Caroline Kennedy --- 2020

[bcm119]

I highly recommend reading this
In Venezuela, we couldn't stop Chavez. Don't make the same mistakes we did.

[Corso]

Thank you! I was looking forward to an in person report from the left-coast (no pun intended)!

I seriously doubt Trump will pull any money, that’s his twitter finger response he HAS to start controlling.

Anarchist are drawn to such protest. And when protest are being encouraged across the country for a variety of reasons, unfortunately this is a side effect.

The mayor of Boston is already warning the college community that they better behave after the Super Bowl. I’m hopping for the best, we don’t need anymore tragedies here over the outcome of a game.

Milo: I’m really not trying to make an issue on him, just pointing out the situation. Your post said it all, very nicely done.

[colker]

The violent protest at Berkeley was a real shame. I was at the gym that night and when I came outside to walk home I heard the helicopters and sirens, and curiosity got the best of me. I walked up Bancroft to the scene and arrived a little after the violence had ended, and things were still burning and the students were walking around looking bewildered and taking lots of pics and video. From what I saw and heard from the students, the protest had been going just fine until a pretty large group of black-clad "anarchists" showed up and proceeded to break the police line, smash windows, launch fireworks and smoke bombs, and light stuff on fire. They acted swiftly and were organized and well prepared. The students were generally very angry, at least the ones I overheard and talked to. "this is NOT a peaceful protest" many of them were saying.

I'm not sure if the black-clad group were just local anarchists or alt-right supporters trying to create a scene to make UCB look bad. In any case they were not UCB students. It's too bad many media outlets failed to distinguish between the group responsible for the violence and the students trying to put on a peaceful protest, because there was a clear distinction and it caused quite a rift. The students helped clean up the damage early the next morning, which was also not covered in most stories.

The "free speech" aspect of the story escapes me. The content of Milo's speeches is quite well known and publicized, and the protest was clearly aimed at his beliefs, not the fact that he was allowed to speak, although some students were angry that he was even on their campus at all. The UC allowed the Berkeley College Republicans to bring Milo to campus and hold his event at their largest auditorium. Most of the students supported the event's existence, but were protesting the content of his speeches, which it isn't going too far to categorize as hate speech. I think someone like Milo should expect to be given an opportunity to speak in this country, but not without consequences, given his hateful rhetoric. In this country, those consequences are and always have been peaceful protest. In this case a group of outsiders spoiled the party and stole the headlines, which is very unfortunate. If trump succeeds in pulling federal funding for the UC, effectively punishing the students for being present when their protest was sabotaged, that would be even more unfortunate.

INteresting how we have the same black clad anarchists dedicated to violence in any protests in the main cities of Brasil. They are aligned to the left here as well. I can´t accept it´s just a coincidence that we see the same MO, same tactics and same uniform in Berkeley and in Rio de Janeiro. On the contrary: it seems like something orchestrated by powers on an international scale. Something similar to organized crime. Whomever is using those "black Blocs" as they like to be called down here is sabotaging democracy and planning something bad. It´s very hard to question them as it is played as a genuine popular movement when i am pretty sure this is organized politics of the worst kind. I rather have traditional politicos than such thing.

[djg714]

Bowling Green massacre.......

National embarrassment.
Yeah I'm talking to you.

[vertical_doug]

INteresting how we have the same black clad anarchists dedicated to violence in any protests in the main cities of Brasil. They are aligned to the left here as well. I can´t accept it´s just a coincidence that we see the same MO, same tactics and same uniform in Berkeley and in Rio de Janeiro. On the contrary: it seems like something orchestrated by powers on an international scale. Something similar to organized crime. Whomever is using those "black Blocs" as they like to be called down here is sabotaging democracy and planning something bad. It´s very hard to question them as it is played as a genuine popular movement when i am pretty sure this is organized politics of the worst kind. I rather have traditional politicos than such thing.

It is surprising none of the black-bloc guys were arrested at UCB so I guess we will never know.

On another note, if PM ABE delivers this package when he visits next week, Trump will claim a big win.

Japan readies package for Trump to help create 7, U.S. jobs
| Reuters

[Corso]

Candidate Obama:

· Last May, he claimed that Kansas tornadoes killed a whopping 10,000 people: “In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died — an entire town destroyed.” The actual death toll: 12.

· Earlier this month in Oregon, he redrew the map of the United States: “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.”

· Last March, on the anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma, Alabama, he claimed his parents united as a direct result of the civil rights movement: “There was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born.” Obama was born in 1961. The Selma march took place in 1965.


I’ve got 8 more years of the above, if you require more.

Sometimes people make mistakes when they say things.
She meant to say “terrorist” instead of massacre. Already apologized. Is this really worth the ink it’s getting?

[Cookietruck]

as for the black blocks.
Black bloc - Wikipedia

notice they have a focus on clashing with the neo-nazi movement...

[Cookietruck]

Sometimes people make mistakes when they say things.
She meant to say “terrorist” instead of massacre. Already apologized. Is this really worth the ink it’s getting?

obama corrected the 10,000 people mistake a few minutes into his speech, atleast that's what i'm reading after a quick google search...and there is a lot of ink about that one too, even though he corrected himself.

any white house administration is going to get alot of ink, that's the way it is.

anyways, i notice the media stepped up holding this administration accountable after conway mentioned "alternative facts" in regard to something obviously false. perhaps it's a fourth estate type thing.

[Cookietruck]

Atleast Gorsuch seems like a decent guy...though, it seems discrimination against people because...religious freedom...is going to be rampant very soon. Pretty sure an Executive Order will be coming on that one.

oh wow. Pence vs. Ivanka and Jared...
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner worked to sink LGBT order - POLITICO

[guido]

Very illuminating podcast on the evolution of dark money. The make a lot of interesting observations on the hooks that Koch Industries associated organizations have into the new administration.

https://wgbh.streamguys1.com/innovat...2__0000000Dsl4

[davids]

You must not be looking because WaPo, NYTimes, Atlantic, and many others in the US alone have criticized Oz in depth - Global media even more so.

Thank you. I certainly knew about Australia's inhumane detention practices from the US media. But, y'know, the Washington Post and the NY Times. So the biased elite US media...

The violent protest at Berkeley was a real shame. I was at the gym that night and when I came outside to walk home I heard the helicopters and sirens, and curiosity got the best of me. I walked up Bancroft to the scene and arrived a little after the violence had ended, and things were still burning and the students were walking around looking bewildered and taking lots of pics and video. From what I saw and heard from the students, the protest had been going just fine until a pretty large group of black-clad "anarchists" showed up and proceeded to break the police line, smash windows, launch fireworks and smoke bombs, and light stuff on fire. They acted swiftly and were organized and well prepared. The students were generally very angry, at least the ones I overheard and talked to. "this is NOT a peaceful protest" many of them were saying.

I'm not sure if the black-clad group were just local anarchists or alt-right supporters trying to create a scene to make UCB look bad. In any case they were not UCB students. It's too bad many media outlets failed to distinguish between the group responsible for the violence and the students trying to put on a peaceful protest, because there was a clear distinction and it caused quite a rift. The students helped clean up the damage early the next morning, which was also not covered in most stories.

The "free speech" aspect of the story escapes me. The content of Milo's speeches is quite well known and publicized, and the protest was clearly aimed at his beliefs, not the fact that he was allowed to speak, although some students were angry that he was even on their campus at all. The UC allowed the Berkeley College Republicans to bring Milo to campus and hold his event at their largest auditorium. Most of the students supported the event's existence, but were protesting the content of his speeches, which it isn't going too far to categorize as hate speech. I think someone like Milo should expect to be given an opportunity to speak in this country, but not without consequences, given his hateful rhetoric. In this country, those consequences are and always have been peaceful protest. In this case a group of outsiders spoiled the party and stole the headlines, which is very unfortunate. If trump succeeds in pulling federal funding for the UC, effectively punishing the students for being present when their protest was sabotaged, that would be even more unfortunate.

Thanks for the report and analysis.

I hate these "anarchists" who I imagine as self-centered, self-righteous overprivileged white kids, who somehow believe that breaking things that belong to other people (that, by the way, underprivileged people will need to clean up) is going to win people to their side.

And I hate that institutions give into the threat of disruption to cancel speeches that these "anarchists" threaten to disrupt. Smith College disinvited Christine Lagarde a couple years back because of assholes like this.

[TMB]

INteresting how we have the same black clad anarchists dedicated to violence in any protests in the main cities of Brasil. They are aligned to the left here as well. I can´t accept it´s just a coincidence that we see the same MO, same tactics and same uniform in Berkeley and in Rio de Janeiro. On the contrary: it seems like something orchestrated by powers on an international scale. Something similar to organized crime. Whomever is using those "black Blocs" as they like to be called down here is sabotaging democracy and planning something bad. It´s very hard to question them as it is played as a genuine popular movement when i am pretty sure this is organized politics of the worst kind. I rather have traditional politicos than such thing.

Yep, the black bloc show up regularly in both Vancouver and Toronto. If there is a protest about something, you can positive they will be in the middle of it, sowing destruction along the way. Windows, cars, anything they can braek or set on fire ... then they just melt away.

[spopepro]

I hate these "anarchists" who I imagine as self-centered, self-righteous overprivileged white kids, who somehow believe that breaking things that belong to other people (that, by the way, underprivileged people will need to clean up) is going to win people to their side.

I'll go out on a limb and guess that I'm probably the only person here who knows people would would be nominally grouped with the "black bloc" label. Maybe xjoex.

Very few are over privileged kids. The people I know are bright, but maybe narrowly educated crypto-anachrist types. People who see government atrocities, oppression, and greed and have grown to believe that such qualities are inherent to government itself. They tend to be living meagerly, crashing where they can when they can, always there for free food at community gatherings. Think old school punks but with an even more dissafected worldview, and a more violent streak.

And part of me can't really fault them. As our government rolls back the very meager rules to protect against the financial meltdown that spurred occupy, saying "just play by the rules and someone will surely listen" seems disingenuous.

[guido]

Playing by the rules has gotten us into the deep stuff...

[colker]

I'll go out on a limb and guess that I'm probably the only person here who knows people would would be nominally grouped with the "black bloc" label. Maybe xjoex.

Very few are over privileged kids. The people I know are bright, but maybe narrowly educated crypto-anachrist types. People who see government atrocities, oppression, and greed and have grown to believe that such qualities are inherent to government itself. They tend to be living meagerly, crashing where they can when they can, always there for free food at community gatherings. Think old school punks but with an even more dissafected worldview, and a more violent streak.

And part of me can't really fault them. As our government rolls back the very meager rules to protect against the financial meltdown that spurred occupy, saying "just play by the rules and someone will surely listen" seems disingenuous.

So.. do they believe someone will listen to violence and correct injustice? You mean THAT silly anarchist violence? A wall street operator can create one billion times more chaos than a broken window and scared old people on a campus night.
Not only the big, heavy players could not give a flying Fck about anarcho punks who still believe a revolution is like a cool party w/ free drinks but they use the little mayhem here and there to bring their organized, heavy, long term violence to the table.
Yes, you play by the rules and defend your freedom w/ non violent, massive protests. Those kids are being idiots, usefull idiots and the result of their actions is LESS freedom, less democracy and less well being.
I don´t care if they are white, black, rich or poor... their actions and ideas are stupid, outdated anarchist romance: they are gasoline on fire, usefull for the big bad guys to justify unleashing their guns w/ badges on better and stronger than anarchy movements. Wasn´t for non violent MLK; how long would it take for the US to accept the civil rights??
You want a revolution? Look at China, Cambodja, USSR, Venezuela, Cuba and see the beauty of authoritarian regimes, mass killings and jails for every dissenting voice. You want to change minds? Be humble, insistent and tolerant.

[rowdyhillrambler]

I grew up, and still support, a number of these organizations. Earth First!, ELF, Ruckus Society. I have been to these actions. Never chose to break a window at a Starbucks, but am fine with destroying a D8 intent on scraping old growth forest. Actions speak, although the actions of a few smashing windows at the almighty coffe shop where you get your fix, will always get the media attention.

Yes, some destroy just for the sake of it. The same guy that shoots a deer and leaves it, it's both sides...

But, anarchism and black bloc get lumped into a weird thing. I must be an Anarchist, I collect rainwater (illegal), been known to treat anxiety herbally (illegal), sell organic food that I grow without a $500 stamp (illegal).

I am also ok with stopping the guy upstream from poisoning my water supply, even though the law says he can.

Black bloc can be a bunch of punks hell bent on destruction, they can also be decent citizens that realize that actions sometimes get things done.

I'll go out on a limb and guess that I'm probably the only person here who knows people would would be nominally grouped with the "black bloc" label. Maybe xjoex.

Very few are over privileged kids. The people I know are bright, but maybe narrowly educated crypto-anachrist types. People who see government atrocities, oppression, and greed and have grown to believe that such qualities are inherent to government itself. They tend to be living meagerly, crashing where they can when they can, always there for free food at community gatherings. Think old school punks but with an even more dissafected worldview, and a more violent streak.

And part of me can't really fault them. As our government rolls back the very meager rules to protect against the financial meltdown that spurred occupy, saying "just play by the rules and someone will surely listen" seems disingenuous.

[Corso]

Rowdy, although I don’t agree fully, I can understand the personal issues you have chosen to handle (illegally). I can respect your choices.

But, I bet most of these folks moving from protest to protest don’t have a clue about the big picture.

Example: Wall street is always the bad guy. Soros made his fortune there, and supports the same organizations who at time protest against his system of obtaining wealth. It doesn’t bother him, as he knows it won’t really change wall street or his fortune.

These block-whatever don’t want to play by the rules? Who screams the loudest when a cop goes rogue? In fact, if the police decided “not” to follow the rules when they meet these anarchists in the streets, the protest would end pretty damn fast.

You can’t really have one side feel it’s it right not to follow rules (law), then expect the other to uphold them. But, guess what? In large, the law enforcement fraternity does just that. Lucky for the chaos creators.

[colker]

I grew up, and still support, a number of these organizations. Earth First!, ELF, Ruckus Society. I have been to these actions. Never chose to break a window at a Starbucks, but am fine with destroying a D8 intent on scraping old growth forest. Actions speak, although the actions of a few smashing windows at the almighty coffe shop where you get your fix, will always get the media attention.

Yes, some destroy just for the sake of it. The same guy that shoots a deer and leaves it, it's both sides...

But, anarchism and black bloc get lumped into a weird thing. I must be an Anarchist, I collect rainwater (illegal), been known to treat anxiety herbally (illegal), sell organic food that I grow without a $500 stamp (illegal).

I am also ok with stopping the guy upstream from poisoning my water supply, even though the law says he can.

Black bloc can be a bunch of punks hell bent on destruction, they can also be decent citizens that realize that actions sometimes get things done.

No. You are not an anarchist. Those actions of yours are civil disobedience which is positive. It has nothing to do w/ black blocs and no.. it´s not decent to destroy what belongs to the public and built w/ people´s taxes.
What have the black blocs EVER accomplished in terms of politcal gain? NOthing. It´s a narcissistic self satisfying fit of fury and nothing else. They dress in black, listen to loud music and hid behind legitimate protests to break things.
I wonder why anrcho punks can´t set their own breakaton politico day? Do they have to ride on the tail of other´s parade? Oh no.. to organize a date for something would be too boring and mainstream.

[colker]

Here in Rio, during the protests of 2013, blackblocs were using fireworks against the cops. One of those hit and killed a cinematographer, a 50 yr old, decent man, a father of 2 teenagers who was doing his work w/ news agencies.
The protests were shut down.

[Cookietruck]

oh man, Flynn is already out, hopefully congress with do what's right and investigate. Isn't this possibly treason?

Anyone read the NYT article on the constant contact between Russian intel and Trump aides? Kinda laughable, with all the spying we do, and the NSA, of course that is going to come out.