Showing posts with label white supremacists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label white supremacists. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

 


We live in a time where leftists and communists are being labeled as Nazis and real Nazis are being labeled as freedom fighters standing up against fascism. We can't make this up. --Kris Legion

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

by C.A. Matthews

After I read this headline, both my mind and my stomach started to churn:

Jon Stewart and the Pentagon Honor Ukrainian Nazi at Disney World

Disney World? "The Happiest Place on Earth"? Jon Stewart? Welcoming Nazis? Really?

Yeah, really. From The Grayzone:

During the Department of Defense’s annual Warrior Games at Disney World in Orlando, Florida this August 19-28, liberal comedian Jon Stewart awarded a Ukrainian military veteran named Ihor Halushka the “Heart of the Team” award for “inspiring his team” with his “personal example.”

Halushka happens to have been a member of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, which has been armed by the US and integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard. The award-winning ultra-nationalist wore a sleeve over his left arm as he accepted the prize, presumably to cover up his tattoo of the Nazi Sonnenrad, or Black Sun. (...)
...Even the US government propaganda outlet Voice of America [has] acknowledged the Azov Battalion’s embrace of Nazism. Right Sector group has been similarly identified as a fascist organization. Since the invasion, however, Western corporate media has downplayed the presence of Nazis in the Ukrainian armed forces as groups like Azov have taken on prominent front-line roles. (...)

An unlisted YouTube video by the Invictus Games on YouTube offers a close-up of Halushka working out with Nazi Black Sun symbol tattooed on his left elbow clearly visible. Halushka opted to cover the fascist symbol during photo ops at the Warrior Games.

Halushka has never been shy about his ties to the Azov Battalion. During the Invictus Games this April, he whipped out an Azov flag as he accepted a gold medal, which was hosted in The Hague – where war criminals are normally tried, not awarded. Likewise, in Orlando, Haluskha wore an Azov Battalion t-shirt as he accepted a gold medal for indoor rowing. He was honored days later as the “heart” of his team. (...)

It is difficult to believe that Palevska and Halushka are the only members of Team Ukraine that have belonged to neo-Nazi groups.

A photo posted on the team’s official Facebook page show five team members performing a fascist salute in front of a Warrior Games banner.

In other photos, a member of the team wearing a Warrior Games t-shirt can be seen holding a Right Sector flag; and seven veterans associated with the team bear the flag of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Schutzstaffel (SS), a WWII-era Nazi military formation made up of Ukrainian nationalists.

American taxpayers have already forked $60 billion over to Ukraine since the war broke out in 2014. They are therefore entitled to know whether the Department of Defense paid Team Ukraine’s travel expenses.

The article provides plenty of video links and photos that clearly show these individuals with Nazi symbology tattooed on their bodies and proof that they belong to Neo-Nazi militias such as the Azov Battalion and Right Sector. (More about The History of Nazism in Ukraine here.) There's no doubt that Ukrainians have a thing for fascists as their own postage stamps attest:

So… Disney World welcomes Ukranian Nazis. Bad enough Disney Corp. welcomes the US Department of Defense (more like Department of Offense) inside their fairy-tale-themed, family amusement park, but they're okay as well with individuals and groups who agree with Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera and his favorite person Adolf Hitler, the man who had 6 million people murdered in his gas chambers during World War 2.

You know, this incident gives me a completely different take on “The Magic Kingdom.” I can imagine a Teutonic tour guide in a near dystopian future giving us a rundown of its attractions...

“Velcome to DizNa World! It's zee magical land where everyting is kept spotlessly clean by our slave labor. No ve don't pay them low wages--ve just don't pay them at all! Ha ha ha! It's what that sign Arbeit macht frei (Work sets you free) outside the front gates means.”

“Over here, you will see our most popular ride, It's A Small World. Really, it is! We only allow a few northern European countries to be featured on this ride because… Well, you know why. We only want blue-eyed, blond persons in our fairy-tale land. No other colors or non-European religions need apply!”

“Speaking of which, you might have noticed that DizNa's Princess Jasmine character is now also blue-eyed and blonde. Just like Republican Jesus!”

“The Swiss Family Robinson tree house is, of course, still here. We like the Swiss, especially their bankers who kept our gold for us during World War 2. The Robinson home has been tastefully redecorated in red, white, and black.”

“Whatz dat construction over there? Oh, that’s a new attraction being developed. It’s called The Showers. It’s not for everyone. In fact, if you are Aryan you don’t ever have to worry about it.”

Yeah, the whole “Magical Kingdom” aspect of Disney World has been flushed down the drain for me. I can’t see why celebrating any persons who associate themselves with a Nazi organization is a wholesome thing to do at a family amusement park anywhere in the world. I just don’t.

Biden at Nuremberg?

Here we have Biden sending billions of dollars in aid and armaments to these Neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine while millions of Americans are going without health care, rent assistance, and even food. We have millions suffering under the burden of medical and student loan debt in this country, but we can’t do a thing to relieve their pain. Jackson, Mississippi, and Flint,Michigan, still don’t have safe drinking water, and our federal government can’t lift a finger to help these citizens out. But somehow, we can finance an all expenses paid trip to Disney World for a bunch of Nazis.

Hmm… Jackson and Flint are cities with predominantly African American populations. Could that have something to do with it? Biden doesn’t have any problem sending billions of dollars to white Europeans to run a proxy war, but when it comes to helping out fellow Americans of a different ethnic heritage in need of drinkable water he’s got nothing?

Funding and rescuing Nazis is nothing new to the US government. Remember NASA’s rocket scientist Wernher von Braun? He was one of the 1,600 “nice Nazis” who America kept from the hangman’s noose at the Nuremberg Trials and secreted into the US along with their families in Operation Paperclip. The US government was fine with these scientists' Nazi sympathies as long as they worked hard to give us the edge we wanted over the Soviets’ space program. The US would do anything to best the “Russians" during the Cold War, up to and including inviting avowed Nazis into our country.

The more things change… Honestly, you can't make this stuff up.

I don’t think I could feel more disgusted or more embarrassed than I do today at the antics of the US Department of Defense and the military industrial complex as a whole. Many Americans have parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents who fought the Nazis in World War 2. Many Americans have relatives who survived the tortures of the Nazi work camps, POW camps, and the bombings of their cities. Some older Americans themselves are survivors of Nazi atrocities. And now Americans politicians and entertainers openly welcome Neo-Nazis with their words and actions. 

All I can say is what Captain America said in his original 1940s comic book serials: Punch a Nazi!

DizNa World is the dark world neoliberals like Biden and company dream of, maybe even celebrities like Jon Stewart. Perhaps it's time for Jon to retire? He seems out of touch with reality. Nazis were only funny on TV sit-coms like Hogan's Heroes and the British classic comedy series 'Allo, 'Allo! where they were portrayed as bumblers, not the racist killers they really are.

Either way, it’s not the world our loved ones who died fighting fascism would have ever imagined. Neoliberals will do anything to make money selling weapons so their stock portfolios of arms manufacturers continue to grow. It's all about their wealth, their health, and their propaganda machines churning out stories about how great the Azov Battalion is and how the US is all about "freedom and democracy." (Read last week's blog about how that fictitious labeling of wars for resources comes about.)

Ugh. I don't know about you, but I'm never going to consider taking a vacation at Disney World, Disney Land, or any of their related amusement parks ever again. They've convinced me that Mickey Mouse and friends aren't the sort of fictional creatures I want to hang out with. 

Heck, forget Disney+ and all their movies and online streaming channels. Let the white supremacists support them. There's gotta be enough of them to keep Disney Corp. in the black...and red.

Related Articles:

Jon Stewart and the Pentagon Honor Ukrainian Nazi at Disney World  https://thegrayzone.com/2022/08/31/jon-stewart-pentagon-ukrainian-nazi-disney/ 

Jon Stewart Presents Medal to Ukrainian Nazi at Disney World (video)  https://youtu.be/gFpHtufCIZ4 

Residents in Majority Black Jackson Left Without Drinkable Water https://popularresistance.org/residents-in-majority-black-jackson-mississippi-left-without-drinkable-water/

Decision-Makers Cannot Handle End of White Supremacy https://popularresistance.org/us-decision-makers-cannot-handle-end-of-white-supremacy-former-vice-presidential-candidate/

The Noble Lie of a Democratic West https://popularresistance.org/the-noble-lie-of-a-democratic-west/

With Western Imperialism in Decline, Capitalism is in Crisis
https://scheerpost.com/2022/09/01/with-western-imperialism-decline-capitalism-is-in-crisis-a-new-phase-is-emerging/ 

Democrats Are Violent Extremists https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/democrats-are-violent-extremists 

Wernher von Braun--The Nazi Inside NASA https://youtu.be/Kv0IB-TwFH8

The History of Nazism in Ukraine https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/03/nato-loves-nazis-history-of-nazism-in.html

 Seen on Twitter:

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Why Cities Burn

Why Cities Burn


The flood of disturbing images and information coming from Kenosha, Wisconsin seems never ending--and perhaps it is. Kenosha isn't the first American city to burn this summer because of police brutality and killer cops causing the deaths/maiming of persons of color, and it more than likely will not be the last. But why? Why do cities burn? Why have we as a society never come to terms with how the establishment's inherently wealthy, white male, capitalistic ways tend to destroy rather than build up the people? 


This week's blog lets the people answer that question for themselves in memes, articles and videos. Then we'll ponder "Why should cities burn?"  Is burning out old hatreds an effective way of ridding ourselves of this cancer of white supremacy? Finally, it considers what might be the only possible option left open to us, "We should let cities burn."

A seventeen-year-old  white youth seeped in a culture of gun worship, looking for a chance to use his weapon against those he was taught were the "enemy" instead of his fellow citizens, may have done us a big favor by exposing the corrupt underbelly of the status quo. Sure, many will want to go back to sleep once they've crowned their "Not-Trump" into power. They falsely believe that only Trump and his supporters could have created this dystopian nightmare that is called the United States of America in the year 2020, but the injustices of centuries and the policies of the last forty years belie their shallow assessment. 

No one who has taken political office in the last half century has any less blood on their hands. No one. Never doubt for one second that America is an equal opportunity bigot factory. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Elijah McCain and countless others, along with the paralyzing of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, demonstrate our collective prejudice. 


Americans burned their cities even before 1776 to make their voices heard, and they will continue to do so until the phrase "with liberty and justice for all" is actually worth the paper it's printed on.

The spark that set Kenosha alight...
https://youtu.be/FymA6b03kZk

Why Cities Should Burn

The following video, Why Jacob Blake's family will have to fight for justice,  is quite revealing. In the same city where Jacob was shot seven times in the back, a cop killing of another young man in 2004, Michael Bell, demonstrates the lengths the Kenosha Police Department is willing to go to cover up their culpability. Michael's father has worked long and hard to seek justice for his son's murder and has much to share on this episode of The Real News Network's "Police Accountability Report." https://michaelbell.info
https://youtu.be/R_Q78RiPrwE

More about Kenosha and its history of racism:
Sheriff Beth is a special kind of racist, funded by a big budget and an extreme-right community, where soon-to-be vigilante killers like 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse are supported and cheered on. Consider what the sheriff said two years ago after a 16-year-old African American teen was in a car accident in Kenosha. The teen and several others in the car were ultimately charged with shoplifting:
“These people are a cancer on society. These five people need to go away. They are not an asset. I think what we need to do as a society and lawmakers — we need to come up with laws that at a certain threshold, these people just disappear. We build large warehouses and we have individual cells, and we put them in it. We don’t let them back out. We don’t let them carjack cars while we’re pumping gas at gas stations. We don’t let them do drive-by shootings anymore. If they don’t want to get a job, if they don’t want to be an asset to society, we remove them from society. We don’t let these people go out and have more children. We separate them. We put them in places. What we’re doing is we’re allowing our communities to be completely destroyed for our children and our grandchildren and the futures to come."  --Don't Expect Justice for Black People in Kenosha if Sheriff Beth Has His Way, https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/64862-rsn-dont-expect-justice-for-black-people-in-kenosha-if-sheriff-beth-has-his-way

Why would any kid want to go to another town with a mass-murdering weapon for other than the chance of shooting said weapon? This isn't a teen going to the pinball arcade with friends--this was a deliberate journey to enter a potentially dangerous situation. We have created a culture that worships death and inspires its young people to think killing is a worthwhile endeavor. Perhaps such an immoral society doesn't deserve to exist any longer?

We Should Let Cities Burn
(Because this is what it might take to make lasting change)

The above meme speaks for itself. Should these people even be considered "parents"? Should we allow cities of  "parents" such as these to continue to exist and raise more hate-filled youths?

Pro-athletes boycott their play-off games and make moving statements about injustice against persons of color in the following video. If well-paid professional athletes of color are sharing their own stories of police harassment, then there's no way to deny the depth of our society's dysfunction. It's systemic.
Why don't we talk about this? Why should a child have possession of a firearm? Why should a child be allowed in a situation that wasn't for children? Why should the color of his skin allow him to leave the scene of the crimes he committed? Why should the police only "protect and serve" him?



Related links:

 https://truthout.org/articles/kenosha-police-chief-blames-murdered-protesters-for-their-own-deaths

 https://youtu.be/L3X1BG-IdLQ

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/26/jacob-blake-kenosha-police-protests/

https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/64819-aclu-demands-kenosha-officials-resign-following-the-shooting-of-jacob-blake  

https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/64820-white-supremacists-and-militias-have-infiltrated-police-across-us-report-says 

https://jacobinmag.com/2020/08/kyle-rittenhouse-qanon-donald-trump-the-right

https://www.insider.com/kenosha-race-relations-jacob-blake-police-kyle-rittenhouse-shootings-2020-8

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-nw-kenosha-protests-riot-kitchen-20200829-6v4f7qmaizb33cai63z4zonulm-story.html

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/kenosha-militia-facebook-reported-455-times-moderators

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/victims-kenosha-jacob-blake-protest-202413691.html
 


From Facebook:

FROM A COMMENT: 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse-Lewis’ mom Wendy drove him and his AR-15 rifle from Antioch, IL to Kenosha WI to “defend” businesses that he does not own from riots.The underaged shooter in Kenosha has had several run ins with the law. If he were black he’d be called a thug.

He ended up shooting 3 people, 2 died and 1 lost his arm.

Since some people are always quick to pull up shooting victims prior criminal history in order to justify their ill fate, I thought I’d post the shooters instead.
2016 was a banner year for the 13 year old criminal. He was operating a firearm while intoxicated and charged with disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernal.

In 2018, he has a charge for disobeying officers.

White Supremacists would be quick to state that he’s a drug addict and a criminal if he was a POC. They would say he deserves everything that happened to him. Instead they’re calling him a “patriot” and started a GoFundMe account for his legal fees.


*** 
 From Color of Change:

 Jacob Blake survived. That’s not what they intended.Call 1-844-262-5256 to demand justice now. 


 Yesterday, Jacob Blake’s attorney confirmed that the young father of five survived and is now paralyzed from the waist down.1 

Jake surviving is nothing short of a miracle, but our fight for justice has just begun. The Kenosha police officer who tried to murder Jacob Blake in broad daylight has not been named or arrested for attempted murder. As far as we know, that racist, violent cop is still on the police force and out in the streets. 
And last night, just hours after Kenosha police thanked armed white vigilante militia members for coming out to a protest,2 a militia member murdered two protesters and wounded one other while police looked the other way. The shooter was part of a network of white nationalist Facebook groups encouraging vigilante violence against protesters.3 

Here’s what you can do right now to demand justice for Jacob Blake and the protesters in Kenosha: 

1. Make calls to demand the police officer is fired and arrested immediately. 
Call 1-844-262-5256 to tell Kenosha Mayor Antaramian, DA Michael Graveley, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul now:
“I'm demanding that you immediately fire and arrest the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times. This officer attempted to murder a father in front of his children and is clearly unfit to hold a position as a police officer.”

2. Spread the word on social media. We can’t stop demanding justice for Jacob Blake and his family. 
Click here to tweet at Kenosha Mayor Antaramian, DA Michael Graveley, Kenosha Mayor John and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul now. 

3. Submit a short letter to the editor of your local newspaper to demand justice for Jake. 
Letters to the editor are one of the fastest, easiest, and most powerful ways to speak to a large audience about the things you care about. 
Click here to submit a brief letter calling on Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, District Attorney Michael Graveley, and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to fire and arrest the cop who attempted to murder Jacob Blake. We’ll provide all the talking points you need, and send the letter to local papers in Toledo instantly. 
Last night at the protests in Kenosha, a white nationalist armed with an assault rifle shot and killed two protesters and wounded another after coordinating with other white nationalists and armed militias on Facebook. 
Sadly, this isn’t the first time white nationalist groups have mobilized on the platform. Facebook promised to ban hate groups after it was used to organize 2018’s “Unite the Right” rally. And just last week, they promised to ban far-right militias as threats increased, but white nationalists were still able to use Facebook to organize to harm protesters last night. Facebook must stop hate group activity on the platform immediately, and prevent any further organized violence. 
Sign the petition now.    

We are sick and tired of police officers terrorizing Black communities and murdering us with impunity. 

We can’t let what happened to Jacob Blake happen again. That means fighting to hold killer cops accountable, investing in our communities, and dismantling the systems that put Black lives in danger. And we will not rest until we have won justice for Jake, his family, and Black people everywhere who are just trying to breathe. 

Community members in Wisconsin are already taking to the streets to demand justice. They are being met with more violence from police and vigilante white militias.4 Organizers need our help, and we will not let them fight alone. 

Stay in the fight with us: Start making calls at 1-844-262-5256, send tweets, submit a letter to the editor to demand justice for Jacob Blake, and sign the petition to demand Facebook stop helping armed militias attack protesters.
We can’t sit on the sidelines in this critical moment in the fight for Black lives. 

Until justice is real,
-- Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, Ernie, McKayla, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References:
1. Attorney Ben Crump: Jacob Blake not likely to walk again after police shooting. FOX 5 Atlanta. 25 August 2020.
2. Cops thanked militia members minutes before deadly Wisconsin shooting. New York Post. 26 August 2020.
3. 17-year-old arrested in killing of 2 people in Kenosha. Associated Press. 26 August 2020.
4. Arrest in Overnight Shooting During Unrest in Kenosha, Wis. The New York Times. 26 August 2020.




***
Just days after the Kenosha police department shot Jake Blake seven times in the back, a white supremacist vigilante came into town to murder two anti-racist protesters. The officer still has his job and police let the racist murderer walk away. Kenosha police chief Daniel Miskinis has blood on his hands. He must be fired ASAP. Sign the petition.

Kyle Rittenhouse, a vocal white supremacist and Trump supporter, who was obsessed with guns and dreamed of being a cop, traveled across state lines with an AR-15 style rifle strapped across his body. For hours, he stalked and harrassed anti-racist protesters while “protecting”  property that wasn’t even his. His hate-filled night ended by him murdering two protesters and leaving one badly injured. His last victim will likely lose his arm. 

And how did Kenosha police officers and the national guard respond to him? They let him walk away. And just before the shooting as he harassed protesters, they gave him water, and thanked him for protecting them.

The police chief Daniel Miskinis even blamed the protesters for being murdered by a vigilante. When a reporter asked him about the murders of two protesters, Miskinis’ vile words speak for themselves: “Had persons not been out involved in violation of [the curfew], perhaps the situation that unfolded would not have happened.”

Chief Miskinis words are disgusting and indicative of the department he runs. Not only does he oversee the department that attempted to murder Jake Blake, but he’s ordered his officers to teargas protesters and let a racist murderer walk free.

Mayor John Antaramian and the Kenosha City Council must fire him immediately. 

Demand police chief Daniel Miskinis be fired now!

After Jake Blake was shot seven times in the back in front of his three small children, Chief Miskinis went on record blaming Jake for getting shot. The police even handcuffed Jake to his hospital bed as he fought for his life -- disgrace!3

Miskinis repeatedly attempts to smear victims of his police department and the white vigilantes who carry out their anti-Black agenda. We know what this game play is and we’ve seen it before. A police officer brutalizes or murders someone, so the police department goes on a smear campaign against the victim to clear any wrongdoing. But we won’t stand for it. 

Sign the petition: Tell Kenosha to fire police chief Daniel Maskinis for blaming Jake Blake for getting shot.

These violent acts of racism are emboldened by people in positions of power like Chief Maskinis. By excusing Kyle’s behavior, Miskinis is opening the door for this very act to happen once again. And Black people, and those fighting for justice, will once again be the victims.

We don’t look to police chiefs to be beacons of justice, because they represent an inherently unjust institution. We must hold them accountable for the danger they put our communities in. And as long as Chief Miskinis continues to allow blatant white supremacy to take Black lives and our anti-racist allies, Black Kenoshans are not safe while he’s in a position of power.
Fight with us. 

Until justice is real,
--Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, Ernie, McKayla, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:
1. "Teenager Kyle Rittenhouse arrested, charged for Kenosha shootings" Aljazeer.
2. "Kenosha Police Chief Blames Protesters for Their Own Deaths, Defends Vigilante Groups" Slate.
3. "Jacob Blake handcuffed to hospital bed, father says" Chicago Sun-Times.

***
A white nationalist just murdered two protesters demanding justice for Jacob Blake in Kenosha.

While demanding justice for Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man who police recently shot in the back 7 times, paralyzing him from the waist down, an emboldened white nationalist militia member opened fire on protestors, shooting and killing two of them, and wounding a third.1 This white nationalist man was encouraged and emboldened to carry out such violence through a network of Facebook groups in which white nationalists openly discussed how they planned to violently harm protesters, with no intervention from Facebook until after the protesters were killed.2 Even worse, Facebook knew about the group and their calls to violence before the shooting happened and chose not to act.3

Sadly, this isn’t the first time white nationalist groups have mobilized on the platform to carry out real-world violence. Facebook promised to ban hate groups after it was used to organize 2018’s deadly “Unite the Right” riot. And just last week, they promised to ban far-right militias as threats increased, but white nationalists were still able to use Facebook to organize to harm protesters last night. 

We cannot allow this to continue. Tell Facebook to stop fueling white nationalist hate groups. 

Color Of Change has spent five years now trying to get Facebook to combat hate on the platform, and while we’ve won important changes to limit the impact of online hate, Facebook still refuses to fully reckon with the ways their company elevates white nationalists and other hate groups. Facebook, for example, automatically recommends hate group pages and content to those who use the platform, indoctrinating people in white nationalist ideologies. In some cases, Facebook will even automatically create pages for new hate groups.4 

Facebook must IMMEDIATELY ban white nationalist hate groups from organizing on their platform. 

Black people are facing undue suppression, harassment, and hate on Facebook. We can’t afford for Facebook to keep radicalizing white nationalists, who, through their interactions on Facebook, are driving real-world violence against protesters. White nationalist violence against us must end, and it’s Facebook’s job to step in and stop it. 

Tell Facebook to stop fueling white nationalist organizing, once and for all.

Until justice is real,
—Jade, Arisha, Rashad, Johnny, Amanda, Marie, Evan, Imani, Eesha, Gabrielle, Samantha, Jennette, Ciera, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References:
  1. “17-year-old charged with homicide after fatal shooting during Kenosha protests, authorities say,” The Washington Post, August 26, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261616?t=9&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha
  2. Lauren Hough, Twitter, August 25, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261617?t=11&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha
  3. "Facebook chose not to act on militia complaints before Kenosha shooting," The Verge, August 26, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261626?t=13&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha
  4. “White Supremacist Groups Are Thriving on Facebook,” Tech Transparency Project, May 21, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/261618?t=15&akid=44821%2E4890099%2EZcM4ha
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Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Mr. T Comes To Town

Photo by Hexen Photography

This is the smile you'd expect when someone important comes to town, isn't it? But behind this innocent's bright countenance lies a darker reason why she and her family were out protesting on the streets that day. Our guest blogger shares his impressions of the event.




Mr. T Comes To Town
words and photos by Coast Watcher 

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visited the Huntington Center in the heart of downtown Toledo on January 9, the venue for their first rally of the 2020 campaign season. They got a warm reception in more ways than one, getting heartily booed as the motorcades passed by demonstrators en route to the hockey arena and cheered by their followers once they took the stage. Mainstream media reported a gathering of “hundreds” of protesters and “fifteen thousand” Trump supporters present. Surprise, surprise—the rally attendees waiting on line appeared to be all white and mostly male.

From my estimate taken on the ground, the Trumplings were at most half that number. (Others also estimated the protester count to be higher and the rally attendance lower, as the Huntington Center only sits 8,000 maximum according to their website.)  Television footage taken within the Huntington Center showed a half-empty arena in one shot with most people pushed toward the stage to make it look as if more were present. The number of
protesters fluctuated throughout the day, as groups of people arrived and departed. Unlike the Trumplings, who appeared to be financially able to take time off to travel a distance to worship their admired leader, the protesters were mostly local and had jobs and family demands to attend to—which makes it difficult to spare much time to protest. Yet protest they did, on a not-so-warm day in early January.

The demonstrators represented a variety of causes, from factory-standard Democrats through (Bernie) Sandernistas, the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the Lucas County Greens, union workers, Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio—and even a few outright Communists. A single-issue group identifying itself as  “No Vape, No Vote” contained especially noisy members. One anti-fascist group down from Detroit,#OutNow, wore orange and used megaphones to outshout the other demonstrating parties. An anti-Trumper was spotted carrying a gallon of milk, presumably to wash away tear gas from people’s eyes should the need arise. (It did not.) 

A retired hook-and-ladder firetruck drove repeatedly around the block, its Trumpling crew sounding the siren as they jeered, waved Trump flags, and flipped off  demonstrators. Questions were asked whether such a vehicle was legal, since it still had its red paintwork and horn, but none of the law officers present seemed to know or cared to stop and ticket the driver.
 
Overall the event was peaceful.
The police were out in force. When asked, some officers were well aware of the Trump campaign’s propensity for not paying police security bills at numerous cities across America. Jaded by the knowledge, probably many were not expecting Toledo PD to receive any better treatment. 

The police were universally tolerant of both sides, keeping the parties apart via barriers to prevent trouble, so I find it a shame to report that one officer stationed by the main library branch rallying point abused his position. He snatched a PA speaker unit from the hands of a man I know to be a Vietnam veteran, threw it to the ground, and shoved him violently. The veteran, a leader of Veterans for Peace, didn’t respond to this flagrant bullying. Instead he moved onto the sidewalk and led protesters away.
 
Trumplings made a point of flipping off the demonstrators while waiting to enter the venue. One fan of the
president spotted a protester’s sign reading “Love thy neighbor” and shouted out how, while he didn’t love his neighbor, he really did love his 401K. Wonder if this guy knows that his orange-faced idol recently said that dismantling Social Security would make for “a fun second term project.” Wonder if he couldn't care less, just as long as he can hoard his wealth.

Another Trumpling shouted, “America comes first!” She was quickly shut down by a tart response from a savvy protestor with a British accent: “The world must come first. America’s not the only nation on this planet, madam.” It seems to be something that many Trumplings forget.

A Trumpling vendor selling camouflage MAGA hats and shirts demanded to know what we demonstrators would do if America was attacked. Hmm, let’s see... 9/11 was the last time America was “attacked” (and we all know that debate still rages over who the true instigators of that heinous crime were). Since then the US has attacked several countries, both militarily and through sanctions, usually to gain control of their oil and mineral deposits—and occasionally to destroy a socialist government. And although the hijackers who flew those airplanes back in 2001 were Saudi Arabian in origin, America did not see fit to launch a counter attack against their mega-wealthy oil-rich country, possibly because they happen to be a good customer for the American military-industrial complex.

Post-rally, the area where the Trumplings had queued to enter the arena was a
After the Trump rally photos courtesy Natalie Renee
total mess. Mounds of litter strewn along the fenced-off line necessitated hours of Toledo taxpayer-funded hours to clean up. Much like the cost of policing a Trump event, the taxpayer will more than likely not be reimbursed for the costs. This gives evidence to support many people’s opinion that the vast majority of Trump’s supporters came from out of town. Although given Trumplings' general contempt for the environment, it’s entirely possible the litterers were locals with lower than average civic pride.

Toledo has a lot of unemployment and a lot of empty houses courtesy of the first NAFTA that wrecked the Rust Belt. Trump recently signed up the US to NAFTA  2. With income taxes lowered for the one-percent, ordinary citizens are forced to pick up the slack for social programs (that haven't been cut already). Lake Erie, Toledo's water supply, has serious problems with the annual toxic algae bloom, and Trump has gutted the EPA and killed the Clean Water Act. Toledo is home to a large Muslim community and a large mosque. Trump seems bent on starting yet another war for oil in Iran and encouraging religious bigotry among his followers. Large immigration raids by Trump's ICE have happened in the NW Ohio area, leaving children without parents and local churches and agencies desperately trying to reunite families, yet the GOP declares itself the party of “family values.”  Yeah, sure they are.

Given all the damage Trump and his government have inflicted and still inflicts on cities like Toledo and Americans in general, it’s a wonder he dares shows his five-dollar, fake-tanned visage anywhere.
BIO: Coast Watcher finds his first experience of standing across the street from the "leader of the free world" to be both humbling and completely humbug. The following short video is how he sees the president's supporters:
https://crooksandliars.com/cltv/2020/01/trump-supporter-flummoxed-question

David Doel from The Rational National podcast gives a brief analysis of this video clip and what it really says about Trump supporters:  https://youtu.be/RH8YISd6w-o 

Question: Can you spot one Trump voter who isn't white and of Anglo-Saxon heritage in this photo?  Answer: You can't because there weren't any.


***
Today we joined faith leaders, including denominational and national leadership, with moral advocates across the country in requesting that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights hold our government accountable for violating the UN Charter and escalating us toward war with Iran. This afternoon we formally requested a meeting with High Commissioner Bachelet. As the request began:

"We write gravely disturbed, indeed outraged, by the death that is occurring because of our President's rogue actions in the Middle East. His willingness to bypass congressional approval, violate international law, pardon convicted war criminals, implement harsher sanctions and abandon existing peace deals, sets a dangerous precedent that can have continued lethal and destabilizing results.

The US President's order to carry out a lethal drone strike violated the UN Charter's prohibition on the use of force. The assassination of General Qassim Suleimani represented an act of war against a country with whom the United States was not at war. Trump’s claim of imminent danger from Suleimani is unfounded and must be investigated.
The threat to add new sanctions to Iran, and to involve the NATO military alliance, all indicate that the threat of war remains very real. Furthermore, we know that the majority of impact from these sanctions will be on the poor."
We know that in the words of Rev. Dr. King "war is the enemy of the poor."  We must say no to war and militarism.

Join us in our request. Sign here. Share it widely as we humbly and whole-heartedly work to keep our country from war and our world from the dangerous precedence of immoral and unaccountable leadership. Our people across the world are hurting, and it's gone on far too long.

We know that together we can and must revive the heart and soul of this nation.

Join our signatures here.

Forward together,
Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, President of Repairers of the Breach
Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis, Director of the Kairos Center
Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

***
 
Jeff Bezos Will Ring in the New Year by Leaving These Employees Out in the Cold






Nearly 2,000 part-time Whole Foods employees may not be celebrating at all. On January 1st, these workers were stripped of their healthcare benefits and left to fend for themselves.Tell Jeff Bezos to do the right thing — use his billions to help his employees, not his bottom line.
Any employee who works less than full-time but at least 20 hours per week will now have to find their own healthcare. The extra cost is substantial: healthcare across the nation is staggeringly expensive, even for full-time workers with a middle-class salary. For a part-time employee making anything less, the cost could be crippling.
The company now says they will help some of these employees transition into full-time jobs so they can qualify for continued benefits or help them find care in the private market, but this won't help everyone. One employee who had been with Whole Foods for 15 years explained that in order to work full-time hours, she would need to pay for daycare, which is sometimes even more expensive than healthcare.
The high-end supermarket is owned by Amazon, which is, in turn, owned by Jeff Bezos, who is the second-wealthiest person on Earth. If he wanted to, he could easily afford to provide healthcare — after all, he is personally worth $112 billion dollars. His company earns billions of dollars a year, but when it comes to his employees, this billionaire is a penny-pincher.
Tell Jeff Bezos this is unacceptable. His part-time employees depended on their company-provided healthcare. Snatching it away right after Christmas is something only a Grinch would do.

Lauren W.
The Care2 Petitions Team

P.S. Whole Foods must not treat its employees so cruelly. Healthcare is a human right. Please sign the petition.

***

Tell Congress:
"Demand our lawmakers put human rights above corporate profits by guaranteeing housing for all."

Americans spent more on Christmas decorations in 2012 than researchers say it would cost to completely end homelessness in America.1

Is that the country we want to live in? Where big banks and corporate developers push over 3 million families into homelessness and others into poverty?


Everyone living in the United States should have safe, accessible, sustainable, and permanently affordable housing. Period.

Thanks,
Mike Phelan
Progress America
1 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/homelessness-christmas-decorations_n_2276536 
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