Daily Archives: August 27, 2020

2020-08-27: News Headlines

Staff (2020-08-27). "On a Hunting Spree": Wisc. Rep. David Bowen Says Cops Turned Blind Eye to White Militias in Kenosha. democracynow.org The police shooting of Jacob Blake has sparked massive protests across the country and in Kenosha, where a white teenager opened fire on Black Lives Matter protesters and killed two people. Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old self-declared militia member and avid Trump supporter, was apprehended in Antioch, Illinois, after fleeing Wisconsin. He has been charged with murder. Wisconsin state Representative David Bowen, who has attended racial justice protests in Kenosha, says he "witnessed firsthand" how freely organized white supremacists targeted protesters without interference from law enforcement, and accuses pol…

Staff (2020-08-27). Law and Order? VP Mike Pence Ignores Police Violence & Stokes Division on Third Night of RNC. democracynow.org Vice President Mike Pence headlined the third night of the Republican National Convention, focusing largely on preserving law and order and attacking Joe Biden. We play excerpts of the comments made by Pence, who made no mention of police brutality or the recent police shootings that have sparked protests across the U.S. Pence also failed to mention the white gunman accused of killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-08-27). Trump's message to white supremacists: It's OK to gun down protesters. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—One of Donald Trump's "very fine people," Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old who news reports said "admires the police," was arrested August 26 for gunning down three peaceful protesters against racial repression and police violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin. One of his victims is in the hospital. The other two—one shot point-blank in the head, video shows—are …

W. T. Whitney, Jr. (2020-08-27). Under capitalism Black Lives are adrift and vulnerable. mronline.org Post-Civil War arrangements by which the victorious North settled with the defeated slavocracy ensured that many Black people would not matter much and that some would die. A thousand or so were murdered in the South in 1866, reports W.E. B Du Bois.

Al Neal (2020-08-27). Pro athletes stage historic strike for Black lives. peoplesworld.org There are moments when unexpected action transcends the political bullshit, drowning out the white noise of ignorance, apathy, and prejudice. Often, these moments follow tragedy. Crimes against humanity so awful, that it is impossible to look away unless you condone such action under the guise of "law and order." And when such racist ignorance is …

Ernesto Longa, David Correia, and Matias Fontenla (2020-08-27). What Good are Police on Patrol? An Analysis of Traffic Enforcement in Albuquerque. counterpunch.org Nearly every criminologist says it. The police traffic stop is the most common way people come into contact with cops. In 2018, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) made 44,132 traffic stops, an increase of 35 percent over the previous year. Nationwide, police make nearly 20,000,000 police stops each year. According to the authors of Pulled Over: How Police Stops Define Race and Citizenship, "Nationally, 12 percent of drivers are stopped per year by the police. Among racial minorities the rate is considerably higher: 24 percent by some estimates." The Bureau of Justice Statistics notes that Black and Hispanic…

Staff (2020-08-27). For some, homes and neighborhoods are now digital prisons. therealnews.com Authors Maya Schenwar and Vikki Law argue that many alternatives to incarceration follow the same model of oppression as physical prisons.

RT (2020-08-27). 'Clear case of self-defense': Pundits argue video evidence exonerates 17-year-old charged with Kenosha killings. rt.com Numerous commentators claim that all available evidence shows that Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defense when he opened fire on protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The teen is accused of killing two protesters. | Rittenhouse, 17, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder over the shooting of three demonstrators — two of whome died — during riots in the city on Tuesday night. | Although painted as a bloodthirsty white supremacist by some journalists and activists, multiple observers have made the case that Rittenhouse had good intentions and pulled the trigger as a last resort. | Read more…

The Canary (2020-08-27). Teenager arrested after two shot dead during Black Lives Matter protests. thecanary.co A white 17-year-old police admirer has been arrested over the killing of two people gunned down during a third night of protests in Wisconsin over the police shooting of Black man Jacob Blake.Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, was taken into custody on suspicion of first-degree intentional homicide. Antioch is about 15 miles from Kenosha where protests have been taking place.Two people were shot dead on Tuesday night in the attack carried out by a young white man who was caught on mobile phone video opening fire in the middle of the street with a semi-automatic rifle.Police officers in riot gear line up agai…

Stephen Lendman (2020-08-27). NBA Players Respond to Police Shootings of Jacob Blake and Other Black Youths. globalresearch.ca Police in America kill over 1,000 victims annually, mostly Black and Latino youths. | Incidents without just cause happen with disturbing regularity nationwide in urban and rural communities. | US inner city minority communities are virtual war zones. Most often, cops act …

Every Protest Needs a Dance (2020-08-27). Leap of Peace, Day of Mourning near Golden Gate Bridge. indybay.org Mourning two pandemics, COVID and racism, and calling out police for brutality…but first, the dance of peace.

sputniknews (2020-08-27). Riots Reignite in Minneapolis Amid Fake Rumours of African American Being Shot by Police. sputniknews.com A new wave of looting came as the city is struggling to recover from riots that began at the end of May over the death of African American George Floyd in police custody. The US has been rocked by a series of protests, sometimes violent, since then with the most recent engulfing the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Staff (2020-08-26). Headlines for August 26, 2020. democracynow.org Two Killed as White Militia Member Fires on Black Lives Matter Protesters in Kenosha, WI, Family of Jacob Blake Demands Arrest of Officers Who Shot Him in the Back, Black Lives Matter Protesters Shot At While Marching in Pennsylvania, Republican National Convention Speakers Continue to Flout Hatch Act Ethics Laws, CDC Quietly Drops Test Recommendation for Asymptomatic People Exposed to COVID-19, Far-Right Militia Leader Ammon Bundy Arrested at Idaho State Capitol, Argentina Posts Record Coronavirus Toll; COVID-19 Resurgent in Europe, Hurricane Laura Could Become Category 4 Storm Ahead of Gulf Coast Landfall, Leba…

Staff (2020-08-26). Two Shot Dead in Kenosha as Armed Militias Confront BLM Protests over Police Shooting of Jacob Blake. democracynow.org Protests continue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where police shot an unarmed Black man in the back seven times as he was getting into his car, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Jacob Blake was reportedly breaking up a fight before police shot him, and the shooting was witnessed by his three young children. On Tuesday, the situation escalated further when at least one white gunman opened fire on a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters. Two people were killed, and a third was injured, as police continued a violent crackdown on protesters demanding justice for Blake. We speak with Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Ma…

RT (2020-08-26). Fire officers, arrest shooter, don't trust 'anybody that's white': Jacob Blake's family makes demands in emotional presser. rt.com Jacob Blake's shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin is part of a pattern of racial oppression of African-Americans and the police involved need to be punished, his family told reporters after two days of violent protests in the city. | "I don't have confidence in anybody that is white that is doing an investigation about a black young man that was shot seven times in his back," Blake's father, Jacob Blake Senior, said on Tuesday afternoon. | His remarks came moments after Benjamin Crump — an attorney representing the family, who has been involved in other Black Lives Matter cases — argued that "we can't hav…

RT (2020-08-26). 17-year-old arrested and charged after 2 killed during riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin. rt.com An Illinois teen has been charged with first-degree murder over the shooting of three protesters — two fatal — amid the ongoing riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Alleged militia member Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested in his home state. | Rittenhouse was accused of fleeing Wisconsin "with intent to avoid prosecution" for the shooting. A public defender has been assigned to Rittenhouse's case. | Rittenhouse is described as a "fugitive from justice" in public court documents obtained by the Daily Dot. | While two people were fatally shot during the third night of violent rioting in Kenosha, a third victim wa…

RT (2020-08-26). 'Boogaloo white supremacist' or upstanding citizen? What we know about the alleged Kenosha shooter. rt.com Two fatal shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin are being blamed on a "white supremacist" member of the "boogaloo boys" who was "looking for trouble." Amid the smoke and rubble of Kenosha, the truth is unclear. | Black Lives Matter rioters took to the streets of Kenosha again on Tuesday night, for the third night of looting and arson since police shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake, a black man, on Sunday. This time, the rioters were met by armed citizens who took to the streets and rooftops to defend their property. | With the situation tense, it wasn't long before violence broke out. Video footage shared on social medi…

RT (2020-08-26). Progressive Twitter icon Shaun King threatens to DOX Kenosha cops after openly supporting violent riots. rt.com Prominent social activist Shaun King has threatened to indiscriminately publish the names of police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin if the city refuses to identify the cop who shot a black man, Jacob Blake. | Twitter users expressed disgust and reported King for harassment after the prominent Black Lives Matter advocate said he would begin targeting members of the Kenosha police force, regardless of whether they were involved in Sunday's shooting. | "If you do not name the officer who brutally shot Jacob Blake on Sunday, we will simply begin naming officers from your department who may or may not be him," King…

Manuela Solé (2020-08-26). Venezuelan Special Forces Agents Arrested for Extrajudicial Killings. venezuelanalysis.com Popular movements protested the assassination of two young journalists from a community TV station last Friday.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-26). White supremacist who killed two protesters in Kenosha arrested nearly 12 hours later. peoplesdispatch.org 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse who fatally shot two protesters in Kenosha and left the scene even as the police was arriving was arrested in the neighboring State of Illinois…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-26). Cambodian civil society calls for release of trade union leader. peoplesdispatch.org Rong Chhun was arrested earlier this month for allegedly inciting international tensions by taking up the matter of loss of land of farmers in the border regions after 2012 demarcation…

_____ (2020-08-26). Overfunding The Military Drives Climate Crisis And White Supremacist Culture. popularresistance.org As the U.S. now approaches the third month since protests erupted following the police murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless Black Americans calls to defund and abolish the police are resonating throughout public consciousness. While the Black Lives Matter movement rightfully pushes for the defunding and abolition of a white supremacist institution, it must be recognized that another institution — U.S. militarism — is also an overfunded structure responsible for violence, oppression, and white supremacy.

_____ (2020-08-26). Doctors Decry 'Less Lethal' Police Munitions. popularresistance.org A group of doctors from the Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, Austin penned a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine to warn of the dangers of police's less-lethal munitions used to subdue Black Lives Matter protesters after treating several patients with severe injuries. | The Associated Press (AP) reports that 12 doctors from Dell Seton said Austin police used bean bag rounds in place of actual bullets to control the protests, but the bean bags still resulted in injuries like bleeding in the brain and a skull fracture.

_____ (2020-08-26). Common Ground Collective Teaches Us About Surviving Crisis Together. popularresistance.org It started in Malik Rahim's kitchen, as the waters from the broken levees continued to flow through New Orleans' lower 9th Ward. A small group of activists from the city and Austin, Texas, including former Black Panthers, began scratching down notes and trying to figure out exactly what they could do to provide support to the neighborhoods obliterated by Hurricane Katrina. | This was in 2005, just days after the storm had battered the city and demolished the levees, overwhelming the surrounding blocks with a toxic water sludge.

sputniknews (2020-08-26). Photo: US Cops Confess to Vandalizing Cars of Elderly Man Who Filed Administrative Complaint. sputniknews.com Two New Jersey cops have confessed to vandalizing a pair of cars belonging to a 70-year-old man who filed an internal affairs complaint against them last year.

Staff (2020-08-26). RNC Gave Prime Time to Vigilantes. The Next Day a Gunman Shot BLM Protesters. truthout.org The opening night of this week's Republican National Convention (RNC) prominently featured a speech by Patricia and Mark McCloskey, the wealthy white couple who illegally brandished firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis, Missouri. | Then, just one day after the McCloskeys' RNC speech, a white gunman killed two people and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. | Police have arrested Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Illinois resident, for first-deg…

yenisafak (2020-08-26). Thai police make more arrest of pro-democracy demonstrators. yenisafak.com Police in Thailand on Wednesday arrested two pro-democracy student protest leaders for taking part in rallies and would charge them with sedition, expanding a crackdown on demonstrators as pressure builds against the government.Tattep Ruangprapaikitseree of the Free Youth Group and his partner Panumas Singprom were arrested at their residence in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok and taken to a police station."We got arrested with many charges, but the most severe one is article 116," Tattep told reporters, referring to the sedition law.He was seen flashing a three-finger salute, a symbol of the move…

Dominic DeNuzzio (2020-08-25). Outrage in Pittsburgh over police abduction of anti-racism protester. liberationnews.org At a recent march in Pittsburgh organized by the group Black Young & Educated, a peace marshal who was helping protect demonstrators by blocking off the streets was suddenly abducted by armed plain clothes thugs in an unmarked van. On the ground no one was able to verify if it was cops or right wing …

Jeff Berg (2020-08-25). Masai and the Iceberg of Impunity. counterpunch.org Every report I've seen on the injustice suffered by Masai Ujiri in Oakland last June has talked about the tip and ignored the iceberg. That this could be so at this BLM moment is deeply worrying and shows that our problems go well beyond even systemic racism. For those of you who don't know, bodycam

Joshua Hanks (2020-08-25). Portlanders push back cops and fascists. workers.org Portland, Ore. Aug. 24 — For nearly three months, thousands of people in this city have joined nightly protests, marches and demonstrations denouncing racist police brutality. While met with heavy police repression, the crowds have continued to gather undeterred, even in the face of federal officers sent by President Trump . . . |

RT (2020-08-25). 'You don't recognize my existence!': Former DNC head Donna Brazile has meltdown on Fox News (VIDEO). rt.com Former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile melted down in spectacular fashion on Fox News, accusing fellow commentator Tammy Bruce of racism and demanding she "recognize my existence." | Discussing Monday night's Republican National Convention on Tuesday morning's Fox & Friends, Brazile accused the GOP of "speaking to the choir" with their unabashedly pro-Trump lineup of speakers. Conservative contributor Tammy Bruce shot back, accusing the Democrats of being out of touch with ordinary Americans, and slamming the left for not speaking out strongly enough against the Black Lives Matter riots…

RT (2020-08-25). 'Are you a christian!?' BLM activists harass restaurant patrons who refuse to raise fists and shout slogans (VIDEOS). rt.com Disturbing videos have emerged online showing Black Lives Matter demonstrators screaming and yelling at restaurant patrons in Washington DC., demanding that they raise their fists in support of the protest movement. | In one scene which spread like wildfire on Tuesday, a large group of white protesters can be seen crowding around the table of a white woman at a Washington DC restaurant and demanding that she raise her fist to comply. | "Are you a Christian?" one activist repeatedly yells. Others yell slogans including "White Silence is Violence" and "No Justice, No Peace." As no videos have emerged showing the…

teleSUR (2020-08-25). NBA Players Call For Justice Over Jacob Blake's Murder. telesurenglish.net National Basketball Association (NBA) players Monday condemned the systemic racism the U.S. is going through and joined the social unrest erupted over the shooting of unarmed civilian Jacob Blake by policemen in Kenosha, Wisconsin. | RELATED: | Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell lit the fuse amidst the League playoffs and harshly criticized police brutality. | "Screw the games and playoffs! This is sick and is a real problem, we d…

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-25). US police brutality stems from racist way of thinking: Veep. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (MNA) — Iran's First Vice-President on Tue. blasted US police for its brutalities against the American people and said that US' police behavior is the outcome of domination of racist thoughts in that country.

Revolutionary United Front (2020-08-25). Tuesday 9/1: Bi-Weekly Community Meeting On Police Brutality and the George Floyd Protests. indybay.org Willow Park | Oakland, CA 94607…

BTCEAP (2020-08-25). 15 Demands for Anti-Racist Bookstores. indybay.org We are the Black & Trans Pegasus Affinity Group, made up of current and former employees of Pegasus Books in Berkeley and Oakland, California. We want Pegasus and other bookstores to grapple with their ties to anti-Blackness, and start making material changes. We want bookstore owners and booksellers to implement our demands immediately. We want book shoppers to be critical of their local bookstores and only buy from bookstores that commit to anti-racist practices such as not calling the cops.

sputniknews (2020-08-25). Man United's Harry Maguire Out of England Squad After Guilty Verdict in Assault on Police. sputniknews.com Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was earlier arrested on Mykonos after he, according to police, punched an officer after Maguire's sister was "stabbed by an Albanian thug". Maguire has denied any wrongdoing.

sputniknews (2020-08-25). US Cops Responsible for Jacob Blake Shooting Will Not Have Body Cams Until 2022. sputniknews.com A closer examination of Wisconsin's Kenosha Police Department has shown that officers, who recently shot 29-year-old father of three Jacob Blake, were not wearing body-mounted recording devices due to a series of delays blocking their implementation in recent years.

Staff (2020-08-25). New Far Right Party Aims to Stoke Fear of BLM Into Organized White Supremacy. truthout.org The last three years have been a marked and unending period of decline for the organized "alt-right." Ostensibly led into a somewhat cohesive social movement by Richard Spencer, the collection of publications, podcasts, high-profile white nationalists and organizations that made up the alt-right saw their peak in the two days they laid siege on Charlottesville, Virginia. Yet they were shut down afterward as anti-fascist activists confronted them, kicking them off platforms and legally challen…

RT (2020-08-24). NASA researcher arrested by FBI for conspiracy & wire fraud over links to China. rt.com A Texas A&M University professor and NASA researcher has been charged with conspiracy and accused of collaborating with several Chinese entities, while his grant explicitly prohibited him from doing so. | Zhengdong Cheng, a professor in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M who also worked on projects for NASA, was arrested by the FBI over the weekend, the Department of Justice said Monday. | #HouNews #Breaking pic.twitter.com/PbdwaJ2SjI— FBI Houston (@FBIHouston) RT (2020-08-24). 125 National Guard troops deploying to Kenosha following rioting & looting over police shooting. rt.com Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has announced that scores of National Guard troops will be deployed to the city of Kenosha by Monday evening as violent riots continue over the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake seven times. | "This is a limited mobilization of the National Guard focused on supporting the needs of local first responders to protect critical infrastructure, such as utilities and fire stations, and to ensure Kenoshians are able to assemble safely," Evers said. | Following the shooting of Blake, which was caught on a cellphone camera and said to be over a "domestic incident," protesters took…

WSWS (2020-08-24). Police misconduct database reveals top NYPD brass guilty of abuse of authority. wsws.org Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and his predecessor James O'Neill, along with other top NYPD officials and 11 percent of active cops, have substantiated abuse complaints against them.

Revolutionary United Front (2020-08-24). Tuesday 9/1: Bi-Weekly Community On Police Brutality and the George Floyd Protests. indybay.org Willow Park | Oakland, CA 94607…

_____ (2020-08-24). Police Continue To Repress Protesters In Portland. popularresistance.org For 90 days now, protesters have taken to the streets of the U.S. city of Portland following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. | As per social media videos, protesters were met with heavy police repression including the use of tear gas canisters. | The protest left several police officers injured, at least 9 people arrested while one person received medical attention after receiving a gun wound. Of those people that were arrested, three were charged with assault on a police officer. Portland Police confirmed that since May, over 500 protesters have been arrested. | U.S. Police repression continue…

_____ (2020-08-24). Reforms Are Won When Social Movements Inflict Real Costs On The Economic Elite. popularresistance.org In an interview over email, co-author Kevin A. Young discussed the limits of electoral politics to advance a more egalitarian social contract and the strategies today's social movements can employ to fight injustice. The challenges are formidable, especially given the Trump administration's exercise of a new and despotic federal police power in reaction to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against police violence. As Levers of Power demonstrates through examples from the labor movement and the Civil Rights Movement, the path to enduring change requires mobilization that inflicts real costs on capitalists and…

_____ (2020-08-24). Grand Jury Resistor Jailed For Fighting Federal Repression Against BLM. popularresistance.org At 3: 00 pm, Wednesday, August 19th, Jesse Shackelford, 28, was taken into federal custody at the Dane County Jail and joined a long history of grand jury resisters. He claimed his Fifth Amendment right to silence in order to protect himself and his community and in a strong stand against both this grand jury in particular and the grand jury process as an oppressive, movement-busting tactic. | For refusing to testify in front of a grand jury targeting the Black liberation struggle and uprisings in Madison, Jesse was charged with civil contempt and put in a cage: he is currently being held in solitary confinement.

Staff (2020-08-24). Meet the Activist Who Is Driving the Push to Reclaim Nature for Black People. truthout.org Nature and wild spaces are appreciated by many, but they can sometimes be rendered inaccessible or dangerous to people of color, as a