Rebellion2020

Black Journalists At Philadelphia Inquirer Call In Sick

June 5, 2020 Black Journalists of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Popular Resistance. Resist! Media, Racism, Rebellion2020, Sick Out

To the leadership of the Philadelphia Inquirer: As journalists of color, we do more than report on the community — we are the community. We do our best to give the community a platform to be heard. We strive to represent the voice of the people. And we are tired. We’re tired of hasty apologies and silent corrections when someone screws up. We’re tired of workshops and worksheets and diversity panels. We’re tired of working for months and years to gain the trust of our communities — communities that have long had good reason to not trust our profession — only to see that trust eroded in an instant by careless, unempathetic decisions. It’s no coincidence that communities hurt by systemic racism only see journalists in their neighborhoods when people are shot or buildings burn down.

Spy Planes, Nuclear Sniffers Fly Over US Capital As National Guard Occupies City

June 5, 2020 Morgan Artyukhina, Sputnik News. Educate! Protests, Rebellion2020, US military, Washington DC

After five days of mass protests in Washington, DC, against police brutality and the in-custody death of black Minnesota man George Floyd last week, US President Donald Trump has made an almost unprecedented show of force by deploying thousands of troops in the nation’s capital, even as more peaceful protests have come in the wake of rioting and looting. A National Guard Swearingen RC-26B spy plane was spotted over the city Tuesday night, as was a special Bell 412 helicopter fitted out by the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) for “sniffing” out the telltale radioactivity put out by nuclear weapons, suggesting defense officials feared the use of a “dirty bomb.” Unconfirmed reports of drone activity across the city appeared on social media, and on Wednesday, observers also spotted V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, used by the US Marine Corps for transporting troops.

Lessons From Palestine: People Of Color Need A Sustained Resistance Movement

June 5, 2020 Miko Peled, Mintpress News. Strategize! Black America, Palestine, Rebellion2020, State Violence

Will Smith was quoted saying that racism isn’t getting worse, it’s getting filmed, and indeed, it is being filmed a lot lately. No sooner did we begin to recover from one victim of racist violence, the next victim is slain. Just as we began to wrap our heads around the murder of Breonna Taylor, we saw the lynching-murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and then came the murder of George Floyd. It’s interesting that the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd took place in broad daylight, in plain view, and were caught on camera, meaning that the perpetrators felt they could act with impunity. It is also clear that it was the public outcry and the use of social media platforms in the wake of these murders that drove the authorities to act. Without being filmed and without demands for justice, the perpetrators would probably not have been held accountable.

LA City Council President Introduces Motion To Cut LAPD Funding

June 4, 2020 John Bowden, The Hill. Create! City Budget, Los Angeles, Police, Rebellion2020

The president of Los Angeles's city council introduced a motion Wednesday that would direct officials to identify millions of dollars' worth of funding cuts to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) following criticism of the department's treatment of protesters. Councilwoman Nury Martinez (D) said in a statement released on Twitter that the move was about resetting the city's priorities in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody last week. Video of Floyd's arrest and death sparked protests around the country, including in Los Angeles. "Today we intrdcd a motion to cut funding to the LAPD, as we reset our priorities in the wake of the murder of #GeorgeFloyd & the #BlackLivesMatter call that we all support to end racism. This is just one small step.

Oakland: Councilmembers Seek Immediate Halt To Police Use Of Tear Gas

June 4, 2020 Lisa Fernandez, KTVU. Create! Chemical Weapons, Oakland, Police, Rebellion2020

California - Three Oakland city councilmembers on Wednesday requested the immediate halt of tear gas being used for crowd control during the George Floyd protests in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Using information from a UCSF infectious disease expert who spoke to KTVU, Councilmembers Nikki Fortunato Bas, Rebecca Kaplan and Sheng Thao, sent a letter to the mayor, police chief and city administrator citing their concerns. They said they fear that using the tear gas, which police deployed on protesters on Friday, as well as before the 8 p.m. curfew on Monday, will increase the spread of the virus and place "countless people at risk." UCSF Dr. Peter Chin-Hong aid that tear gas makes people cough a lot and that people at protests are shouting and possibly projecting the virus droplets at farther lengths.

Protesting Racism Versus Risking COVID-19

June 4, 2020 Bill Chappell, NPR. Educate! COVID-19, PPE, Public Health, Rebellion2020

Mass protests that have erupted over police brutality toward black people in America are raising concerns about the risk of spreading the coronavirus. But some health experts, even as they urge caution, said they support the demonstrations — because racism also poses a dire health threat. Tens of thousands of people, masked and unmasked, have thronged the streets of Minneapolis, Atlanta, Louisville, Ky., and other cities in the week since George Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. They are the largest public gatherings in the U.S. since the pandemic forced widespread shutdowns, and many local officials warned of a possible spike in new cases in one or two weeks.

An Uprising Was Inevitable

June 3, 2020 By Zenobia Jeffries Warfield, Nation of Change. Educate! Police, Rebellion2020, State Violence, Systemic Racism

There’s no greater frustration than working every day to build and inspire others to build a more just, compassionate world, only to be so brutally reminded of how far away that world is, as we are bombarded by videos of an atrocity such as the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd. Witnessing someone being killed is terrorizing. I am experiencing episodes of terror after seeing the life leave Floyd’s handcuffed body under the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, while two officers held down Floyd, and another stood idly by. That image will stay with me for a long time, just as Eric Garner’s has, just as Philando Castile’s has, and Terence Crutcher’s, and 12-year-old Tamir Rice’s.

Pentagon Ready To Send Troops To Minneapolis If State Asks

June 3, 2020 James LaPorta and Robert Burns, Associated Press. Educate! George Floyd, militarism, Rebellion2020, State Violence

The Pentagon said Saturday it was ready to provide military help to authorities scrambling to contain unrest in Minneapolis, where George Floyd’s death has sparked widespread protests, but Gov. Tim Walz has not requested federal troops. Jonathan Rath Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said several military units have been placed on higher alert “as a prudent planning measure” in case Walz asks for help. The Associated Press first reported on the potential deployments and, citing sources with direct knowledge of the orders, named four locations from which soldiers would be drawn. Hoffman did not identify the units, but other officials said they are mainly military police. Hoffman said these are units normally on 48-hour recall to support state authorities in the event of crises like natural disasters. They are now on four-hour alert, Hoffman said.

Residents Sheltered Dozens Of Protesters From Police

June 3, 2020 Colleen Grablick, Jason Fenston and Natalie Delgadillo, DCist. Resist! Police violence, Rebellion2020, Solidarity, Washington DC

Nearly two hours after the 7 p.m. curfew went into effect on Sunday night, dozens of people were corralled by police in a one-way block — Swann Street NW, between 14th and 15th — as they made their way north from downtown. As officers closed in on the group, they began setting off what appeared to be pepper spray and flash bangs, sending the crowd running. “I heard ‘bang bang’ and a lot of thumping and pepper spray everywhere, my eyes started burning, people screaming, and a human tsunami coming down the street, of piles on top of people,” says Rahul Dubey. Several residents opened their doors, including Dubey. “I flung open this door,” he said. “I was like, ‘Come in, get in the house. Get in the house.’ The police were running after these 20- and 30-year-olds and grabbing them. They’re tripping, coughing. And I was pulling them into the house.”

Deploying Federal Troops In A War At Home Would Make A Bad Situation Worse

June 2, 2020 Zoltan Grossman, Counterpunch. Educate! Patriot Act, Rebellion2020, Trump, US military

As the George Floyd Uprising intensified in Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday, President Trump asked Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper for options to deploy federal troops to the city. He signaled to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, “We have our military ready, willing and able if they ever want to call our military, and we can have troops on the ground every quickly.” Military Police soldiers from Fort Bragg (North Carolina), Fort Drum (New York), Fort Carson (Colorado), and Fort Riley (Kansas) were ordered to be ready to deploy for crowd and traffic control duties, if the state National Guards could not quell the unrest. On Monday, Trump put Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Mark Milley “in charge,” lambasted state governors, and said he would soon order active-duty federal troops into U.S. cities to “quickly solve the problem for them.”

Atlanta Officers Charged After Students Pulled From Car

June 2, 2020 AP News. Educate! Accountability, Georgia, Police abuse, Rebellion2020

Atlanta - Six Atlanta police officers were charged Tuesday after dramatic video showed authorities pulling two young people from a car and shooting them with stun guns while they were stuck in traffic caused by protests over George Floyd’s death. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced the charges during a news conference. “I feel a little safer now that these monsters are off of the street and no longer able to terrorize anyone else,” said 22-year-old Messiah Young, who was dragged from the vehicle along with his girlfriend, 20-year-old Taniyah Pilgrim. The Saturday night incident first gained attention from video online and on local news. Throughout, the couple can be heard screaming and asking officers what is happening.

Trump Threatens To Grab Protestors By The Posse

June 2, 2020 Joe Lauria, Consortium News. Educate! Posse comitatus, Rebellion2020, Trump, US military

President Donald Trump has threatened to send “active duty” U.S. military to Minnesota to quell the uprising against the police killing of yet another unarmed African-American even though the state’s governor had not accepted Trump’s offer. The president made his intention known in a series of tweets on Friday. Trump said “we will assume control,” clearly meaning the federal government. The National Guard of each state is controlled by the state governor. The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration has offered “the use of active-duty soldiers and intelligence,” including “some forces who were put on alert to deploy.” The New York Times and other media said “military police” were being prepared by the Pentagon and that it would be the first deployment of MPs since the Rodney King uprisings in Los Angeles of 1992.

As Night Falls, NYC Protests Against Police Violence Grow Chaotic

June 2, 2020 Sydney Pereira, Gwynne Hogan and Jake Offenhartz, The Gothamist. Resist! New York City (NYC), Police, Protests, Rebellion2020

As night fell in New York City, chaos and violent encounters fanned out once again between police and demonstrators. In Lower Manhattan, a dumpster was set on fire, forcing police officers to cordon off protesters. On some streets, there were bashed-in store windows even though some protesters had pleaded with others not to engage in looting. Around 10: 30 p.m., NYPD began making significant arrests at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. At one point, police could be seen racing after protesters. Some observers were maced at close range. There were at least half a dozen people arrested. In one video from PIX11 News, an officer can be seen shoving a protester down a set of stairs after another threw her to the ground.

When Can A Soldier Disobey An Order?

June 2, 2020 John Ford, War on the Rocks. Strategize! Constitution, Rebellion2020, Rule of Law, US military

In March 1968, a U.S. infantry platoon under the command of 2nd Lt. William “Rusty” Calley conducted a raid of a hamlet called My Lai in Quang Ngai Province of South Vietnam. After taking the hamlet, Calley ordered his men to round up the remaining civilians, herd them into a ditch, and gun them down. Somewhere between 350 and 500 civilians were killed on Calley’s instruction. Calley was court-martialed for his actions and charged with 22 counts of murder. At his trial, he testified that his company commander, Capt. Ernest Medina, had ordered him to kill “every living thing” in My Lai, telling him there were no civilians there, only Viet Cong. When Calley radioed back to Medina that the platoon had rounded up a large number of unarmed civilians, he claimed Medina told him to “waste them.”

White Women Line Up To Form Human Shield To Protect Black Protesters

June 2, 2020 Nicole Duncan, The Grio. Resist! Nonviolence, Police, Protests, Rebellion2020

Injustice and discrimination tend to be described in binary terms: good vs. evil, female vs. male, Black vs. White. However, at one of the at least twenty anti-police violence demonstrations held across the country on Thursday, an act of alliance disrupted that line of thinking by showing White bodies on the line to protect Black lives. In an image captured by photographer Tim Druck, scores of White women in Lousiville lined up arm-in-arm to form a human shield separating the Louisville Metro Police from protestors expressing their angst about the murder of Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people at the hands of the police). Taylor was fatally shot by police as they barged in her home in March with a no-knock warrant and killed her while she was laying in her bed.

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