Best of the Web:

Best of the Web: D.C. Mayor Bowser has 'Black Lives Matter' painted on street leading to White House

Rebecca Shabad
NBC News
Fri, 05 Jun 2020 18:56 UTC

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser on Friday had "Black Lives Matter" painted on the street that leads to the White House where protesters have been demonstrating following George Floyd's death in police custody.

"There was a dispute this week about whose street this is," John Falcicchio, chief of staff for Bowser, a Democrat, said in a tweet. "Mayor Bowser wanted to make it abundantly clear that this is DC's street and to honor demonstrators who (were) peacefully protesting on Monday evening."

People were seen painting the words "Black Lives Matter" on Friday morning in large block letters in yellow across 16th street, which leads to Lafayette Square and the White House.

Bowser tweeted later in the morning that that particular section of 16th Street has been renamed "Black Lives Matter Plaza."

Comment: Who virtue signaled harder, Bowser or Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey?

And all this for a lie!

The statistics show that Blacks are not killed in proportionally higher numbers than Whites by the police in the USA.

Best of the Web: Time to relocate! Minneapolis City Council members pledge to 'dismantle' police department

Vincent Barone
New York Post
Thu, 04 Jun 2020 23:31 UTC

Members of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to "dismantle" the city's police department in the wake of worldwide protests over the killing of George Floyd.

Council President Lisa Bender joined several other members in promises to drastically change how public safety is upheld in the city.

"We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a transformative new model of public safety," Bender tweeted.

Comment: It seems western civilization has reached peak idiocy. When the city that just erupted in violent riots and looting, which sparked similar riots across the country and even other parts of the world, decides the best response to that is to dismantle the police department you know that the leaders have clearly lost their minds. Anyone living in Minneapolis would be best advised to put their home up for sale now.

See also:

Flashback Best of the Web: Moral Outrage is Actually Self-Serving, NOT Altruistic, Say Psychologists

Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Reason
Wed, 01 Mar 2017 08:45 UTC

Perpetually raging about the world's injustices? You're probably overcompensating

It makes you *look* like you care, but really, you only care about yourself and your more immediate in-group

When people publicly rage about perceived injustices that don't affect them personally, we tend to assume this expression is rooted in altruism — a "disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others." But new research suggests that professing such third-party concern — what social scientists refer to as "moral outrage" — is often a function of self-interest, wielded to assuage feelings of personal culpability for societal harms or reinforce (to the self and others) one's own status as a Very Good Person.

Outrage expressed "on behalf of the victim of [a perceived] moral violation" is often thought of as "a prosocial emotion" rooted in "a desire to restore justice by fighting on behalf of the victimized," explain Bowdoin psychology professor Zachary Rothschild and University of Southern Mississippi psychology professor Lucas A. Keefer in the latest edition of Motivation and Emotion. Yet this conventional construction — moral outrage as the purview of the especially righteous — is "called into question" by research on guilt, they say.

Feelings of guilt are a direct threat to one's sense that they are a moral person and, accordingly, research on guilt ﬁnds that this emotion elicits strategies aimed at alleviating guilt that do not always involve undoing one's actions. Furthermore, research shows that individuals respond to reminders of their group's moral culpability with feelings of outrage at third-party harm-doing. These findings suggest that feelings of moral outrage, long thought to be grounded solely in concerns with maintaining justice, may sometimes reflect efforts to maintain a moral identity.

Comment: This is why conservatives, who tend to have more moral taste buds than liberals/lefties, just don't scream and holler on the streets as much. They do care about issues, but they're not as narcissistic and have too little time on their hands because they're busy actually doing caring things for friends, family, community and so on.

See also:

Best of the Web: Israeli forces trained Minneapolis cops in brutal 'restraint techniques' at US conference

Steve Sweeney
People's World
Mon, 01 Jun 2020 14:37 UTC

Officers from the U.S. police force responsible for the killing of George Floyd received training in restraint techniques and anti-terror tactics from Israeli law enforcement officers. Floyd's death in custody on Memorial Day, the latest in a succession of police killings of African Americans, has sparked continuing protests in U.S. cities.

At least 100 Minnesota police officers attended a 2012 conference hosted by Israel's Chicago consulate, the second time such an event had been held. There, they learned the violent techniques used by Israeli forces as they terrorize the occupied Palestinian territories under the guise of security operations. The so-called counterterrorism training conference in Minneapolis was jointly hosted by the FBI.

Israeli deputy consul Shahar Arieli claimed that the half-day session brought "top-notch professionals from the Israeli police" to share knowledge with their U.S. counterparts. It is unclear whether any of the officers involved in the incident in which Floyd was killed attended the conference.

Comment: Global Research provides more background:

[...} the tragic murder of George Floyd has the hallmark of an Israeli-trained tactic put to use to restrain suspects. Many U.S. states, cities and towns allow their police departments to be trained by the Israeli police, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and by Israel's internal security service's known as Shin Bet who for decades has oppressed the Palestinians with brutal policing tactics. The Israeli's are experts in abuse and torture of the Palestinians which dates back to 1948, so now they train US police forces who use the same tactics to subdue protesters or to violently arrest people for some reason or another. An article by the Jewish Voice For Peace in 2018 titled 'Deadly Exchange Report Reveals Extent of Massive Training Programs Between U.S. Law Enforcement and Israeli Police, Military and the Shin Bet' begins its analysis with who is involved with Israeli training methods:

From the acting Deputy Director of ICE to the current Chief of Police in Washington DC, from San Diego to Chicago to Atlanta, since 2002 thousands of American law enforcement officials have trained in Israel with Israeli police, military and the Shin Bet. And thousands more have participated in security conferences and workshops with Israeli military, law enforcement and security officials held in the U.S. But despite their branding as top-tier counter-terrorism experts, Israeli police and security agents regularly violate civil rights, and implement racist and deadly policies

[...]

According to the report produced by Researching the American-Israeli Alliance (RAIA) in partnership with Jewish Voice for Peace titled 'Deadly Exchange: The Dangerous Consequences of American Law Enforcement Trainings in Israel' says that the Israeli military, police and those in intelligence agencies train US police forces under Israel's counter-terrorism methods which also involves racial profiling...

[...]

The report said that "Months after 9/11, American law enforcement representatives attended their first official training expedition to Israel to exchange "best practices," knowledge, and expertise in counter-terrorism." Members from the FBI, CIA, chiefs and deputy chiefs from police departments across the US including California, New York, Texas, Maryland, Florida and others who were "schooled in Israeli military approaches to intelligence gathering, border security, checkpoints, and coordination with the media." The report said that the "US law enforcement exchange programs with Israel have become standard, with hundreds of American law enforcement officials from across the country going to Israel for trainings, and thousands more participating in security conferences and workshops with Israeli personnel in the United States." Allowing Israel's tactics to be used on US citizens has been normalized establishing even closer ties between both countries:

These exchange programs with Israel facilitate the sharing of practices and technologies between US law enforcement and the Israeli military, police and intelligence agencies; Instill militarized logics of security into the civilian sphere, normalizing practices of mass surveillance, criminalization, and the violent repression of communities and movements the government defines as threatening; and deepen ties between US and Israeli officials to shore up support for a shared security model that justifies flagrant human and civil rights violations

This a reminder to the world that the police tactics used on George Floyd that got him killed was established in Israel, a Zionist state that uses the same tactics to oppress the Palestinians on a daily level is now commonly being used by US police forces.

And from TRT World:

Both Amnesty and the US State Department have cited incidences of Israeli security officials engaging in brutality against Palestinians.

The rights group said: "Baltimore and other police departments should find partners that will train on de-escalation techniques, how to handle mentally challenged or ill citizens, on the constitutional rights of citizens concerning filming and how to appropriately respond to those using non-violent protest to express their opinions. Israel is not such a partner."

Palestinian activist Huda Ammori of the Apartheid off Campus group told TRT World that such links between "militarised" US police forces and the Israeli security establishment emphasised the need for unity between African-Americans and Palestinians.

"We're seeing the oppressors united with their training, their same techniques. Between the Black Lives Matter community and the Palestinian community, and other communities across the world, we need to unite to fight against these systems." Ammori said.

"It's the same systems of oppression that are affecting all of these communities...we must fight back together."

Best of the Web: Medical martial law: Liberalism's final capitulation

David William Pear
OffGuardian
Fri, 05 Jun 2020 07:11 UTC

They passed the USA PATRIOT Act - and I did nothing because I am a patriot.
They passed the USA Freedom Act - and I believe in freedom.
They nominated Hillary Clinton - and I voted for the lesser evil.
They declared medical martial law - and I didn't want to kill grandma.
They said to wear a facemask - and I passively obeyed.
I believe Joe Biden - because I am a liberal.
Ode to a Liberal - DWP

In 2010 Chris Hedges declared the liberal class as dead as a doornail. He was late. Liberalism had died decades earlier. All that remains now is the separate components of the body of liberalism. The stinking compounds have decomposed into identity politics.

The cause of death for the liberal class, as Chris Hedges tells us, was gullibility. Liberals were foolish enough to believe that they could moderate capitalism. They thought that they could change corporatism by elections, mass movements, whining and begging for incrementally.

The liberal class started their negotiations by compromising all of their ethics, beliefs, and powers. All they got in return were table-scraps to identity politics. The power elite did not give up anything it really cares about. The corporatists raped, pillaged and burned with abandon, while liberals wallowed in political correctness.

Comment: Well said. The contradictions within the liberal class are so numerous and obvious that it can be said that anything that it may have stood for, is completely gone, and now even symbolize the exact opposite of what they claim to be.

Best of the Web: Lancet, New England Journal retract Covid-19 studies, including one that raised safety concerns about malaria drugs

Andrew Joseph
Stat News
Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00 UTC

The Lancet, one of the world's top medical journals, on Thursday retracted an influential study that raised alarms about the safety of the experimental Covid-19 treatments chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine amid scrutiny of the data underlying the paper.

Just over an hour later, the New England Journal of Medicine retracted a separate study, focused on blood pressure medications in Covid-19, that relied on data from the same company.

The retractions came at the request of the authors of the studies, published last month, who were not directly involved with the data collection and sources, the journals said.

"We can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources," Mandeep Mehra of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Frank Ruschitzka of University Hospital Zurich, and Amit Patel of University of Utah said in a statement issued by the Lancet. "Due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted."

Best of the Web: To understand Iran's 150-year fight, follow the trail of blood and oil

Cynthia Chung
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sat, 23 May 2020 19:48 UTC

This past Sunday, April 17th, a dispute between Iran and the U.S. occurred over the U.S.' decision to increase its military presence in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific waters, with the purported reason being a counter-narcotics campaign.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this past Sunday, that the real purpose for this move by the U.S. is to "intervene and create disruption in the transfer of Iran's fuel to Venezuela." In the same letter, Zarif expressed concern over "the United States' intention to consider dangerous, unlawful and provocative measures against Iranian oil tankers engaged in perfectly lawful international commerce with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."

The Iranian deployment consists of five tankers carrying around $45.5million of gasoline and related products, as part of a wider deal between Iran and Venezuela. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on both nations' oil exports.

Best of the Web: Defying Trump: Defense Secretary Esper doesn't support invoking Insurrection Act - US military will NOT be deployed to stop rioting

Amanda Macias
CNBC
Wed, 03 Jun 2020 11:15 UTC

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that he does not support invoking the Insurrection Act, a law from 1807 that would allow President Donald Trump to deploy active-duty U.S. troops to respond to civil unrest in cities across the country.

"I say this not only as Secretary of Defense, but also as a former soldier and a former member of the National Guard, the option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire situations. We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act."

Meanwhile, NBC News, citing two White House officials, reported that Trump is backing off the idea of invoking the act, at least for now.

Comment: One step forward, one step back...

Senior defense officials told the Associated Press on Wednesday that active duty military deployed to the nation's capital are heading back to their base after a couple days of more peaceful protests.

According to the report, 200 soldiers with the 82nd Airborne will be leaving first on Wednesday. Other soldiers will be sent home should conditions in DC remain stable.

Bringing in active duty military had many worried about overreach by the federal government, but the soldiers were never actually deployed into the city. They were instead stationed at bases in Virginia and Maryland and kept on alert.

Troops actually stationed in DC will remain on a 30-minute alert status in case protests get violent and law enforcement cannot handle the situation.

And...a change of mind:

No active-duty troops that were recently deployed to the DC area to manage heated protests will be leaving just yet, the Pentagon said - an apparent reversal of an earlier plan to send some 200 home.

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper's u-turn followed a White House meeting and "internal Pentagon discussions" on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported, citing Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, who said the decision is meant to ensure law enforcement in the capital have support in case of renewed unrest.
"It is our intent at this point not to bring in active forces, we don't think we need them at this point. But it's prudent to have the reserve capability in the queue, on a short string."
McCarthy added that around 200 soldiers with the 82nd Airborne would remain in the capital region for another 24 hours. "It's a dynamic situation... we're trying to withdraw them and get them back home."

Best of the Web: 'Professor Lockdown' Ferguson, UK's Covid-19 czar, admits crippling restrictions MADE NO DIFFERENCE

Jason O'Toole
RT
Wed, 03 Jun 2020 18:21 UTC

The British scientist known as Professor Lockdown has undermined the draconian policy he unleashed on the world by confessing that Britain hasn't fared any better in tackling the disease than the laid-back Scandis.

Professor Neil Ferguson probably woke up this morning breathing a massive sigh of relief because he hadn't been ripped to shreds again in the British newspapers for this second time in just under a month - this time over his startling admission that there has been no significant difference in the levels of Covid-19 suppression when comparing the UK and Sweden.

During his evidence to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, he said: "They [Swedish scientists] came to a different policy conclusion based really on quite similar science. I don't agree with it but scientifically they're not far from scientists in any part of the world."

He then acknowledged that the Swedish authorities had "got a long way to the same effect" without a full lockdown.

Best of the Web: How can the virus tell?! Anti-racism protests SAFE from Covid-19, but anti-lockdown protests are NOT, health 'experts' claim

RT
Wed, 03 Jun 2020 15:01 UTC

An open letter signed by hundreds of self-styled health 'experts' touts "protests against systemic racism" as not only Covid-19 safe but "vital to the national public health" - while protests against lockdowns remain deadly.

Calling "white supremacy" a "lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to Covid-19," the letter - signed by upwards of 1,200 self-declared public health professionals before it was closed to signatures on Tuesday, supposedly because "alt-right messages" had been added - trumpets the necessity of continuing the protests that began after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, pandemic be damned.

Despite months of warnings that getting within six feet of another human being will invariably result in infection and likely death, the letter proclaims that "as public health advocates, we do not condemn these gatherings as risky for Covid-19 transmission." Posted in final form on Wednesday, it outlines a series of "safest protesting practices" - providing masks, hand-washing stations and hand sanitizer to demonstrators, for example - while stressing that its approval of the nationwide anti-racism protests "should not be confused with a permissive stance on all gatherings, particularly protests against stay-at-home orders."

Comment: Doctors. With honorable exceptions, they are a dangerous subgroup of the authoritarian branch. Maintain social distancing to the greatest possible extent.

"Parsi also claims to have heard from a Western-friendly "senior Global South diplomat" that "whatever agonizing claim the US had to lead a...

ReRan

Their spelling is wrong. Shouldn't it be attack'ems ?

ReRan

Needless, wanton violence. So sad.

ReRan

Depopulation agenda is well under way....less stupid humans might be better.

Gator

and you thought your wife's back seat driving was annoying....

Gator

Best of the Web:

Best of the Web: D.C. Mayor Bowser has 'Black Lives Matter' painted on street leading to White House

Best of the Web: Time to relocate! Minneapolis City Council members pledge to 'dismantle' police department

Flashback Best of the Web: Moral Outrage is Actually Self-Serving, NOT Altruistic, Say Psychologists

Best of the Web: Israeli forces trained Minneapolis cops in brutal 'restraint techniques' at US conference

Best of the Web: Medical martial law: Liberalism's final capitulation

Best of the Web: Lancet, New England Journal retract Covid-19 studies, including one that raised safety concerns about malaria drugs

Best of the Web: To understand Iran's 150-year fight, follow the trail of blood and oil

Best of the Web: Defying Trump: Defense Secretary Esper doesn't support invoking Insurrection Act - US military will NOT be deployed to stop rioting

Best of the Web: 'Professor Lockdown' Ferguson, UK's Covid-19 czar, admits crippling restrictions MADE NO DIFFERENCE

Best of the Web: How can the virus tell?! Anti-racism protests SAFE from Covid-19, but anti-lockdown protests are NOT, health 'experts' claim

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