Is America burning? (Black Lives Matter protests, civil unrest and riots 2020)

[Streathamite]

I don't know of any right wing Clinton supporters. In the US, Clinton supporters are called leftists by conservatives.

Well yes, but now let's put it in it's global context, shall we?
viewed through the prism of the full spectrum of differing political opinions and ideologies worldwide, Clintonians are a considerable distance to the right of (say), the German SPD, most centre-left movements and parties in the developing world, Scandinavian style social democracy, the current Labour Party in the UK, and even France's La République En Marche!.
In fact, quite a lot of the politicians recently exiled from Britain's Conservartive party (Rudd, Greening, Gauke and Grieve in particular) would feel quite at home in the Democrats, and utterly horrified and repelled by the GOP

 

[Streathamite]

Don't you find it strange that dumpsters have been set on fire all over downtown Portland?

Actually, no. It's easily done, and all so one or two arsonists - unconnected to any protest - may have been on a mini-rampage.

 

[Streathamite]

Just saw it. Unbelievable. Here it is.



I thought the police were just staying away but no they’re doing this.

Fucking hell. Whoever is in charge there is a complete moron. They've just guaranteed months of terrible publicity for their whole department from one of the world's most watched and syndicated news broadcasters.

 

[JimW]

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Centrist. He's a twat but he's been consistent in his horrible liberal politics, he's also not a newbie.

I don't see him saying anything I couldn't imagine a Labour moderate saying tbh.

 

[RhymnRzn]

In other news..

Ex-Cop Charged in George Floyd Murder Out On $1M Bail, Dozens Arrested in Protest - UNICORN RIOT

Minneapolis, MN – Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officer charged with murdering George Floyd, was released from jail on a non-cash bond on Wednesday, October 7. In response to expected protests over Derek Chauvin being released from jail, Minnesota’s Governor, Tim...

unicornriot.ninja

i wonder who stumped up the bail money

nutty innit? all out murderer, wouldn't be able to cough up a million extra dollars in his life, and here we got other people donating dirty money to bail out the crooked copper. because of this all bets are off all deals off i must say

 

[teqniq]

Why indeed.

 

[Streathamite]

Why indeed.

View attachment 233507

AOCs really putting herself out there at the moment, which is good to see.
Hopefully, she'll challenge Schumer for his Senate seat in 2022. He'll be 72 by then, and frankly, the sooner the Dems turf out centrist relics like him, the better

 

[spring-peeper]

Will America burn?

I've read a couple of articles that suggest that the plot to kidnap the Michigan governor was really a citizen arrest.

I really do fear for that country.....

 

[krtek a houby]

Will America burn?

I've read a couple of articles that suggest that the plot to kidnap the Michigan governor was really a citizen arrest.

I really do fear for that country.....

Me too. Online chatter from right wingers over here is that the governor "brought it on herself"

 

[yield]

Will America burn?

I've read a couple of articles that suggest that the plot to kidnap the Michigan governor was really a citizen arrest.

I really do fear for that country.....

while the MI GOP has (i think) condrmned them, this copper thinks the terrorists aren't really so bad

petee posted this link. The local law enforcement officer was suprisingly partisan.

Not seriously considered another American Civil War being a possibility before, but now I'm not so sure. Robert Evans' It Could Happen Here podcast from last year is being to feel prescient

This youtube talk (an hour long) with author and security analyst David Kilcullen, from a few months ago, outlines a lot of the possible flash points.

Spoiler: youtube

Though with for-profit healthcare amid a global pandemic, the opiate epidemic, police violence, suicide and other deaths of despair, and as the bodycount rises, the civil war actually started some time ago.

 

[pesh]

In an unexpected development Channel 9 News in Denver appear to have shot and killed a Proudboy

 

[maomao]

In an unexpected development Channel 9 News in Denver appear to have shot and killed a Proudboy

There's photos of the incident (quite graphic) on the Denver Post site. You would have expected the nazi to be the one with the gun but all he had was mace. Pretty stupid spraying that shit at someone holding a gun. Still, one less nazi.

 

[dylanredefined]

nutty innit? all out murderer, wouldn't be able to cough up a million extra dollars in his life, and here we got other people donating dirty money to bail out the crooked copper. because of this all bets are off all deals off i must say

Not exactly crooked no one paid them extra to kill Mr Floyd. Badly trained or Incompetent and possibly racist yes. They just saw Mr Floyd as a criminal and not not worth caring about.

 

[RhymnRzn]

^Nah, more like a grim reaper wanna be incarnate, crooked in every way. its bold, got his spoil-the-poor precinct burned down, not only doesn't admit his wrong, wants the charges dropped! and he's on course to get it, seeing how they cut him loose out of state to preserve his safety supposedly

 

[teqniq]

i read this the other day, It pretty much confirmed my suspicions that he was executed:

‘Straight to Gunshots’: How a U.S. Task Force Killed an Antifa Activist (Published 2020)

New accounts from the scene raise questions about whether Michael Reinoehl, suspected of killing a far-right Trump supporter, pulled out a gun before officers fatally shot him.

www.nytimes.com

and now this:



Fucking hell.

 

[Nylock]

Since he likely ordered this, he needs to face trial once out of office.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

Since he likely ordered this, he needs to face trial once out of office.

Doubt he "ordered" this except in his head after the fact, but hey, I could be wrong.

 

[Humberto]

Dunno he's white and blond (sort of), that gives the muderate a semi-on.

 

[Humberto]

i mean it was Hitlers whole 'Shtick' wasn't it.

 

[Humberto]

Extra governmental (private) militias

 

[Pickman's model]

Since he likely ordered this, he needs to face trial once out of office.

Why spend money on a trial when it would be quicker and cheaper to send in the marshals

 

[Lord Camomile]

But, but... Antifaaaaaaaa

 

[yield]

Americans Are Frantically Buying Military Gear Before the Election
Bloomberg. 23 October 2020

Conflict is on America’s streets in 2020, and “tactical apparel” has become a lifestyle industry serving militarized law-enforcement agents and the freelance gunmen who emulate them. Less than two weeks before Election Day, orders are rolling in.

Since last year, online purchases have driven a 20-fold jump in sales of goods like the $220 CM-6M gas mask -- resistant to bean-bag rounds -- for Mira Safety of Austin, Texas.

“It doesn’t matter who gets elected,” founder Roman Zrazhevskiy said of his new customers. “They think that no matter who wins, Biden or Trump, there are going to be people who are upset about the result.”

Not long ago -- perhaps a generation -- dressing like you’re going to war was for the veteran who never quite made it back from Vietnam or the angry young men who obsessed over gas masks and combat boots at the military surplus store. (Every American town seemed to have one, and only one.)

A shift became apparent with this spring’s Black Lives Matter protests and bitterly resented pandemic lockdowns. Now the gear is everywhere, from camouflage-clad antifa supporters to right-wing extremists who appeared at Michigan’s capitol even after men were arrested in a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

In some suburban and rural settings, it’s become everyday wear. A retail chain called 5.11 Tactical, which traces its roots to a friend of President Donald Trump’s adult sons, is even trying to turn the survivalist look into a fashionable national brand. It’s racking up annual sales of almost $400 million with stores in places including Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Across the country, gun and ammunition sales have surged as well.

“It’s evidence of what many people have been expressing concern about for the last six months -- the stress associated with the pandemic, a frustration or anger about various government mitigation efforts and a belief that those efforts are infringing on their individual liberties,” said Elizabeth Neumann, a former assistant secretary for threat prevention at the Department of Homeland Security.

Tactical gear speaks “to a form of militaristic patriotism, a way for them to find their identities,” said Neumann, who resigned this year over what she described as the Trump administration’s failure to address domestic threats.

Half the orders at Gladiator Solutions come from civilians, a big change from years when law enforcement was the major customer, said Matt Materazo, founder of the Danville, California, company.

Spoiler: more text

“We’ve seen a big uptick coming out of New York, New Jersey, Illinois -- not just those states but Chicago, Manhattan, Queens and San Francisco,” he said. “We never did business with folks from San Francisco.”

His biggest seller is a $220 body-armor plate meant to withstand bullets fired from an AK-47.

Before the pandemic, 5.11 Tactical, based in Irvine, California, was opening two stores a month, drawing customers for “Always Be Ready” events akin to cooking demonstrations at Williams Sonoma. Amid racks of military-style boots, pants and vests, the classes taught self defense, trauma care and “everyday/concealed carry.”

Unexpectedly high consumer sales maintained growth during lockdowns, according to Compass Diversified Holdings Inc., a Westport, Connecticut-based company that owns 5.11 Tactical among a portfolio that also includes Ergobaby infant carriers.

Same-store sales including e-commerce rose 10.5% in the second quarter after 7.5% growth in the first quarter, Chief Operating Officer Pat Maciariello told analysts on a conference call in July.

‘Preparedness Mindset’

The “increased preparedness mindset” is one reason 5.11 Tactical is potentially “transformational,” Maciariello said.

More evidence of a maturing industry: Buyers connect in online forums to discuss the best gear, compare prices and complain when companies rip them off. Megan Squire, a professor at North Carolina’s Elon University, has monitored extremist-group members who lay ballistic vests flat and post pictures, like so-called unboxing videos popular on YouTube. In one post, she said, an enthusiast mocked another user for buying armor that didn’t adequately cover his vital organs.

The 500,000-member U.S. Concealed Carry Association, which says it is “dedicated to helping responsibly armed Americans prepare for the before, during, and after of a self-defense incident,” has seen membership explode. The group is signing up members four times faster than a year ago, said Tim Schmidt, the president. For his part, he recommends against buying ballistic vests.

“You’re preparing yourself for a situation you shouldn’t be in,” Schmidt said. “There’s no reason to actively insert yourself into a violent situation.”

Tactical-gear companies are benefiting from a rush of citizens joining armed groups, some tied to anti-government or White supremacist factions.

“We’ve seen a large increase since April -- it’s only getting bigger,” said Josh Ellis, owner of MyMilitia.com, which allows users to find groups near them. The fastest-growing, four-month-old Angry Viking, has signed up 1,500 members and has “thousands” waiting to join, according to leader Dylan Stevens, a 41-year-old from Houston who was a personal trainer until Covid-19 hit.

In September, when social-justice protesters converged on the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Stevens wore a black bulletproof vest, slung a semi-automatic rifle across his chest and joined others from his group. He said he’s told members that at the polls Nov. 3, they should wear civilian clothes and report suspicious activity to the police -- unless an innocent person is getting attacked; then they’re allowed to “engage.”

MyMilitia.com is full of posts from newcomers seeking advice, with lengthy forums dissecting the pros and cons of tactical gear. “PREP FOR WAR THIS NOVEMBER,” one poster says, linking to DamascusGear, which sells body armor.

Trump Ties

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, has featured in the advertising of various brands. A gun enthusiast raising what he called an “Army for Trump” to watch polls, Trump Jr. drew criticism for appearing in July promotions for a Utah rifle maker owned by a member of The Order, a polygamist sect deemed a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. (Trump Jr. later said, “I barely even know them.”)

Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric, have hunted and fished at the Montana lodge of the former owner of 5.11 Tactical, Dan Costa. An entrepreneur from Modesto, California, Costa owned the company when it went from selling a single pant worn by FBI trainees to becoming the first national “tactical apparel” brand. Costa sold a majority stake in 2007.

His new company, First Tactical, which merged with a Florida maker of body armor, Point Blank Enterprises, expects sales of more than $20 million this year, up from $9 million last year.

“It’s wear and tear,” Costa said. “The police are busy right now.”

 

[DaveCinzano]

Boogaloo Boys:

 

[Pickman's model]

Boogaloo Boys:

by the time you're 26 you shouldn't be describing yourself as one of the bois

 

[DaveCinzano]

The bois are back in town

 

[editor]

You tell em' Fonz



*this could have hone in several threads

 

[two sheds]

A few videos down

 

[two sheds]

Patriot Coalition: Leaked Messages Show Far-Right Group's Plans for Portland Violence - bellingcat

Bellingcat has acquired several months of chat logs from the Patriot Coalition of Oregon, a network of far-right activists.

www.bellingcat.com