Stephan: I have been covering and reporting on the trend of White supremacist militia members infiltrating the police in America for years (see SR archives), since I first saw a report from the FBI on this issue. Violence prone White supremacists in and out of law enforcement constitute the largest terrorist threat in the country. Even stranger the police command structure has failed to realize that these terrorists are a threat to the police themselves. For instance, two police officers this year have been killed by these thugs.
Riot police move protesters after confrontations between protesters and militia members in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Photograph: Nathan Posner/Rex/Shutterstock
White supremacist groups have infiltrated US law enforcement agencies in every region of the country over the last two decades, according to a new report about the ties between police and far-right vigilante groups.
In a timely new analysis, Michael German, a former FBI special agent who has written extensively on the ways that US law enforcement have failed to respond to far-right domestic terror threats, concludes that US law enforcement officials have been tied to racist militant activities in more than a dozen states since 2000, and hundreds of police officers have been caught posting racist and bigoted social media content.Far-right leader and Washington officers face civil rights lawsuit over violent incidentRead more
The report notes that over the years, police links to militias and white supremacist groups have been uncovered in states including Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
Police in Sacramento, California, in 2018 worked with neo-Nazis to pursue charges […]
Stephan: There is something deeply wrong with the police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They shout out their support and offer a water bottle to a teenage White supremacist murderer, but immediately arrest... well, you read the story.
Police officers stand guard inside of a fenced area that surrounds several government buildings on August 27, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers approved a request for an additional 500 National Guard troops to be deployed into Wisconsin on August 26. Many arrests have been made with the additional presence of law enforcement. Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty
Soon after their Wednesday arrival in Kenosha, Wisconsin, eight volunteers from Seattle-based Riot Kitchen who planned to distribute free food to protesters were arrested by law enforcement officials who emerged from unmarked cars, as the Seattle Timesreported.
Footage recorded by a bystander and widely shared on social media was featured in the Washington Post. The video shows law enforcement officers jump out of black SUVs and smash the window of a minivan before handcuffing both of the vehicle’s occupants:https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/9f6692e7-f639-4031-b6d9-e39539bb5fcd
Riot Kitchen board member Jennifer Scheurle told the Post that off-camera, officers arrested six additional members of the nonprofit group.
“Our mission is to feed people for free—protesters and everyone in need,” Scheurle told the Times. “We were from out of town—but that’s not illegal.”
On Thursday afternoon, Scheurle said four of members of the […]
Stephan: You couldn't make this up and not be taken for a dingbat. It isn't just that Melania (who sleeps in a separate bedroom from her husband) thought the Obamas' bedroom was "shabby" not fancy enough for her; it is the racism implicit in this report that is amazing. Consider this Saturday's Republican Scum Report.
Melania Trump
“Melania just flat out refused to move to Washington DC until it had been completely redesigned and revamped,” a book insider said.
“Stephanie talks about how she took one look at her bedroom and bathroom and demanded a new shower and toilet.
“She was not prepared to use the same bathroom as the Obamas or anyone else for that matter – it wouldn’t matter if it was the Queen of England.
“She wanted everything redecorated, repainted, new furniture and decor – everything was old and shabby and she wanted it to be brand new.
“Melania is the wife of the president and doesn’t expect she should have to make do with second hand or previously used facilities.
“In fact she seemed to be much more concerned about the decor than she did about allegations of her husband’s alleged infidelity, according to Stephanie.”
A new book released by her ex-friend claims she wanted the toilet used by former President Barack Obama […]
Danielle Renwick and Shoshana Dubnow, - Kaiser Health News
Stephan: In the racist anti-immigrant Trump world the non-White and immigrant men and women who have worked day and night to save the lives of every American needing medical care regardless of their race, gender, or religion don't count. And yet thousands of Americans would be dead were it not for these people, 1,000 of whom gave up their lives doing this service for the rest of us. Here are the facts from Kaiser Health News
Medical personnel who are either immigrants or people of color or both
More than 1,000 front-line health care workers reportedly have died of COVID-19, according to Lost on the Frontline, an ongoing investigation by The Guardian and KHN to track and memorialize every U.S. health care worker who dies from the coronavirus. Earlier this month, the organizations published a major interactive database. It is the most comprehensive accounting of U.S. health care workers’ deaths in the country.
KHN and The Guardian are tracking health care workers who died from COVID-19 and writing about their lives and what happened in their final days.READ THEIR STORIES
The virus has taken a disproportionate toll on communities of color and immigrants — and health workers haven’t been spared.
Guardian and KHN reporters have published profiles of 177 of the 1,079 victims we have identified based on obituaries, news reports, social media posts and other sources. Of those 177, 62.1% were identified as Black, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander or Native […]
Stephan: If you were part of any of the Portland demonstrations this summer where tear gas was used, or any other city where it was employed, you would do well to have your physician examine your lungs and do a blood panel workup. It turns out you may have been deliberately poisoned. Here's the story.
Federal officers use tear gas and other crowd dispersal munitions on protesters outside the Multnomah County Justice Center on July 17, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Federal law enforcement agencies attempt to intervene as protests continue in Portland. Credit: Mason Trinca/Getty
The city of Portland recently sent the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) information they requested about the chemicals contained in the crowd control agents that have been sprayed on Black Lives Matter protesters by law enforcement since May — and their documents reveal that the tear gas contains chemicals that are apt to pose a health risk to those exposed, particularly given the high quantities sprayed. The documents provide insight into the potential health and environmental hazards posed by the tear gas that has blanketed protesters in the streets of downtown Portland nearly every night for months.
The documents also confirm that the city of Portland sources its tear gas from Safariland, LLC, a “security products” manufacturer that has faced scrutiny for its role in supplying tear gas used by law enforcement to suppress protests over the
