Tracker

If the GOP has any survival instincts at all left, they will take the initiative and move to impeach Trump themselves. After yet another debacle which has once again exposed Trump for the inept, racist, fascist fool that he is, his popularity ought to plummet like a stone in a well. However, this is the nouveau-alt-right America we are talking about, and maybe Trump's approval ratings will hold. If his rating fall, as they would in any sane country, the GOP may well kick into survival mode and throw Trump under the bus.

Six Atlanta Officers Charged for Tasing, Assaulting Two Students: DA Charges have been filed against the six Atlanta police officers involved in an assault on two college students during a protest. Two of the officers were fired Sunday after the incident was captured live on local station CBS46. Charges against the six officers include aggravated assault, simple battery, criminal damage to property, pointing a handgun, and aggravated battery. The students, 22-year-old Messiah Young and 20-year-old Teniyah Pilgrim, both attend historically black colleges in Atlanta and were arrested after the city’s 9 p.m. curfew while in their car leaving a protest at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. The officers shattered the car’s driver side window and tased Young. Pilgrim was detained, but released without charges. Young was charged with fleeing the scene and driving with an expired license, but Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ordered the charges to be dropped. https://www.thedailybeast.com/six-atlanta-officers-charged-for-tasing-assaulting-two-students-da-says?ref=home

Attorney for George Floyd’s Family: Authorities Told Us Three Other Officers Will Be Charged The family of George Floyd has learned the three other officers involved in his police killing last week will also be charged, a civil-rights attorney said Tuesday. Ben Crump, the lawyer representing the Floyd family, said in an interview on the Today show that authorities have told his clients that the three officers will be charged. “We heard that they expect to charge those officers...We understand they will be charged. That is what the family is hearing from the authorities and he [George Floyd] died on the scene and that's important to note,” Crump told host Hoda Kotb. https://www.thedailybeast.com/attorney-ben-crump-says-authorities-told-george-floyd-family-three-other-officers-will-be-charged?ref=home

Australian government wants to probe violent assault on journalists by police in Washington, DC The “Justice for George Floyd” protests have found some police officers abusing not only nonviolent demonstrators, but also, journalists who were covering the protests — and some officials in the Australian government, according to the Straits Times, are investigating a police attack on two Australian journalists outside the White House on June 1. A video, the Straits Times reports, shows Australian journalist Amelia Brace “being clubbed with a truncheon” by Washington, D.C. police and her cameraman Tim Myers, “being hit with a riot shield and punched in the face by police clearing Washington’s Lafayette Square of protesters on Monday.” And the disturbing incident has been widely broadcast in Australia. Marise Payne, Australia’s minster of foreign affairs, noted, “We have asked the Australian embassy in Washington, D.C. to investigate this incident. I want to get further advice on how we would go about registering Australia’s strong concerns with the responsible local authorities in Washington.” Brace and Myers were shot with rubber bullets and teargassed, as were many nonviolent protestors at Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/australian-government-wants-to-probe-violent-assault-on-journalists-by-police-in-washington-dc/

America is there already.

Because so many of US police forces have been militarized, the operational attitude in protests is not to deescalate, but to crush as if it were a military engagement.

Episcopal Bishop ‘Outraged’ Trump Tear-Gassed Protesters to Use ‘Our Church as a Prop’ The bishop who oversees St. John’s Episcopal Church, which President Donald Trump visited on Monday evening shortly after police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to a clear a path for him, was “outraged” that the president would use that place of worship for a photo-op on Monday night. Speaking with Washington Post reporter Michelle Boorstein, Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, the diocese of Washington, D.C., said that neither she nor the rector in charge of the church—which suffered fire damage during Sunday evening’s protests—were informed in advance of the visit, nor were they told “that they would be clearing with tear gas so they could use one of our churches as a prop.” Budde continued: “Holding a bible, one that declares that God is love and when everything he has said and done is to enflame violence. I am beyond. We need moral leadership and he’s done everything to divide us and has just used one of the most sacred symbols of the Judeo-Christian tradition.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/episcopal-bishop-outraged-trump-tear-gassed-protesters-to-use-our-church-as-a-prop?ref=home

Arlington police ‘reevaluating’ agreement with DC police after officers were used ‘for a purpose not worthy of our mutual aid obligations’ On Monday, June 1, police from Arlington, Virginia (a Washington, D.C. suburb) helped police in the nation’s capital control large protests demanding justice for George Floyd. But Arlington officers, according to Washington television station WUSA 9 (a CBS-affiliation station) are now “reevaluating” their “agreement with” Washington law enforcement because of their actions on behalf of President Donald Trump. Washington police have been widely criticized for using violent force against peaceful protestors in order to clear the way for Trump to speak at St. John’s Episcopal Church and rally his base with a photo op. And Arlington police, according to WUSA, see that as a misuse of law enforcement. https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/arlington-police-reevaluating-agreement-with-dc-police-that-used-officers-for-a-purpose-not-worthy-of-our-mutual-aid-obligations/

‘Very proud of themselves’: Senior WH official says Trump team was ‘celebrating’ tear gas stunt The Trump White House is “celebrating” Monday evening’s gassing of protestors in Lafayette Park to clear the area so the President could walk to St. John’s Church to hold up a bible for a photo-op. President Donald Trump made the decision to hold a Rose Garden speech during which he threatened to deploy the Military throughout the country to “quell” protestors demonstrating over the police killing of George Floyd, then march to the historic house of worship. “One senior aide was exuberantly telling friends the photograph of [Trump] holding a Bible in front of the church that had been attacked by vandals was an ‘iconic’ moment for the president,” Axios’ Jonathan Swan reports. https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/very-proud-of-themselves-senior-wh-official-says-trump-team-was-celebrating-tear-gas-stunt/

‘Wow!’ CNN’s Anderson Cooper is appalled by the real reason Trump went to St. John’s Church On Monday evening, President Donald Trump appeared to cause mass disruption and chaos as federal police cleared peaceful protesters with forceful tactics outside the White House ahead of his walk to the nearby St. John’s Church. And when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins told Anderson Cooper on air of the reported reason behind this move, the host was shocked and appalled. “Sources are telling my colleague Kevin Liptak that, in part, the reason the president made this trip outside the gates of the White House — a really rare trip, where you do not often see the president walk out of the front door of the White House, walk across Lafayette Square, to St. John’s — was driven, in part, that he was upset by coverage of the fact that he had been rushed to the underground bunker on Friday night during the protests that you saw breaking out here, in front of the White House,” she said. “Oh my God!” said Cooper, rolling his eyes. “Wow! We are in trouble. This country is being led by a man … he was taken to a bunker, and you know, he’s hiding in a bunker, and he’s embarrassed that people know that. So what does he have to do? He has to sic police on peaceful protesters so he can make a big show of being, you know, the little big man, walking to a closed down church. And then, you know, he always talks about the world laughing — that the world is laughing at the governors right now. They’re not laughing at the governors, they’re standing in horror at what is happening. The only people that the world is laugh at is the president of the United States.”

Iraq war veteran accuses cops of ‘walking around like stormtroopers’ during protests: ‘There’s a rot at the heart of policing’ “Deescalate,” a term that is often used by responsible law enforcement officers, refers to efforts to calm down an intense situation and not escalate the potential for violence — and Iraq War veteran Rafael Noboa y Rivera, in a disturbing article for the Daily Beast, warns that during the “Justice for George Floyd” protests, way too many police have been doing the opposite of deescalating. https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/iraq-war-veteran-accuses-cops-of-walking-around-like-stormtroopers-during-protests-theres-a-rot-at-the-heart-of-policing/

He could be a sonofabirch.

Fox News urges viewers to make citizen’s arrests: Take "zip ties and subdue some of these people" "It’s up to us to realize cops can’t be everywhere, DOJ can’t be everywhere, law enforcement can’t be everywhere"

Matt Gaetz’s Tweet About Hunting Antifa ‘Terrorists’ Gets Twitter Warning Label Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) fired off an incendiary tweet Monday, asking if the U.S. can “hunt” down members of the left-wing anti-fascist group antifa. “Now that we clearly see Antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?” the Republican lawmaker said. Twitter on Monday restricted the Florida lawmaker’s tweet for violating its policies against glorifying violence—but did not remove it. (When someone who has Trump's ear says something like this, you bet that there is a real threat here)

And then you could leaf?

Trump and Barr Move Another Step Closer To Dictatorship: Barr Promises to Sic Terrorism Task Forces on Protesters The nationwide network of Joint Terrorism Task Forces aren’t built to go after property crimes committed by protesters. But, veterans say, the rule of law isn’t the point here. Attorney General Bill Barr told state governors on Monday that the Department of Justice was prepared to use the FBI’s regional counterterrorism hubs to share information with local law enforcement about “extremists” and “agitators” in the protests sweeping the country. Barr said the Justice Department would tap Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)—regional groups that ordinarily unite area FBI agents with state, local and federal law enforcement to monitor and pursue suspected terrorists—to “identify people in the crowd, pull them out and prosecute them.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-barr-pledges-to-sic-terrorism-task-forces-on-protesters?ref=home

There is no perfect place to live- where its warm all year round, you have to put up with tornados, tsunamis, hurricanes, lethal insects and reptiles, predatory animals and political instability. Costa Rica comes pretty close, though.

Coronavirus is a blood vessel disease, study says — and its mysteries finally make sense "Covid Toe," pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, and other odd manifestations are finally tied together JUNE 1, 2020 6:55PM (UTC) Anew report from a well-respected medical journal suggests that the coronavirus may be a blood vessel disease as well as a respiratory infection. That explanation would tie together a number of disparate manifestations of the novel coronavirus that were previously confounding researchers. That includes the emergence of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a coronavirus-related syndrome which only affects children; and the presence of toe rashes, a condition that has been dubbed "Covid Toe." https://www.salon.com/2020/06/01/coronavirus-is-a-blood-vessel-disease-study-says-and-its-mysteries-finally-make-sense/

Trump posts tweet threatening unnamed people in a video he accuses of being ‘anarchists’ In a reckless and dangerous move, President Donald Trump posted a video on Twitter Monday of a small group of people, apparently at a protest, speaking vaguely about putting “stuff out here.” Despite the fact that the video appeared entirely innocuous, Trump apparently read into the clip sinister motives, and shared it to his millions of followers with a threatening message. “Anarchists, we see you!” he wrote. https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/trump-posts-tweet-threatening-unnamed-people-in-a-video-he-accuses-of-being-anarchists/ (Trump has become divorced from reality)

True believers say, "YES!!"

As imperfect as Winnipeg and Canada are, any black American player who is looking to raise a child in that poisoned miasma that is the current American culture has to be scared.

Ex-FBI official slams Bill Barr for ignoring the right-wing ‘Boogaloo Bois’ infiltrating protests Attorney General Bill Barr was slammed by the former assistant director for counterintelligence at the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Saturday for misleading Americans about the source of violence at the protests over the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. “There’s evidence developing, Brian, that the organization we’re seeing of the most violent protesters is coming from a couple of disturbing places,” both, by the way, there’s disparate in terms in being from the right or the left. here’s what those who monitor these groups and sites are seeing. We’re seeing a far-right group, one group for example known as the Boogaloo Bois, who on their private Facebook page and social media outlets are calling for violence, calling for people to show up,” Frank Figliuzzi told MSNBC’s Brian Williams. https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/ex-fbi-official-slams-bill-barr-for-ignoring-the-right-wing-boogaloo-bois-infiltrating-protests/

Illinois governor immediately confronted Trump over his ‘inflammatory’ rhetoric during call In leaked audio obtained by CNN, President Donald Trump can be heard lambasting governors during a teleconference call on Monday — slamming them as “weak” for not doing more to bring protestors under control and not encouraging more arrests. Trump stressed that he wanted governors to “dominate” protestors. But Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker did not take it lying down. https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/illinois-governor-immediately-confronted-trump-over-his-inflammatory-rhetoric-during-call/ (Sound like Trump is displacing his bedroom fantasies here)

This has been brewing for a while. Police forces in the US have been buying and have been given military equipment designed for urban warfare and the reality is that there has never been a weapon that was designed but never used. Thus many police forces have had this equipment and some officers have been itching to use it, and the black people know exactly who it was meant for, ramping up their anxiety and reactiveness. By comparison, about 25 years ago, Scotland Yard police management in London were preparing to issue sidearms to the Bobbies, but the police overwhelmingly rejected this, threatening to go on strike if necessary to make their point. They believed that carrying firearms would create an atmosphere that would make them more at risk and, most importantly, distort the relationship they had with the public. The management backed down.