Police Brutality Protests Thread

[Innula Zenovka]

A neat way of making sure potential witnesses stay home so they can't film the police in action, etc... or am I being unduly cynical again ?

Potential witnesses other than protestors -- many of whom have smartphones, I understand -- and reporters?

Occam's razor suggests -- at least to me -- that it's at least primarily a well-intentioned warning to people who might not want to get caught up in rioting (not a pleasant experience, as I learned when I found myself in the middle of the Trafalgar Square poll tax riot 30 years ago).

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The Chinese government is enjoying this

'Mr President, don't go hide': China goads US over George Floyd protests

Officials and state media appear to revel in scenes of US unrest, comparing protests there to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement

www.theguardian.com

Chinese Foreign Ministry reply to the State Department:

 

[Eunoli]

The Chinese government is enjoying this
etc...

Need a way to both like and hate a post at the same time.

 

[Romana]

WHERE ARE THE PROTESTERS (just like that, in all caps) was trending when I took a look in just now. Lots of bots and trolls tweeting do people don't know which hashtag to believe, DC blackout or DC safe. Where are the protesters because, from what's being spread, now you see them, now you don't. I'm not sure who really profits from that mess, but I don't think Twitter is in cahoots with Dump.

 

[Sredni Eel]

Dayam. Even Ann "Frigidaire Crotch" Coulter is done.

 

[Romana]

Dayam. Even Ann "Frigidaire Crotch" Coulter is done.

Another "I never thought I'd root for anything Ann Coulter said to be true" moment.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

WHERE ARE THE PROTESTERS (just like that, in all caps) was trending when I took a look in just now. Lots of bots and trolls tweeting do people don't know which hashtag to believe, DC blackout or DC safe. Where are the protesters because, from what's being spread, now you see them, now you don't. I'm not sure who really profits from that mess, but I don't think Twitter is in cahoots with Dump.

We've seen this before, in Ukraine during the Maidan protests and during the Russian invasion

Propagandalands

From 2016: Peter Pomerantsev reports from Ukraine’s Donbas region.

granta.com

Note I don't say that this is the work of Russian bots, though I am sure the St Petersburg Internet Research Agency are involved at some level -- if they're not, someone's asleep on the job -- but simply is is what happens in protests now, with different and conflicting people and agencies using social media against each other as they try both to direct and to disrupt street protests.

 

[Soen Eber]

A neat way of making sure potential witnesses stay home so they can't film the police in action, etc... or am I being unduly cynical again ?

Not really. It's the only way they can catch them because otherwise they are hiding in the crowd, as they did in Minneapolis (where I am - a gas station a mile from me was burned down).

While there are a lot of local numb-nulls, it IS being deliberately staged. They're coming in stolen cars with the license plates removed, prepositioning flamables and bricks, and at night they're lighting fires, taking the lead in smashing stores, and when the police get to them they run in all different directions and either fade into the crowds or move on to fallback positions, smashing and starting fires. That is what has been happening here.

And I suspect this is a dry run for election night. Trump can win the election just by having the far right and anarchists cause problems the night before. All they need in swing states is to have one major city locked down due to civil disturbances, and to start this they just need one or two "policeman" in uniform killing a black person while another records it one or two days before November 3rd. They can get everything on either eBay or the dark web.

 

[Romana]

Not really. It's the only way they can catch them because otherwise they are hiding in the crowd, as they did in Minneapolis (where I am - a gas station a mile from me was burned down).

While there are a lot of local numb-nulls, it IS being deliberately staged. They're coming in stolen cars with the license plates removed, prepositioning flamables and bricks, and at night they're lighting fires, taking the lead in smashing stores, and when the police get to them they run in all different directions and either fade into the crowds or move on to fallback positions, smashing and starting fires. That is what has been happening here.

And I suspect this is a dry run for election night. Trump can win the election just by having the far right and anarchists cause problems the night before. All they need in swing states is to have one major city locked down due to civil disturbances, and to start this they just need one or two "policeman" in uniform killing a black person while another records it one or two days before November 3rd. They can get everything on either eBay or the dark web.

That wouldn't make anyone I know for for him!

 

[Sredni Eel]

This sign wins the internet forever.

 

[Sredni Eel]

Anonymous came out of hiding and has been hitting the Socials hard in the last two days.

 

[Kara Spengler]

It's even worse than this - it wasn't a forged check, it was a counterfeit $20 dollar bill. It is VERY probable that he didn't even know it was counterfeit, some counterfeits are so good that even banks have difficulty knowing.

Generally what happens is that the person is notified that the note is counterfeit, the note is confiscated and the local department of treasury or secret service is called, not the local police. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that a man was murdered in cold blood by people who are supposed to be protecting society, for any reason, let alone something so benign as a counterfeit bill. I can't watch the video without truly feeling nausea. I'm seeing it in my sleep and I know it's going to happen to someone else again. That's the horror of it.

Yes, he himself would have had a complaint with whoever passed him that 20 (assuming he knew) since he would have been out the money. Most people using counterfeits in stores had the funny money enter circulation several people back.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities. Many have witnessed this violence personally, some have even been its victims. I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon – and I mean very soon – come to an end.”

These were the words of Donald Trump, not in May 2020 but July 2016, as he accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the national convention in Cleveland. For many observers, there was a distinct echo of Richard Nixon’s 1968 acceptance speech – “We see cities enveloped in smoke and flame” – and a foreboding that history could take a newly dark and dangerous turn.

For three years, the first president elected without political or military experience rode his luck and skirted past disaster. In the fourth year, the fates demanded payback.

'He is a destroyer': how the George Floyd protests left Donald Trump exposed

As cities reel under protest and violence, Black Lives Matter leaders say the president has failed his country

www.theguardian.com

Very interesting article on Trump's complete inadequacy.

I am becoming obsessed with Lucinda Williams' recently-released Man Without A Soul, which never names him, and is so prophetic:

Now the exits will be closing
A sad life will be exposed
No dealer and no deals
'Cause you're a man without a soul

How do you think this story ends?
It's not a matter of how
It's just a matter of when
'Cause it's coming down
Yeah, it's coming down

 

[Kara Spengler]

Another "I never thought I'd root for anything Ann Coulter said to be true" moment.

Well, maybe he finally got Penis to quit then left himself rather that deal with the riots? The WH is now in denial about Pelosi being in charge.

Is that version better?

 

[Dancien]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Thread

White Supremacist Infiltration of US Police Forces: Fact-Checking National Security Advisor O’Brien

What the available research says about systemic discrimination in law enforcement as well as links to racist and white supremacist ideology.

www.justsecurity.org

 

[Lexxi]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Thread from last year, retweeted by a respected legal analyst I follow, with some remarkable evidence-based policy recommendations for reducing police violence.

Well worth a look for people interested in practical solutions.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]