with community health workers, with folks that are able to help stop the rising tide of COVID-19 in Baltimore, which is accelerating as a pandemic within the city.
You can’t do that when your whole budget or a large chunk of it is invested in the Baltimore Police Department. So what we’re seeing in cities like Baltimore and cities like Minneapolis and Milwaukee, these hyper segregated cities in the case of Milwaukee and Baltimore, Minneapolis is only a category two hyper segregated city, but yet and still segregation can be so devastating that statistically sometimes it doesn’t capture the perniciousness of the way in which communities are under resourced and hyper policed. So I think that’s the issue Baltimore is, should look at, can Baltimore dismantle its own apartheid to create a city where racial equity is a reality.
Sun, 2020-05-31 13:05
#417
..no transcript for this real news report. on the plus side it's a real conversation. conway at one point comments that every 12 min a black person in america is killed by the police.
Stir Crazy! Episode #43: We Can’t Breathe
On today’s show: Sociologist Taure Brown, Rattling the Bars host Eddie Conway, political consultant Adriel Hampton, and activist and recording artist Eze Jackson. Hosted by Kim Brown. If you have comments or suggestions for the show reach out to us at [email protected]
Sun, 2020-05-31 14:08
#418
Trump Says the US Will Designate Antifa as a Terrorist Organization
"...Antifa, short for anti-fascists, describes a broad group of people whose political beliefs lean towards the left - often the far left - but do not conform with the Democratic Party platform..."
"US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien says 'I don't think there's systemic racism in America's police forces..."
"Other Democrat run Cities and States should look at the total shutdown of Radical Left Anarchists in Minneapolis last night. The National Guard did a great job, and should be used in other States before it is too late!"
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1267126801186394118
Sun, 2020-05-31 14:14
#419
UPDATED: Protesters Demand Answers in Death of Regis Karchinski (and vid)
"Justice for Regis' chants echoed throughout the streets of downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon as thousands of protesters demanded answers in the death of 29 year old Regis Korchinski-Paquet, who fell from her apartment balcony in High Park while police were present. In a series of messages posted to Twitter on Saturday, the group Not Another Black Life, which organized the rally, said it is holding the event 'for Regis' and 'for every known and unknown black and indigenous life lost to police brutality and white supremacy..."
This isn't fair to the responding officers. She had mental health issues, they were called in because people were afraid. It is possible the police did something wrong but it is also possible she jumped. We don't know what mental health issues she had. There is no evidence that they shot her or threw her off the balcony. There is no evidence this has anything at all to do with her race.
A friend of mine is involved in the SIU investigation but is not a cop. According to what he knows, he heard the 911 calls and also the reports she jumped when alone as it happened from outside witnesses who saw it
Sun, 2020-05-31 14:31
#420
"NBC - MSNBC's legal analyst blaming nationwide protests on - you'll never guess - RUSSIA..."
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1266910461775286277
Join the long list of 'outside agitator' culprits. Not American racism. But given this comes from the NYT - perhaps yet another alarming indication that the Dem wing of the duopoly warparty may try to flog their dead-as-a-doornail Russiagate horse back to life and hence double-down lose what should be a shoe-in presidential contest against a discredited, corrupt ex game-show host one again. Of course this will all be the fault of Putin, Xi, both etc. Carry on America...
Sun, 2020-05-31 14:39
#421
"NYT Reporters breathe easily preparing the Russia-did-it lie before the Minneapolis police murder..."
Sun, 2020-05-31 17:17
#422
Of course this will all be the fault of Putin, Xi, both etc. Carry on America...
You forgot Bernie Sanders and his pinko followers.
Sun, 2020-05-31 17:26
#423
NYT: 'Russia is Said To Be Interfering To Aid Sanders in Democratic Primaries'
So they say...
Sun, 2020-05-31 18:03
#424
FBI Ranks 'Black Identity Extremists' Bigger Threat Than Al Qaeda, White Supremacists: Leaked Documents
https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1267206853093548033
"After the Ferguson Rebellion, a new threat was designated of 'Black Identity Extremists', and was presented as a bigger threat than white nationalist or Islamic terrorist groups..."
Sun, 2020-05-31 18:55
#425
Mother of Three From Minneapolis (and vid)
https://twitter.com/BTnewsroom/status/1266918752748277761
"We've been quiet for too long. I mean this from my heart: TEAR IT DOWN!"
(Crazed by the Kremlin no doubt.)
Sun, 2020-05-31 19:27
#426
US Cities Prepare for More Destruction as Heated Protests Continue Across Several Cities
https://twitter.com/i/events/1265874933432737792
Black Visions Collective
https://twitter.com/BlackVisionsMN/status/1267231746254233600
Anonymous News
Sun, 2020-05-31 19:31
#427
Sun, 2020-05-31 19:39
#428
Day 6: Unicorn Riot LIVE Cam of George Floyd Protests in Minneapolis/St Paul
Sun, 2020-05-31 19:56
#429
"In case you're wondering what Martial Law looks like...'
https://twitter.com/BlaxSenateNews/status/1267094831278493698
"Mirrored t-shirt with 'killer' printed on it. Dude, you're great. The most beautiful message I have ever seen."
Sun, 2020-05-31 20:31
#430
WOW. Outside the White House (and vid)
https://twitter.com/juliaboccagno/status/1267187743035133955
"It appears there could be as many as 2,000 peaceful protesters occupy the street near Lafayette Park right now..."
Sun, 2020-05-31 20:45
#431
"Here we go again. Fake news CNN is blaming Russia, Russia, Russia. They are sick losers with VERY bad ratings! PS Can't blame China because they need the cash?"
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1266777430016102403
US Duopoly politrix: Dems: Russia Russia Russia vs Repugs: China China China?
"The system creaed Trump, he didn't create the system. Impunity is what allows racists to police us and criminals to govern us. When justice fails and human dignity is infringed upon, the only language they understand is revolt." - Antifa -
What is Violence?
https://twitter.com/submedia/status/1266455273989967876
What is Property?
Sun, 2020-05-31 20:56
#432
"what struck me most about those who rioted was how long they waited. the restraint they showed, not the spontaneity, the restraint. they waited and waited for justice, and it didn't come." - Tony Morrison -
Sun, 2020-05-31 23:58
#433
Mon, 2020-06-01 00:25
#434
Genesee County (Michigan) Sheriff's Department stands down, joins protest:
When Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, his deputies, and local officers were confronted by community members who marched on the Flint Township police station, witnesses described how Swanson told the crowd he wanted their pleas to be heard and that the police wanted to be in service of their demands and the protest itself.
After communicating with protest leaders and others, Swanson put down his riot gear and told the crowd he and other officers would join with them.
"We wanna be with y'all. I took my helmet off, laid the batons down," said Swanson as the crowd cheered him on and offered high-fives. "I want to make this a parade, not a protest."
What transpired was documented in a powerful photo essay by Leni Kei Williams, a local photographer, who posted the experience to Facebook.
"We weren't sure what to expect. With everything we have been seeing on the news, it wasn't clear what would happen but as we were walking, it was beautiful to see people of every race, age, demographic come together and unite," Williams wrote. "When we reached the police station, the officers were lined up and everyone immediately took a knee. The Sheriff asked one question... 'We are mad too! What can we do?' and the crowd responded, 'Join us.'"
The march, with cops and civilians walking side by side, was captured on video
Mon, 2020-06-01 12:12
#435
In a powerful address among people in Minneapolis protesting the police murder of George Floyd, activist and former Women’s March co-chair Tamika Mallory demanded, “Charge the cops. … Charge them in every city across America where our people are being murdered.”
quote:
TAMIKA MALLORY: We are not responsible for the mental illness that has been inflicted upon our people by the American government, institutions and those people who are in positions of power. I don’t give a damn if they burn down Target, because Target should be on the streets with us calling for the justice that our people deserve. Where was AutoZone at the time when Philando Castile was shot in a car, which is what they actually represent? Where were they?
So, if you are not coming to the people’s defense, then don’t challenge us when young people and other people who are frustrated and instigated by the people you pay — you are paying instigators to be among our people out there, throwing rocks, breaking windows and burning down buildings. And so young people are responding to that. They are enraged.
And there’s an easy way to stop it: Arrest the cops. Charge the cops. Charge all the cops, not just some of them, not just here in Minneapolis. Charge them in every city across America where our people are being murdered. Charge them everywhere. That’s the bottom line. Charge the cops. Do your job. Do what you say this country is supposed to be about — the land of the free for all. It has not been free for Black people, and we are tired.
Don’t talk to us about looting. Y’all are the looters. America has looted Black people. America looted the Native Americans when they first came here, so looting is what you do. We learned it from you. We learned violence from you. We learned violence from you. The violence was what we learned from you. So if you want us to do better, then, damn it, you do better.
Mon, 2020-06-01 13:20
#436
Minneapolis Police Chief: Floyd's Death A 'Violation of Humanity' (and vid)
https://twitter.com/CuomoPrimeTime/status/1267293983975395328
"All four officers involved in the death of George Floyd were 'complicit' including the three who haven't been arrested, says Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradono, responding to a question asked by Sara Sidner, CNN, on behalf of Floyd's brother.."
An Agitated Trump Encourages Governors to Use Aggressive Tactics on Protesters
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/politics/donald-trump-race-police/index.html
"You have to dominate or you'll look like a bunch of jerks..."
A little more knee on the neck perhaps?
Mon, 2020-06-01 13:34
#437
Mon, 2020-06-01 13:36
#438
'Blacks' Discontent A Communist Conspiracy to Destroy America'
https://twitter.com/MarkAmesExiled/status/1267279398383820802
"And today Susan Rice told CNN that the BLM protests are a Kremlin conspiracy to subvert America. We've come a long way baby!"
And if that is the Dem political line Canucklehead 'progressive' Russophobes will lap it up too because never let a little reality stand in the way of your paranoia.
Mon, 2020-06-01 14:27
#439
Defund Police: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Says Budgets Wrongly Prioritize Cops Over Schools, Hospitals
quote:
KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA TAYLOR: Yeah, there’s so many things to say about this. I think, I mean, one thing that becomes so apparent with the cops on the street, one, you understand — I mean, for most of America, you get a glimpse of why people are so angry. I mean, look at the kind of wanton, reckless abuse and violence that the police are instigating, and attacking people who are trying to protest. I feel like what we’ve seen over the weekend is a national police riot. And, you know, it’s no wonder. They feel emboldened by the white nationalism of the president of the United States and, really, the lawlessness of the Republican Party writ large. And so, it feels like we’re bearing the consequences of that.
But I think that there is a bigger issue about the cops that is also worth talking about, which is, why these police are never arrested, prosecuted, punished, really, even beyond just arresting and prosecuting people, but just punishing them as public servants for their kind of racist, abusive and violent behavior. And I think that, you know, regardless of what these elected officials have to say, I think that we’re actually going to see a lot more of this, which is why the conflicts will continue.
And the reason why I say that is because it has been a strategy of cities across this country that have committed themselves to not investing in the civic and public sector infrastructure — so, public schools, public hospitals, public libraries — all of the things that make a city function. Those have been systematically defunded, increasingly privatized. And the way that cities manage the inevitable crises that arise from that, when combined with unemployment, when combined with poverty, when combined with evictions and all of the insecurities that we see wracking cities across this country, the police are used to manage that crisis. And that is why, in city after city, as other public institutions take financial hits, as other public institutions are defunded, it’s the police that always get to maintain their budgets. And we look around now, where, because of the COVID crisis, every city is talking about massive budget cuts, but not to the police. The police almost never have to incur layoffs. They never have to incur budget cuts, because they are seen as the public policy of last resort.
And so, this is — when we talk about defunding the police, it is that the police should not be absorbing a third of the budget, as they do in cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, while we’re closing public schools, while public hospitals don’t have the proper personal protective equipment. Look at the way that police are — the gear and the equipment that they have, compared to hospital workers dressing themselves in garbage bags, being forced to use the same N95 masks for weeks at a time. Look at the contrast between that, and then you understand what the actual priorities of the governing politicians and bodies are.
Which is why — and this is the last thing I’ll say — the hypocrisy of someone like Andrew Cuomo or Bill de Blasio or any of these politicians coming on television, on their press conference, wringing their hands about the police, talking about these issues as if they are passive bystanders or just concerned citizens, and not elected officials who have power, who have authority, who have the ability to punish the police, who have the ability to make budgetary priorities, who have the ability to shift resources in one direction or another, but they sit back and act as if they are just watching the train wreck in slow motion, and not that they are actually in control of the gears. And this is part of the hypocrisy that is making people so angry, is that we have these people, elected officials, getting on television, talking about how terrible this is, Andrew Cuomo saying, “Say her name.” Andrew Cuomo, do your job. And I think that this is part of what is forcing people to feel that they have no other choice, no other response, than to rebel, because the levers and mechanisms of government that are supposed to attend to these issues have shown themselves to be completely broken.
Mon, 2020-06-01 17:46
#440
"In today's public address on COVID-19, [Ex-Blackfacer] Justin Trudeau addressed the US protests and talked about Black Racism in Canada, systemic discrimination and injustice, but never explicitly mentioned the Canadian genocide, racism and colonialism towards Indigenous Nations..."
Mon, 2020-06-01 21:12
#441
Nationwide Protests Continue Over Police Murder as State Violence Continues (and vid)
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/01/poli-j01.html
"...Overwhelmingly, the protests have been met with police provocations followed by brutal state violence..."
Mon, 2020-06-01 22:10
#442
laine lowe
Tamika Mallory said "America has looted Black people." I believe Trevor Noah also repeated these words on an Instagram posting.
Desmond Cole gave an excellent interview on this morning's "The Current":
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/police-brutality-continually-treated...
Mon, 2020-06-01 23:00
#443
Tamika Mallory said "America has looted Black people." I believe Trevor Noah also repeated these words on an Instagram posting.
Desmond Cole gave an excellent interview on this morning's "The Current":
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/police-brutality-continually-treated...
I happened to catch that interview and it was great. He picked up on many points in this FB post I saw the other day. I think the CBC must have read it as well.
The CBC needs more Black producers.
I was tapped yesterday to appear on The Current this morning to discuss "George Floyd and Amy Cooper."
When I asked if we would also be talking about Regis Korchinski-Paquet, I was told:
"I checked with the team, and while we want to look at the issue as a whole we do want to focus on George Lloyd and Amy Cooper. It's an 8 min slot so if we start to get into all the other elements of the conversation (Regis, Breonna), we would run out of time."
In my pre-interview, the producer went on to say that the focus of the piece was "American racism" and that there wouldn't be time to talk about "Canadian issues," though she had heard about it and thought "of course" it was important.
I reminded her that Amy Cooper is Canadian, and told her to go ahead with the pre-interview questions so I could show her that I am quite skilled at ensuring that a local issue relevant to the CBC's audience could be raised within the time constraint (note: the producer didn't know who I was or why I had been suggested for the piece).
We did the pre-interview and everything was going well until the final question.
She asked me, "what's next? Where do you think we go next?"
I focused my answer on defunding the police. I made an argument about how the police budget in Toronto is outrageous, and that especially in this time of pandemic, it did not make sense that a reduction in police funding was not a priority discussion. I spoke about how the police budget "eats up 24 per cent of every homeowner’s property taxes (by comparison, the TTC constitutes 15 per cent). Policing costs the taxpayer more than firefighters, paramedics, libraries and public housing combined." (https://torontolife.com/…/toronto-police-service-vs-everybo…)
I also spoke about the need to develop an alternative, non-police, front-line service for emergency mental health support, and a refusal to engage in anti-Black PR exercises (like the $25 million Trudeau allocated to Black communities in 2017's budget that has yet to be spent.
Basically the same shit we've been saying since 2016 because we're stuck in a cruel and maddening time loop.
Anyway at some point the producer interrupted me and said, "excuse me? I'm sorry, did you just say *defund* the police? I just wanna make sure I heard you properly"(sounding incredulous).
I said yes and continued with my response. She then said (and no Current or CBC producer has *ever* said this to me), "okay, well, just so you know we have a bunch of people chasing this story so I don't know if we'll be able to confirm.....um...I'll circle back if we can have you on."
I was not on The Current this morning. I didn't listen, and don't know who was, but I do know this:
This is the way that Canadian media consistently refuses to engage with Canadian anti-Blackness. This is how white supremacy operates in Canadian media. This is how misogynoir operates in Canadian media.
And this is how journalists are complicit in the impacts of anti-Blackness. If I had said to the question "what's next?" some shit like "we hold hands and sing kumbaya and understand one another" I think I'd have been on the air this morning. But a cogent argument about a concrete thing that could and should be done? Too much for the CBC. Well, that's how anti-Blackness works in the media. Keep searching until you find the appropriate, acceptable, not too upsetting Black person so you can say you did your duty.
Sick and tired of the CBC's bullshit.
Tue, 2020-06-02 00:35
#444
That's an interesting story, but I have to say that I can't imagine that a white criminal justice reformer who called for defunding the police would be allowed to say so on the CBC either.
Tue, 2020-06-02 01:19
#445
Tue, 2020-06-02 10:14
#446
"If you do one thing today, watch this clip of Cornel West on CNN (and vid)
https://twitter.com/twinkpersister/status/1266538391442731013
Very powerful speaker. He cuts through all the rhetoric.
In this thread there are both terrible and heartening stories but I am afraid of what is to come. Covid-19 is not taking a break for justice or injustice. I hope that the mask wearing will help but I fear that it will help very little. Chanting and screaming will spread the virus as well as singing does. Mass incarcerations will threaten those arrested and those who confine them.
Tue, 2020-06-02 11:01
#447
“A Declaration of War Against Americans”: Trump Threatens to Deploy Military to Quell Protests
quote:
KRISTEN CLARKE: Well, there’s weaponization of tools at his disposal at every turn. And his use of social media, President Trump’s use of social media, is perhaps the best example of how he has weaponized this platform to incite violence and to escalate tensions across our country. I do indeed see parallels.
You know, I just want to make sure that I underscore, though, that we can’t lose sight. We can’t lose sight of what’s at the heart of these demonstrations and protests. And it is the public crying out for desperately needed reform of the way policing is carried out in our country.
And we have a roadmap for this. We have studied this issue time and time again. And at my organization, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, we are pushing Congress, we are urging states right now, to work on things like bans on chokeholds, bans on racial profiling. We need Congress to revise a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. 242, which would make it easier to hold police officers accountable when they use deadly force against unarmed individuals. We need a database so that we can track bad cops who were purged from one police department, so that they don’t jump right over to the next.
Racism infects every stage of our criminal justice system in the United States, and now is the time that we confront this crisis head on. And we need not be distracted by President Trump’s invocations of executive orders, dangling of threats of prosecuting people and throwing the book at them, invoking, if not literally, figuratively, the Insurrection Act of 1807. In my view, many of these actions by President Trump are intended to derail the underlying objective and goals of demonstrations and protests, which have been very intentional and clear in their focus.
Tue, 2020-06-02 12:17
#448
Autopsy Reports Showing George Floyd’s Death Was a Homicide Underscore Corruption & Police Impunity
quote:
NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG: Recently, it was announced that Congressman — former Congressman Keith Ellison, now Minnesota attorney general, is going to take over the case. And, I mean, for many of us, we are glad that the case will no longer be in the hands of Mike Freeman. However, when Keith Ellison said that he would be taking over the case, he claimed that he would be working collaboratively with Mike Freeman’s office. So that has raised our antenna, as activists as well as attorneys who care about social justice, because we know that Mike Freeman has routinely failed to hold police officers accountable who kill civilians. And so, we’re saying Mike Freeman should have no role in this case whatsoever.
Even if you look at the original charging decision, he has charged Chauvin, who is the main cop who has been arrested and the one seen in the video with his knee on George Floyd’s neck — he’s charged him with third-degree murder, which is similar to someone randomly shooting into a crowd, not having a specific person that they’re targeting, and that person dying. Minnesota case law has shown that you can’t sustain a third-degree murder conviction in a situation like the one at hand, where George Floyd is the victim, he was the intended target, and he died as a result of the police officers’ conduct. So, even the charging decision by the Hennepin County attorney is really setting this case up to be dismissed for lack of probable cause or, ultimately, for the case to result in officer Chauvin, or former officer Chauvin, being exonerated, which we find to be unacceptable.
quote:
NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG: Absolutely. It’s a no-brainer. I mean, we’ve had medical professionals from around the country weighing in on social media, raising concerns about what happened and calling what occurred to George Floyd murder. This is why we have been demanding that all four officers be charged now by Keith Ellison, because, again, we want the case completely taken out of the hands of the Hennepin County attorney.
But beyond that, I need to talk a little bit about our concerns regarding Keith Ellison. We do not feel that Keith Ellison will be impartial enough to directly oversee prosecution in this case. So what we are calling for is the appointment of a completely independent special prosecutor to oversee this case, preferably someone from outside the state of Minnesota, with a strong national reputation, a person who’s credible, a person who is known for being fair and just —
Tue, 2020-06-02 12:22
#449
Black Lives Matter Co-Founder: Protests Are the Result of “Police Terror with No Accountability”
quote:
AMY GOODMAN: How do you respond, Patrisse, to police officers showing solidarity with the protesters? On Monday, you have one of New York City’s top officers, Terence Monahan, taking a knee, hugging a protester during a rally in Washington Square Park. In Flint, Michigan, the Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson marched with protesters on Saturday. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Police Chief Andrew Smith condemned the killing of George Floyd and walked with protesters. And we’re seeing this amidst the tear-gassing, amidst the shooting, amidst the pepper-spraying and the massive number of thousands of arrests. Your comments?
PATRISSE CULLORS: It’s like a really frightening abusive relationship. It’s when you’re in an abusive relationship, and the partner is gaslighting you and telling you that “Everything that you’re feeling is not true, and look what I’m doing for you.” It’s not acceptable behavior, honestly. You’re either going to be in solidarity with the community and stop brutalizing us, or you’re going to continue to do what you’ve been doing and business as usual. But there’s no half-stepping.
Taking a knee, marching with protesters, that doesn’t actually change the structure, doesn’t change our system that we live in, which is a system that continues to violate the rights of Black people, continues to kill Black people, hunt Black people and traumatize Black people. That’s what law enforcement has done for years. And these new acts of solidarity are — they don’t sit well with many of us.
Tue, 2020-06-02 12:50
#450
Montreal protesters galvanized by U.S. riots
In a grainy cellphone video, you can see four Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) officers standing around a man. There’s yelling. You can hear a Taser and the sound of gunshots. The officers move toward the man in the red sweatshirt and one hits him twice with a baton.
The man, 58-year-old Pierre Coriolon, was having a mental health crisis when officers killed him. The incident happened on June 27, 2017, and was another in a string of deadly encounters between Black men and police: in 2016, Montreal police killed Bony Jean-Pierre in Montreal-North and in 2018, Montreal police killed Nicholas Gibbs, a 23-year-old father of three young children.
On March 12, 2020, Montreal police responded to a domestic violence call in the Hochelaga neighbourhood and shot and killed a 54-year-old man. His name and other identifying information has not been released.
Activists have been organizing around police brutality in Montreal for years, so when rallies were called across Canada to protest police brutality and anti-Black racism, it wasn’t a surprise that Montreal’s was the largest and loudest.
Organizers say that between 10,000 and 15,000 people took to the streets on Sunday, calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality.
Spurred by U.S. protests
Rally co-organizer Vincent Mousseau said that there was a moment created by the protests held across the U.S. demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others who have died at the hands of police.
“A lot of people are galvanized and politicized through what happens in the U.S. … I’ve noticed that Quebec society is more connected to the United States than they are to what happens in English Canada … But for us as organizers, we thought it was integral to talk about what’s happening in Canada,” they said.
The Montreal organizers ensured that their rally responded to local incidents of police violence, and not just where an incident was captured on camera. Mousseau said that it was important for Nakuset, the executive director of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal, to start the event by highlighting the May 7 arrest of a Cree woman who was having a mental health crisis. Police arrived with a K-9 unit to respond and witnesses told APTN that they counted 17 police officers present for the arrest.
Mousseau, an anti-racist and anti-oppressive social worker said that the organizers were surprised by how big the turnout was. They tried to have enough masks and hand sanitizer to diminish the spread of COVID-19, but said that the numbers outpaced any rally against police racism and brutality they had ever seen in Montreal.
After three hours, the Montreal police declared the rally illegal. Police sprayed the protesters who remained with pepper spray and rubber bullets, and some people smashed storefront windows. Videos taken from the clash show protesters running away from tear gas.
Montreal police’s reputation for racial profiling is well-known, and the rally gave thousands of people a moment to express their frustration and desire for change.
A 2019 report into racial profiling and the Montreal police showed that while crime had been relatively stable from 2014 to 2017, police interventions rose by 143 per cent. But that increase wasn’t experienced evenly — Arabs, especially Arab youth, Black people and Indigenous people were far more likely to be stopped by Montreal police than were white people. For example, the report found that Indigenous women are 11 times more likely than white women to be stopped by police.....
Tue, 2020-06-02 12:54
#451
re: Pondering #446
Yes, I have seen various public health professionals voice similar concerns with recommendations that protest participants wear masks and have themselves checked and tested after.