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Saturday, July 25, 2020
Wirecard: Why would Russia hide a fugitive fintech exec from EU investigators?
Mitch Prothero
Jul 23, 2020, 8:53 AM
Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun. picture alliance/Getty Images
Former Wirecard COO Jan Marsalek disappeared in late June after a $2 billion hole was found in the German company's accounts. Sources tell Insider they believe he is in hiding in Russia.
Former Wirecard COO Jan Marsalek disappeared in late June after a $2 billion hole was found in the German company's accounts. Sources tell Insider they believe he is in hiding in Russia.
But why would Russian security agencies help with the escape of a fugitive fintech executive?
"There's a million reasons [for the Russians] to get involved with Wirecard," a Dutch official told Insider. "Russian officials always need to move money to the West, and Wirecard was raising lots of money but not as much as they told investors.
"Russian government and intelligence services expect financial favors by way of support for off-the-books intelligence operations by their favored businessmen," a Central European counterintelligence official told Insider.
European Union investigators and prosecutors have arrested three former top executives from the German financial firm Wirecard, which spectacularly collapsed last month after a $2 billion hole was found in its accounts by outside auditors. They continue to seek former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek for questioning, although law enforcement officials are worried that he may have fled to Russia in late June.
Former CEO Markus Braun and two other executives were rearrested on Wednesday by German police. Investigators believe that Wirecard — a rising star in European Union online financial circles — had been fraudulently misrepresenting its assets to investors on a systematic basis.
After outside auditors discovered in late June that two accounts that were supposed to be holding $1.9 billion did not exist, Wirecard quickly collapsed. More than $3.2 billion in loans from European and Japanese banks is expected to be lost by investors. Within days of being fired, Braun and other executives were detained for questioning, but Marsalek fled Germany. Security sources told Insider he is most likely in Russia.
He knew the recipe for novichok
Marsalek appears to have substantial ties to Russian intelligence, European law enforcement officials told Insider, who cited his public bragging of trips to Syria in the company of Russian military contractors, about 60 trips to Russia over a 10-year period on six Austrian and three other unidentified "diplomatic" passports, as well as links to various Austrian right-wing politicians and political parties themselves linked to Russia politically and economically.
Marsalek also once bragged to colleagues that he knew the recipe for Novichok, showing the documents containing the "recipe" for the chemical used to poison ex-Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, in 2018, according to the Financial Times.
"We believe he is in Russia," a Dutch law enforcement official told Insider. "That he could so easily evade the German warrants, and cross into Russia from Belarus, certainly indicates official cooperation with Russian intelligence."
When asked what Russian intelligence would gain from involvement with a German online finance company, two EU law enforcement officials gave nearly identical accounts of a nexus between criminal activity and Russian intelligence and political operations.
'Russian officials always need to move money to the West, and Wirecard was raising lots of money but not as much as they told investors'
"There's a million reasons to get involved with Wirecard," said the Dutch official. "Russian officials always need to move money to the West, and Wirecard was raising lots of money but not as much as they told investors. So there's strong indications of both money laundering as well as fraud."
"So now the Russians have access to money sloshing around in Europe, Germany in Wirecard, and even Braun and Marsalek themselves in Austria," the official adds, pointing to an Austrian criminal investigation into both men filed as the company collapsed.
"It's well understood that the Russian government and intelligence services expect financial favors by way of support for off-the-books intelligence operations by their favored businessmen," said a Central European counterintelligence official who cannot be named because of close ties between their government and Russia.
"Austrian prosecutors will be investigating if Wirecard or these executives were funneling Russian support by way of cash to political figures," the official said. "Or I hope they do, as this has been an allegation raised in the past."
In 2019, prosecutors began an investigation into the use of Austrian banks in Russian money laundering that threatened to drag in members of the political elite.
And in March, 2019 the government of Sebastian Kurtz was forced to resign after allegations that officials from their junior coalition partner, the far-right Freedom Party, had engaged in unethical dealings with Russian nationals.
Read more:
Missing Wirecard exec escaped to Russia and 'has close ties to Russian government officials and possibly organized crime,' intelligence sources say
Russian military is testing a robotic underwater monitoring system in the Black Sea
By Boyko Nikolov On Jul 25, 2020
MOSCOW, (BM) – The Russian military is conducting an experiment on the rapid deployment of an underwater monitoring system in the Black Sea, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing the Russian Defense Ministry statement.
Read more: The Russian Underwater Drone “Poseidon” Completed The Key Stage of Trials
“A military-technical experiment to test an underwater situation monitoring system using a variety of robotic systems is being carried out in the Black Sea by specialists from the Russian Defense Ministry, enterprises of the military-industrial complex and scientists from the Era military innovative technopolis,” the statement says.
In the course of the study, the military, together with developers, will use various robotic systems and sonar systems to determine the most promising.
The developers rely on small-sized hydroacoustic equipment, since it can be placed and put into action many times faster than the existing systems.
It is noted that the proposed underwater robots are not inferior to foreign counterparts in their technical characteristics. The new system will have to multiply the effectiveness of responding to threats from sea areas.
The experiment should also show how well the new underwater robots will be able to recognize not only large objects, but also small-sized robotic systems of the enemy.
Underwater drones
Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov and Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov examined the new underwater drones for observation and filming in the technopolis.
Read more: Russia’s Underwater Drone “Poseidon” Will Reach Speeds of Over 200 km/h
One of such underwater systems was developed by the NPO Aurora concern. As the chief designer of the concern, Yuri Rozhkov, told reporters, the complex consists of two autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles (AUV).
One of them is a search one, using side-scan sonar or multi-beam echo sounder, it can find targets in the sea area and on the bottom. The second is an inspection one, equipped with a photo and video system.
He approaches the detected objects and identifies them finally. The devices have the ability to transmit the coordinates of the found objects to a ground or ship control post.
“The main assets are side-scan sonar. There is also a photo and video surveillance system, radio communication, a hydroacoustic positioning system <…> They can determine and transmit the coordinates of target objects,” Rozhkov said.
According to him, the system of two devices is universal, it can be launched from any vessel. The devices are compact and not heavy: two people are enough to send them from the unequipped shore.
A Russian submarine can carry six Poseidon strategic torpedoes
The US Forbes magazine reported on June 7 that the nuclear submarine Khabarovsk of project 09851 is the most secret in the Russian fleet and is able to carry six strategic Poseidon torpedoes.
Read more: Russia Has a Thermonuclear Torpedo That Could Start World War III
The publication notes that there is very little public information regarding this submarine. It is also known that the submarine will be able to carry six Poseidon nuclear torpedoes.
“It could be the defining submarine of 2020,” the article says, and also notes that the submarine should be launched this month.
In addition, the magazine separately identifies the Belgorod submarine of project 09852, the longest submarine in the history of mankind, which also carries the Poseidon strategic weapon.
The material notes that Belgorod will serve as a ship for the deep-sea nuclear submarine Losharik, capable of diving to a depth of 6 thousand meters. The author of the article fears that in this way Russia will be able to connect to cables running along the ocean floor.
According to the analyst, Poseidon is unique. This weapon is an intercontinental autonomous torpedo.
“It is twice as large as a typical ballistic missile, has an almost unlimited range and is armed with a nuclear warhead,” the author states.
Earlier, military analyst Alexander Mikhailov said that Poseidon submarines are capable of “nullifying” the coastal defense of any enemy, including the United States.
In turn, analyst Jacob Kedmi noted that Poseidon is capable of destroying New York, and the tsunami or earthquakes caused by it will cause even greater damage to the target.
Read more: Russian submarine capable of destroying New York is the most secret project, US said
The Russian torpedo Poseidon is capable of starting a third world war. Here’s what it really is.
The Poseidon is an 80-foot-long nuclear-powered submersible robot that is essentially an underwater ICBM. It is designed to travel autonomously across thousands of miles, detonate outside an enemy coastal city, and destroy it by generating a tsunami.
“In the sea area protected from a potential enemy’s reconnaissance means, the underwater trials of the nuclear propulsion unit of the Poseidon drone are underway,” an unnamed Russian defense official told the TASS news agency.
The source also said the “the reactor is installed in the hull of the operating drone but the tests are being held as part of experimental design work rather than full-fledged sea trials at this stage.”
TASS reported last year that Poseidon will be armed with a 2-megaton warhead. That’s more than enough to destroy a city. But that leaves the question of why Russia would choose to nuke an American city with an underwater drone – even one that allegedly travels 100 miles an hour – when an ICBM can do the job in 30 minutes.
Russia suggests the Poseidon is a retaliatory weapon that would revenge a U.S. first strike even if American missile defenses were capable of stopping hundreds of Russian ICBMs.
But even in the unlikely event that the U.S. could intercept 500 or more Russian ballistic missiles, a delivery system that could take days or weeks to reach its target seems hardly an efficient deterrent.
Read more: An accidentally taken photo unveils Russia’s secret weapon called “the Judgment Day”
More intriguing is the suggestion that Poseidon could be used against U.S. aircraft carriers. A very fast, nuclear-armed drone could prove difficult for American anti-submarine defenses to stop.
In a March 2018 speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin described his nation as being able to “move at great depths — I would say extreme depths — intercontinentally, at a speed multiple times higher than the speed of submarines, cutting-edge torpedoes and all kinds of surface vessels, including some of the fastest. It is really fantastic. They are quiet, highly maneuverable and have hardly any vulnerabilities for the enemy to exploit. There is simply nothing in the world capable of withstanding them.”
Putin added that Poseidon’s “nuclear power unit is unique for its small size while offering an amazing power-weight ratio. It is a hundred times smaller than the units that power modern submarines, but is still more powerful and can switch into combat mode, that is to say, reach maximum capacity, 200 times faster.”
Let’s also leave aside the question of why, if Russia really is that advanced in reactor design, its regular nuclear submarines aren’t so blessed. The puzzle is why a giant robot submarine would be needed to detonate a nuclear warhead near a U.S. aircraft carrier (presumably Poseidon is too expensive to waste by arming it with a mere high-explosive warhead).
If the goal is to sink a U.S. carrier, couldn’t Russia saturate a carrier’s defenses with a volley of conventionally-armed hypersonic missiles like the Mach 5-plus Khinzal? And if nukes are being used, Russia has no shortage of missiles, bombs and aircraft to target American ships.
Read more: Forbes: Russian nuclear submarine drones change the rules of the game
***
By Boyko Nikolov On Jul 25, 2020
MOSCOW, (BM) – The Russian military is conducting an experiment on the rapid deployment of an underwater monitoring system in the Black Sea, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing the Russian Defense Ministry statement.
Read more: The Russian Underwater Drone “Poseidon” Completed The Key Stage of Trials
“A military-technical experiment to test an underwater situation monitoring system using a variety of robotic systems is being carried out in the Black Sea by specialists from the Russian Defense Ministry, enterprises of the military-industrial complex and scientists from the Era military innovative technopolis,” the statement says.
In the course of the study, the military, together with developers, will use various robotic systems and sonar systems to determine the most promising.
The developers rely on small-sized hydroacoustic equipment, since it can be placed and put into action many times faster than the existing systems.
It is noted that the proposed underwater robots are not inferior to foreign counterparts in their technical characteristics. The new system will have to multiply the effectiveness of responding to threats from sea areas.
The experiment should also show how well the new underwater robots will be able to recognize not only large objects, but also small-sized robotic systems of the enemy.
Underwater drones
Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov and Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov examined the new underwater drones for observation and filming in the technopolis.
Read more: Russia’s Underwater Drone “Poseidon” Will Reach Speeds of Over 200 km/h
One of such underwater systems was developed by the NPO Aurora concern. As the chief designer of the concern, Yuri Rozhkov, told reporters, the complex consists of two autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles (AUV).
One of them is a search one, using side-scan sonar or multi-beam echo sounder, it can find targets in the sea area and on the bottom. The second is an inspection one, equipped with a photo and video system.
He approaches the detected objects and identifies them finally. The devices have the ability to transmit the coordinates of the found objects to a ground or ship control post.
“The main assets are side-scan sonar. There is also a photo and video surveillance system, radio communication, a hydroacoustic positioning system <…> They can determine and transmit the coordinates of target objects,” Rozhkov said.
According to him, the system of two devices is universal, it can be launched from any vessel. The devices are compact and not heavy: two people are enough to send them from the unequipped shore.
A Russian submarine can carry six Poseidon strategic torpedoes
The US Forbes magazine reported on June 7 that the nuclear submarine Khabarovsk of project 09851 is the most secret in the Russian fleet and is able to carry six strategic Poseidon torpedoes.
Read more: Russia Has a Thermonuclear Torpedo That Could Start World War III
The publication notes that there is very little public information regarding this submarine. It is also known that the submarine will be able to carry six Poseidon nuclear torpedoes.
“It could be the defining submarine of 2020,” the article says, and also notes that the submarine should be launched this month.
In addition, the magazine separately identifies the Belgorod submarine of project 09852, the longest submarine in the history of mankind, which also carries the Poseidon strategic weapon.
The material notes that Belgorod will serve as a ship for the deep-sea nuclear submarine Losharik, capable of diving to a depth of 6 thousand meters. The author of the article fears that in this way Russia will be able to connect to cables running along the ocean floor.
According to the analyst, Poseidon is unique. This weapon is an intercontinental autonomous torpedo.
“It is twice as large as a typical ballistic missile, has an almost unlimited range and is armed with a nuclear warhead,” the author states.
Earlier, military analyst Alexander Mikhailov said that Poseidon submarines are capable of “nullifying” the coastal defense of any enemy, including the United States.
In turn, analyst Jacob Kedmi noted that Poseidon is capable of destroying New York, and the tsunami or earthquakes caused by it will cause even greater damage to the target.
Read more: Russian submarine capable of destroying New York is the most secret project, US said
The Russian torpedo Poseidon is capable of starting a third world war. Here’s what it really is.
The Poseidon is an 80-foot-long nuclear-powered submersible robot that is essentially an underwater ICBM. It is designed to travel autonomously across thousands of miles, detonate outside an enemy coastal city, and destroy it by generating a tsunami.
“In the sea area protected from a potential enemy’s reconnaissance means, the underwater trials of the nuclear propulsion unit of the Poseidon drone are underway,” an unnamed Russian defense official told the TASS news agency.
The source also said the “the reactor is installed in the hull of the operating drone but the tests are being held as part of experimental design work rather than full-fledged sea trials at this stage.”
TASS reported last year that Poseidon will be armed with a 2-megaton warhead. That’s more than enough to destroy a city. But that leaves the question of why Russia would choose to nuke an American city with an underwater drone – even one that allegedly travels 100 miles an hour – when an ICBM can do the job in 30 minutes.
Russia suggests the Poseidon is a retaliatory weapon that would revenge a U.S. first strike even if American missile defenses were capable of stopping hundreds of Russian ICBMs.
But even in the unlikely event that the U.S. could intercept 500 or more Russian ballistic missiles, a delivery system that could take days or weeks to reach its target seems hardly an efficient deterrent.
Read more: An accidentally taken photo unveils Russia’s secret weapon called “the Judgment Day”
More intriguing is the suggestion that Poseidon could be used against U.S. aircraft carriers. A very fast, nuclear-armed drone could prove difficult for American anti-submarine defenses to stop.
In a March 2018 speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin described his nation as being able to “move at great depths — I would say extreme depths — intercontinentally, at a speed multiple times higher than the speed of submarines, cutting-edge torpedoes and all kinds of surface vessels, including some of the fastest. It is really fantastic. They are quiet, highly maneuverable and have hardly any vulnerabilities for the enemy to exploit. There is simply nothing in the world capable of withstanding them.”
Putin added that Poseidon’s “nuclear power unit is unique for its small size while offering an amazing power-weight ratio. It is a hundred times smaller than the units that power modern submarines, but is still more powerful and can switch into combat mode, that is to say, reach maximum capacity, 200 times faster.”
Let’s also leave aside the question of why, if Russia really is that advanced in reactor design, its regular nuclear submarines aren’t so blessed. The puzzle is why a giant robot submarine would be needed to detonate a nuclear warhead near a U.S. aircraft carrier (presumably Poseidon is too expensive to waste by arming it with a mere high-explosive warhead).
If the goal is to sink a U.S. carrier, couldn’t Russia saturate a carrier’s defenses with a volley of conventionally-armed hypersonic missiles like the Mach 5-plus Khinzal? And if nukes are being used, Russia has no shortage of missiles, bombs and aircraft to target American ships.
Read more: Forbes: Russian nuclear submarine drones change the rules of the game
***
BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team
Editorial team
New ‘wall’ of military veterans protect protesters in Portland
By Vincent Barone NY POST
By Vincent Barone NY POST
July 25, 2020 | 2:29am | Updated
Another huge crowd tonight in Portland, including a new "wall" on the front lines: a Wall of Vets.
Here's a look at the line of military veterans getting set up here in front of the federal courthouse. Behind them, the Wall of Moms and the Wall of Dads are arriving. pic.twitter.com/gGnXHjI3k2
Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 25, 2020
First, there was a “wall” of moms protecting Portland protesters — now there’s a wall of vets doing the same.
A group of military veterans joined protesters in the city for the first time Friday night, standing with their hands clasped behind their backs or holding Black Lives Matter signs, according to a New York Times reporter and others from the scene.
“Disabled veterans 4 BLM,” one vet’s sign read.
“I am an American patriot. Federal troops defend property, but this does not give them the right to take away my constitutional freedom,” another sign from a veteran read.
Federal officers have been dispatched to the city since July 4, earning criticism for “kidnapping” protesters and tear-gassing crowds that have held demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd for more than 50 days.
On Friday night, the federal police used tear gas to try to disperse a large crowd in front of the federal courthouse after multiple fireworks were shot toward the building, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier in the week, federal agents teargassed a crowd that included Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who was attending a demonstration.
Wheeler said the troops were grossly overstepping their authority.
But President Trump has praised the federal police there for doing a “great job” in fighting off what he described as “anarchist” arsonists trying to damage the city’s federal courthouse.
On Thursday Trump mocked the mayor over his tear-gassing.
“[Wheeler] made a fool out of himself,” Trump said during a Fox News interview.
“He wanted to be among the people so he went into the crowd and they knocked the hell out of him. That was the end of him. So it was pretty pathetic.”
Large crowds gathered again Friday night as the officers stood their ground in front of the federal courthouse.
“Walls” of moms — and walls of dads — were also reportedly in attendance
Another huge crowd tonight in Portland, including a new "wall" on the front lines: a Wall of Vets.
Here's a look at the line of military veterans getting set up here in front of the federal courthouse. Behind them, the Wall of Moms and the Wall of Dads are arriving. pic.twitter.com/gGnXHjI3k2
Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 25, 2020
First, there was a “wall” of moms protecting Portland protesters — now there’s a wall of vets doing the same.
A group of military veterans joined protesters in the city for the first time Friday night, standing with their hands clasped behind their backs or holding Black Lives Matter signs, according to a New York Times reporter and others from the scene.
“Disabled veterans 4 BLM,” one vet’s sign read.
“I am an American patriot. Federal troops defend property, but this does not give them the right to take away my constitutional freedom,” another sign from a veteran read.
Federal officers have been dispatched to the city since July 4, earning criticism for “kidnapping” protesters and tear-gassing crowds that have held demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd for more than 50 days.
On Friday night, the federal police used tear gas to try to disperse a large crowd in front of the federal courthouse after multiple fireworks were shot toward the building, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier in the week, federal agents teargassed a crowd that included Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who was attending a demonstration.
Wheeler said the troops were grossly overstepping their authority.
But President Trump has praised the federal police there for doing a “great job” in fighting off what he described as “anarchist” arsonists trying to damage the city’s federal courthouse.
On Thursday Trump mocked the mayor over his tear-gassing.
“[Wheeler] made a fool out of himself,” Trump said during a Fox News interview.
“He wanted to be among the people so he went into the crowd and they knocked the hell out of him. That was the end of him. So it was pretty pathetic.”
Large crowds gathered again Friday night as the officers stood their ground in front of the federal courthouse.
“Walls” of moms — and walls of dads — were also reportedly in attendance
'Wall of Vets' joins Black Lives Matter protests in Portland
On Friday, thousands of people hit the streets for another consecutive night of demonstrations against police brutality. Those on the scene reported that a group of veterans banded together to lend their support to the "Wall of Moms", "Wall of Dads" and other groups in attendance.
Tonight, in addition to the "Wall of Moms", Portland has a "Wall of Vets" lined up to protest outside the federal courthouse. (photos by @killendave) pic.twitter.com/PJig66hpv4— The Oregonian (@Oregonian) July 25, 2020
3 AM in Chicago the Night the Columbus Statue Came Down
Would the Native people on whose land the statue stood be proud of this moment? Would they even care?
BY JONATHAN BALLEW JULY 25, 2020
GETTY IMAGES
Aman in the costume of a vagina argued intensely with the president of Chicago’s police union, who wore a jacket with the word “ITALIA” emblazoned across it in bright red letters. Off-duty cops shouted at protesters. Two car accidents occurred nearby. Hundreds of street-racing motorcycles poured past, popping wheelies and squealing their tires. It was the night the Columbus statue came down in Chicago, and in and around Grant Park, where the statue had presided for 87 years, it was a total shitshow.
Like most statues of Columbus—who beat, raped, and enslaved Native people from the moment he landed in the Caribbean—it became a potent symbol of America’s fraught history and the systemic racism plaguing it today. In Chicago, it has sharply divided residents, especially the city’s most conservative and progressive members.
When it fell at 3:00 a.m. on Friday morning, I wanted to cheer. As a reporter who’s covered nearly every type of news event in Chicago, I’m supposed to remain neutral, neither applauding nor booing events I seek to capture. But, as an indigenous tribal member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, I didn’t shed a tear for the plight of Columbus. While there are Italian-Americans who view Columbus as a symbol of exploration and courage, to me he will always be an avatar of genocide, bloodshed, and exploitation.
The Columbus statue in Chicago’s Grant Park, which crews had wrapped in a covering to protect during demonstrations and attempts to remove it.
Scott OlsonGetty Images
Friday marked the fourth time in recent months that I had camped out near the statue after hearing rumors that it was coming down. Last week, protesters swarmed the statue, trying to topple it with two small ropes (seemingly impossible to anyone who has seen the massive monument up close). Eventually, police descended on the protesters, dispersing them with pepper spray and beating them with fists and batons. Protesters also attacked cops, with some shooting fireworks into the crowd of officers, or throwing projectiles at them. One Chicago police officer was caught on video punching an 18-year-old female protester in the face, knocking out some of her teeth.
“Fifty-two police officers got hurt defending that statue and now the mayor wants to spit in their face and take the statue down,” Chicago police union President John Catanzara said that evening to reporters in front of the Columbus statue. “It’s Columbus today, it’ll be something next month and something else the month after that. The mob cannot rule the city. The politicians are supposed to rule this city, and they are cowards.”
Demonstrations to defund the police in Chicago the day after the Columbus statue came down.
Scott OlsonGetty Images
As midnight approached on the night it came down, there was no sign the city intended to do anything. Protesters on both sides of the argument exchanged fighting words, along with some pushing and shoving, though the violence that gripped the city the week before did not come to pass. It appeared this was another false alarm. The statue, which was wrapped in a covering because of recent vandalism and attempts at removal from protesters, would remain where it was.
But, around 15 minutes after midnight, a park district truck arrived with a small hardhat crew. By 1:00 a.m. it was clear Columbus would spend his last night in Grant Park as larger vehicles and machinery showed up and police began to cordon off the park and usher the press to a special viewing area. City workers wrapped Columbus in chains, like he had done to so many Natives. The removal crew made quick work of him, all things considered, and Chicago’s press scrum waited for the moment to get the historic shot.
Crews work to remove the Columbus statue in Chicago.
DEREK R. HENKLEGetty Images
Tyrone Muhammad, executive director of Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, watched from across the street with a group of Chicagoans eager to see the statue come down. “This is a great opportunity for our children to get some motivation about something that the city actually listened to their voices,” he told me. He lamented what he called a misallocation of resources to have so many Chicago police officers dispatched to a statue on multiple weekends. And he hoped the symbolic move would lead to “true economic” relief for Chicago communities left behind for too long.
And then—after all the waiting and protesting and violence—a sudden crack reverberated through the air. The crews had severed Columbus from his base, and he was hanging from a rope. It happened so quickly, most of the press missed the shot. With the statue suspended in mid-air, I thought about my Pokagon ancestors. I thought of the struggles they have endured for hundreds of years. I thought of the Fort Dearborn massacre, which took place just a mile or two from the site of the Columbus statue, where Potawatomi struggled to reclaim land from which they would ultimately be expelled. I wondered if they would be proud. I wondered if they would even care.
The Columbus statue hangs in the air after it was severed from its base.
DEREK R. HENKLEGetty Images
But as I saw the toppled Columbus loaded up in the back of a flat-bed truck, still wrapped up from the week before, it looked like a body covered in a white sheet on the highway after a gruesome death. And as the flat-bed drove away from what will always be Native land, I couldn’t help but smile at the symbolic expulsion of Columbus, dead and driven from land that was never his. I even let out the smallest of cheers.
Related Story
Tearing Down Monuments Is For History, Not Against
JONATHAN BALLEW is a Chicago-based freelance journalist, Marine Corps veteran, and citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
Would the Native people on whose land the statue stood be proud of this moment? Would they even care?
BY JONATHAN BALLEW JULY 25, 2020
GETTY IMAGES
Aman in the costume of a vagina argued intensely with the president of Chicago’s police union, who wore a jacket with the word “ITALIA” emblazoned across it in bright red letters. Off-duty cops shouted at protesters. Two car accidents occurred nearby. Hundreds of street-racing motorcycles poured past, popping wheelies and squealing their tires. It was the night the Columbus statue came down in Chicago, and in and around Grant Park, where the statue had presided for 87 years, it was a total shitshow.
Like most statues of Columbus—who beat, raped, and enslaved Native people from the moment he landed in the Caribbean—it became a potent symbol of America’s fraught history and the systemic racism plaguing it today. In Chicago, it has sharply divided residents, especially the city’s most conservative and progressive members.
When it fell at 3:00 a.m. on Friday morning, I wanted to cheer. As a reporter who’s covered nearly every type of news event in Chicago, I’m supposed to remain neutral, neither applauding nor booing events I seek to capture. But, as an indigenous tribal member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, I didn’t shed a tear for the plight of Columbus. While there are Italian-Americans who view Columbus as a symbol of exploration and courage, to me he will always be an avatar of genocide, bloodshed, and exploitation.
The Columbus statue in Chicago’s Grant Park, which crews had wrapped in a covering to protect during demonstrations and attempts to remove it.
Scott OlsonGetty Images
Friday marked the fourth time in recent months that I had camped out near the statue after hearing rumors that it was coming down. Last week, protesters swarmed the statue, trying to topple it with two small ropes (seemingly impossible to anyone who has seen the massive monument up close). Eventually, police descended on the protesters, dispersing them with pepper spray and beating them with fists and batons. Protesters also attacked cops, with some shooting fireworks into the crowd of officers, or throwing projectiles at them. One Chicago police officer was caught on video punching an 18-year-old female protester in the face, knocking out some of her teeth.
“Fifty-two police officers got hurt defending that statue and now the mayor wants to spit in their face and take the statue down,” Chicago police union President John Catanzara said that evening to reporters in front of the Columbus statue. “It’s Columbus today, it’ll be something next month and something else the month after that. The mob cannot rule the city. The politicians are supposed to rule this city, and they are cowards.”
Demonstrations to defund the police in Chicago the day after the Columbus statue came down.
Scott OlsonGetty Images
As midnight approached on the night it came down, there was no sign the city intended to do anything. Protesters on both sides of the argument exchanged fighting words, along with some pushing and shoving, though the violence that gripped the city the week before did not come to pass. It appeared this was another false alarm. The statue, which was wrapped in a covering because of recent vandalism and attempts at removal from protesters, would remain where it was.
But, around 15 minutes after midnight, a park district truck arrived with a small hardhat crew. By 1:00 a.m. it was clear Columbus would spend his last night in Grant Park as larger vehicles and machinery showed up and police began to cordon off the park and usher the press to a special viewing area. City workers wrapped Columbus in chains, like he had done to so many Natives. The removal crew made quick work of him, all things considered, and Chicago’s press scrum waited for the moment to get the historic shot.
Crews work to remove the Columbus statue in Chicago.
DEREK R. HENKLEGetty Images
Tyrone Muhammad, executive director of Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, watched from across the street with a group of Chicagoans eager to see the statue come down. “This is a great opportunity for our children to get some motivation about something that the city actually listened to their voices,” he told me. He lamented what he called a misallocation of resources to have so many Chicago police officers dispatched to a statue on multiple weekends. And he hoped the symbolic move would lead to “true economic” relief for Chicago communities left behind for too long.
And then—after all the waiting and protesting and violence—a sudden crack reverberated through the air. The crews had severed Columbus from his base, and he was hanging from a rope. It happened so quickly, most of the press missed the shot. With the statue suspended in mid-air, I thought about my Pokagon ancestors. I thought of the struggles they have endured for hundreds of years. I thought of the Fort Dearborn massacre, which took place just a mile or two from the site of the Columbus statue, where Potawatomi struggled to reclaim land from which they would ultimately be expelled. I wondered if they would be proud. I wondered if they would even care.
The Columbus statue hangs in the air after it was severed from its base.
DEREK R. HENKLEGetty Images
But as I saw the toppled Columbus loaded up in the back of a flat-bed truck, still wrapped up from the week before, it looked like a body covered in a white sheet on the highway after a gruesome death. And as the flat-bed drove away from what will always be Native land, I couldn’t help but smile at the symbolic expulsion of Columbus, dead and driven from land that was never his. I even let out the smallest of cheers.
Related Story
Tearing Down Monuments Is For History, Not Against
JONATHAN BALLEW is a Chicago-based freelance journalist, Marine Corps veteran, and citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians.
Russian and Syrian troops surrounded thousand of militants, Turkey cannot intervene
By TOC On Jul 25, 2020
DAMASCUS, (BM) – On the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, a large-scale military operation was launched against illegal armed groups, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing Sentry Syria news agency.
Syrian government forces, with the active support of the Russian Aerospace Forces aviation, launched a large-scale offensive against the positions of radical groups in the northwest of this Arab country.
According to the publication “Sentry Syria”, the territory in which Assad’s army is carrying out a sweep is about 1.5 thousand kilometers. At the moment, information has been received that about 3 thousand pro-Turkish militants have been surrounded.
While Russian warplanes attack militant positions from the air, government forces strike with artillery. The resource notes that over the past 24 hours, five fighters took to the skies from “Khmeimim”.
The offensive operation in Syria was deployed after the Russian military successfully cleared the M-4 highway in this direction.
Turkey, as noted by the media, cannot intervene and provide support to its militants during a large-scale offensive.
The reason is that, in accordance with earlier agreements, the territory of the Aleppo, Idlib and Hama provinces south of the M-4 highway is coming under the control of Russian troops.
Syria, decided to arm itself with Iranian missile systems
We reported on this step to the Syrian government on 11 July. Then, The Syrian Defense Ministry has come to a general agreement with Iran regarding the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems and updating the existing Syrian air defense system.
Iranian air defense systems are ready to provide full protection for Syrian airspace, military experts firmly state this. The deployment of the Bavar-373 air defense systems is planned to be carried out throughout Syria. I want to note that this air defense system is a complete analogue of the Russian S-300, because the characteristics of these weapons are similar, as is the price segment.
This whole issue of modernization was posed due to the downtime of the S-300 and their inaction. Let me remind you that Russian air defense systems S-300 are based in Syria, but they do not carry out their work, since Russia does not fully intervene in this military-political conflict and the Syrian military campaign as a whole.
Also, the Iranian military is ready to share their experience with Syrian soldiers in the issue of managing and operating Iranian air defense systems; moreover, military experts note that the Bavar-373 air defense system has extensive experience in detecting American fighters.
In general, Russian systems are “idle” for obvious reasons, if they intercept American stealth fighters or Israeli / Turkish UAVs, then a new military-political conflict could easily erupt. That is why Russian air defense systems are inactive.
War in Syria
In February, Turkey lost at least 62 troops killed in Syria, nearly 100 soldiers were wounded, dozens of Turkish armored vehicles were destroyed and more than ten drones, including drone, were shot down. Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of involvement in the deaths of Turkish soldiers, Russia rejects these allegations.
In early March, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, concluded an agreement according to which a ceasefire came into force in the Idlib de-escalation zone.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later said that if the US and Turkish military did not leave the country, Damascus would be able to use force.
The reason for the Russian-Turkish negotiations was a sharp aggravation of the situation in Idlib, where in January a large-scale offensive by the Syrian army against the positions of the armed opposition and terrorists began.
Government forces recaptured nearly half of the Idlib de-escalation zone and left behind a number of Turkish observation posts. After that, Ankara sharply increased its military contingent in the region and launched the operation “Spring Shield” to push the Syrian troops. Turkey is also supported by militants loyal to it.
DAMASCUS, (BM) – On the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, a large-scale military operation was launched against illegal armed groups, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing Sentry Syria news agency.
Syrian government forces, with the active support of the Russian Aerospace Forces aviation, launched a large-scale offensive against the positions of radical groups in the northwest of this Arab country.
According to the publication “Sentry Syria”, the territory in which Assad’s army is carrying out a sweep is about 1.5 thousand kilometers. At the moment, information has been received that about 3 thousand pro-Turkish militants have been surrounded.
While Russian warplanes attack militant positions from the air, government forces strike with artillery. The resource notes that over the past 24 hours, five fighters took to the skies from “Khmeimim”.
The offensive operation in Syria was deployed after the Russian military successfully cleared the M-4 highway in this direction.
Turkey, as noted by the media, cannot intervene and provide support to its militants during a large-scale offensive.
The reason is that, in accordance with earlier agreements, the territory of the Aleppo, Idlib and Hama provinces south of the M-4 highway is coming under the control of Russian troops.
Syria, decided to arm itself with Iranian missile systems
We reported on this step to the Syrian government on 11 July. Then, The Syrian Defense Ministry has come to a general agreement with Iran regarding the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems and updating the existing Syrian air defense system.
Iranian air defense systems are ready to provide full protection for Syrian airspace, military experts firmly state this. The deployment of the Bavar-373 air defense systems is planned to be carried out throughout Syria. I want to note that this air defense system is a complete analogue of the Russian S-300, because the characteristics of these weapons are similar, as is the price segment.
This whole issue of modernization was posed due to the downtime of the S-300 and their inaction. Let me remind you that Russian air defense systems S-300 are based in Syria, but they do not carry out their work, since Russia does not fully intervene in this military-political conflict and the Syrian military campaign as a whole.
Also, the Iranian military is ready to share their experience with Syrian soldiers in the issue of managing and operating Iranian air defense systems; moreover, military experts note that the Bavar-373 air defense system has extensive experience in detecting American fighters.
In general, Russian systems are “idle” for obvious reasons, if they intercept American stealth fighters or Israeli / Turkish UAVs, then a new military-political conflict could easily erupt. That is why Russian air defense systems are inactive.
War in Syria
In February, Turkey lost at least 62 troops killed in Syria, nearly 100 soldiers were wounded, dozens of Turkish armored vehicles were destroyed and more than ten drones, including drone, were shot down. Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of involvement in the deaths of Turkish soldiers, Russia rejects these allegations.
In early March, the presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, concluded an agreement according to which a ceasefire came into force in the Idlib de-escalation zone.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later said that if the US and Turkish military did not leave the country, Damascus would be able to use force.
The reason for the Russian-Turkish negotiations was a sharp aggravation of the situation in Idlib, where in January a large-scale offensive by the Syrian army against the positions of the armed opposition and terrorists began.
Government forces recaptured nearly half of the Idlib de-escalation zone and left behind a number of Turkish observation posts. After that, Ankara sharply increased its military contingent in the region and launched the operation “Spring Shield” to push the Syrian troops. Turkey is also supported by militants loyal to it.
Climate emergency ‘a danger to peace’: top UN official
File Photo
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 25 (APP):The climate emergency generated by global warming “is a danger to peace” as climate change exacerbates existing risks of conflict “and creates new ones,” a top United Nations official has said.
Speaking in the United Nations Security Council on Friday, Miroslav Jenca, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, called on peace and security actors to play their role and help speed up implementation of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change.
“The failure to consider the growing impacts of climate change will undermine our efforts at conflict prevention, peacemaking and sustaining peace, and risk trapping vulnerable countries in a vicious cycle of climate disaster and conflict”, he said.
Jenca briefed the Council at the start of an open video-teleconference debate on climate and security, one of the key themes of this month’s German presidency of the 15-member Council.
Noting that the consequences of climate change vary from region to region, he said the fragile or conflict-affected situations around the world are more exposed to – and less able to cope with – the effects of a changing climate.
“It is no coincidence that seven of the 10 countries most vulnerable and least prepared to deal with climate change, host a peacekeeping operation or special political mission”, Jenca said.
Differences exists between regions, within regions and within communities, with climate-related security risks impacting women, men, girls and boys in different ways, he said.
In the Pacific, rising sea levels and extreme weather events pose a risk to social cohesion, he said. In Central Asia, water stress and reduced access to natural resources can contribute to regional tensions.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America, climate-driven population displacement could undermine regional stability. And in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, the effects of climate change are already deepening grievances and escalating the risk of conflict – providing fodder for extremist groups.
Outlining some actions that Member States can take together, he said that new technologies must be leveraged to strengthen the ability to turn long-term climate foresight, into actionable, near-term analysis.
Jenca also recommended stronger partnerships that would bring together the efforts already being made by the UN, Member States, regional organizations and others, to identify best practices, strengthen resilience and bolster regional cooperation.
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 25 (APP):The climate emergency generated by global warming “is a danger to peace” as climate change exacerbates existing risks of conflict “and creates new ones,” a top United Nations official has said.
Speaking in the United Nations Security Council on Friday, Miroslav Jenca, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, called on peace and security actors to play their role and help speed up implementation of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change.
“The failure to consider the growing impacts of climate change will undermine our efforts at conflict prevention, peacemaking and sustaining peace, and risk trapping vulnerable countries in a vicious cycle of climate disaster and conflict”, he said.
Jenca briefed the Council at the start of an open video-teleconference debate on climate and security, one of the key themes of this month’s German presidency of the 15-member Council.
Noting that the consequences of climate change vary from region to region, he said the fragile or conflict-affected situations around the world are more exposed to – and less able to cope with – the effects of a changing climate.
“It is no coincidence that seven of the 10 countries most vulnerable and least prepared to deal with climate change, host a peacekeeping operation or special political mission”, Jenca said.
Differences exists between regions, within regions and within communities, with climate-related security risks impacting women, men, girls and boys in different ways, he said.
In the Pacific, rising sea levels and extreme weather events pose a risk to social cohesion, he said. In Central Asia, water stress and reduced access to natural resources can contribute to regional tensions.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America, climate-driven population displacement could undermine regional stability. And in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, the effects of climate change are already deepening grievances and escalating the risk of conflict – providing fodder for extremist groups.
Outlining some actions that Member States can take together, he said that new technologies must be leveraged to strengthen the ability to turn long-term climate foresight, into actionable, near-term analysis.
Jenca also recommended stronger partnerships that would bring together the efforts already being made by the UN, Member States, regional organizations and others, to identify best practices, strengthen resilience and bolster regional cooperation.
Woodrow Wilson’s racist liberalism
By Adekeye Adebajo
22 July 2020 |
Wilsons. PHOTO: HISTORY
Last month, one of America’s most prestigious universities – Princeton – decided, following a five-year student-led campaign by the Black Justice League, to remove the name of Woodrow Wilson from its School of Public and International Affairs, as well as from an undergraduate hall of residence. This was the most striking toppling of an icon in the recent global ferment against discredited historical figures. Princeton’s trustees devastatingly noted that “Wilson’s racism was significant and consequential even by the standards of his own time…. [his] racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake.” Wilson was a former president of the United States (1913-1920) and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. He also served as President of Princeton (1902-1910) where he had been a Professor and an undergraduate.
So, was this decision justified? Woodrow Wilson was born in the American South a decade before the country’s civil war (1861-1865) into a family that employed slave labour, and a pastor-father who defended slavery on biblical grounds. This was the bone-deep racism that a young Woodrow inherited, a prejudice that he found difficult to shake off because it would have been akin to betraying his faith. Ironically, Wilson also remains the most intellectually accomplished American president, having obtained a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University and published nine books on American politics and history. He further taught at several American liberal arts colleges, eventually rising to become a full Professor at Princeton.
Wilson identified strongly with the “Lost Cause” movement which promoted a revisionist view of the history of the American Civil War that portrayed the Southern Confederacy as decent people seeking to preserve an agrarian lifestyle against Northern industrialists, rather than the slavery-supporting white supremacists they were. Slaves were depicted by this movement as “happy”. Many of the Confederate monuments currently being toppled were erected by Lost Cause adherents in the early 1900s during Wilson’s own political ascendancy. While I was studying International Relations at Oxford University in the 1990s, Wilson was held up as the patron saint of a liberal international order and an anti-imperial prophet of national self-determination. But there was also much that our Eurocentric curriculum had left unsaid. We were not, for example, taught that Wilson did not recognise the most basic rights of his black citizens, and that he believed that the US should follow the model of his British cousins by assisting “less civilized” peoples to attain the “habit of law and obedience.”
Wilson’s racism was already evident while president of Princeton when he refused to admit black students at a time when Harvard and Yale were doing so. As Governor of New Jersey, he refused to hire blacks into the state’s service. As president, Wilson attacked the modest progress of African Americans under the decade of Reconstruction (1866-1876) by observing that “the dominance of an ignorant and inferior race was justly dreaded…It was a menace to society itself that the negroes should thus of a sudden be set free and left without tutelage or restraint.” He praised “docile” slaves who stayed with their masters, contrasting them favourably with “vagrants, looking for pleasure and gratuitous fortune” who inevitably “turned thieves or importunate beggars.” He described the end of Reconstruction as “the natural, inevitable ascendancy of the whites, the responsible class,” writing that blacks were being denied the vote in the South not because their skin was dark, but because their minds were dark.
Wilson’s most egregious racism as president was to introduce discriminatory practices that led to the unfair and widespread retrenchment and demotion of black workers from government service. His resegregation of the federal civil service, which had been desegregated for decades, led to apartheid practices in offices – in some cases, black workers worked in cages like animals in a zoo – toilets, canteens, and dressing rooms. The cynical introduction of photo identification for applications into the civil service further resulted in open discrimination against black applicants. Wilson was sympathetic to the murderous Ku Klux Klan: arsonist, hooded terrorists and white supremacists who emerged to oppose black progress during the decade of Reconstruction. The US president effusively endorsed the notorious 1915 film, The Birth of A Nation, screening it at the White House. The movie – which elicited protests in Boston, New York and other major American cities – provided a positive depiction of the Ku Klux Klan, helping to revive it as an active movement, and portrayed blacks as an inferior race and lecherous assaulters of white women.
But despite his racism, Wilson did have some domestic achievements, including creating the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission. Some of his contemporary supporters have sought to excuse his racism by citing his supposedly liberal foreign policy. But even in this sphere, Wilson was a blatant imperialist, engaging in “gunboat diplomacy” in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Mexico.
Though Wilson became famous for championing “peace without victory” and “making the world safe for democracy” in 1917 during the First World War, as well as opposing secret agreements between European imperial powers, he was naïve in placing too much faith in idealism over the Realpolitik of European leaders during Paris peace negotiations in 1919. In the end, the peace adopted was a punitive one that helped trigger the grievances exploited by German dictator, Adolf Hitler, to sweep aside the fledgling Weimar Republic, resulting in the Second World War. The 1919 Versailles Treaty itself was dead-on-arrival in an isolationist US Senate.
Wilson’s appeals to “world public opinion” also had a quixotic air to it, since flag-waving European publics had enthusiastically supported their countries’ entry into the First World War. The League of Nations failed not just because it lacked American participation, it was based on an unrealistic reflection of power politics and national interests, and also excluded two critical powers: Germany and Soviet Russia. The world body thus epitomized the very “Victor’s Justice” that the US president had consistently sought to avoid.
Wilson died in February 1924. Two foundations, numerous schools, a government-funded think tank, a navy submarine, and the Geneva-based headquarters of the UN refugee agency all still bear his name. Despite Wilson being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919, he however failed to convince his own country to join the international organisation set up to preserve the post-war peace. Due to the failure of the League of Nations and the outbreak of another global conflict, Wilson’s international reputation had been badly damaged by 1939.
After 1945, his legacy was, however, resurrected by crusading “Wilsonian” American foreign policy jingoists seeking to spread a gospel of democracy and human rights around the world, while often hypocritically doing everything possible to prevent its practice in much of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia by supporting brutal autocrats. Based on the history we have just recounted, there was nothing progressive or liberal about Wilson’s career. He remained until his death a dyed-in-the-wool racist, even by the moral standards of his own age. Princeton’s action in expunging his name from two major buildings thus provides an ideal opportunity to start writing a more accurate, inclusive, and complex version of history than the one I was taught at Oxford.
Professor Adebajo is director, University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, South Africa.
By Adekeye Adebajo
22 July 2020 |
Wilsons. PHOTO: HISTORY
Last month, one of America’s most prestigious universities – Princeton – decided, following a five-year student-led campaign by the Black Justice League, to remove the name of Woodrow Wilson from its School of Public and International Affairs, as well as from an undergraduate hall of residence. This was the most striking toppling of an icon in the recent global ferment against discredited historical figures. Princeton’s trustees devastatingly noted that “Wilson’s racism was significant and consequential even by the standards of his own time…. [his] racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake.” Wilson was a former president of the United States (1913-1920) and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. He also served as President of Princeton (1902-1910) where he had been a Professor and an undergraduate.
So, was this decision justified? Woodrow Wilson was born in the American South a decade before the country’s civil war (1861-1865) into a family that employed slave labour, and a pastor-father who defended slavery on biblical grounds. This was the bone-deep racism that a young Woodrow inherited, a prejudice that he found difficult to shake off because it would have been akin to betraying his faith. Ironically, Wilson also remains the most intellectually accomplished American president, having obtained a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University and published nine books on American politics and history. He further taught at several American liberal arts colleges, eventually rising to become a full Professor at Princeton.
Wilson identified strongly with the “Lost Cause” movement which promoted a revisionist view of the history of the American Civil War that portrayed the Southern Confederacy as decent people seeking to preserve an agrarian lifestyle against Northern industrialists, rather than the slavery-supporting white supremacists they were. Slaves were depicted by this movement as “happy”. Many of the Confederate monuments currently being toppled were erected by Lost Cause adherents in the early 1900s during Wilson’s own political ascendancy. While I was studying International Relations at Oxford University in the 1990s, Wilson was held up as the patron saint of a liberal international order and an anti-imperial prophet of national self-determination. But there was also much that our Eurocentric curriculum had left unsaid. We were not, for example, taught that Wilson did not recognise the most basic rights of his black citizens, and that he believed that the US should follow the model of his British cousins by assisting “less civilized” peoples to attain the “habit of law and obedience.”
Wilson’s racism was already evident while president of Princeton when he refused to admit black students at a time when Harvard and Yale were doing so. As Governor of New Jersey, he refused to hire blacks into the state’s service. As president, Wilson attacked the modest progress of African Americans under the decade of Reconstruction (1866-1876) by observing that “the dominance of an ignorant and inferior race was justly dreaded…It was a menace to society itself that the negroes should thus of a sudden be set free and left without tutelage or restraint.” He praised “docile” slaves who stayed with their masters, contrasting them favourably with “vagrants, looking for pleasure and gratuitous fortune” who inevitably “turned thieves or importunate beggars.” He described the end of Reconstruction as “the natural, inevitable ascendancy of the whites, the responsible class,” writing that blacks were being denied the vote in the South not because their skin was dark, but because their minds were dark.
Wilson’s most egregious racism as president was to introduce discriminatory practices that led to the unfair and widespread retrenchment and demotion of black workers from government service. His resegregation of the federal civil service, which had been desegregated for decades, led to apartheid practices in offices – in some cases, black workers worked in cages like animals in a zoo – toilets, canteens, and dressing rooms. The cynical introduction of photo identification for applications into the civil service further resulted in open discrimination against black applicants. Wilson was sympathetic to the murderous Ku Klux Klan: arsonist, hooded terrorists and white supremacists who emerged to oppose black progress during the decade of Reconstruction. The US president effusively endorsed the notorious 1915 film, The Birth of A Nation, screening it at the White House. The movie – which elicited protests in Boston, New York and other major American cities – provided a positive depiction of the Ku Klux Klan, helping to revive it as an active movement, and portrayed blacks as an inferior race and lecherous assaulters of white women.
But despite his racism, Wilson did have some domestic achievements, including creating the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission. Some of his contemporary supporters have sought to excuse his racism by citing his supposedly liberal foreign policy. But even in this sphere, Wilson was a blatant imperialist, engaging in “gunboat diplomacy” in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Mexico.
Though Wilson became famous for championing “peace without victory” and “making the world safe for democracy” in 1917 during the First World War, as well as opposing secret agreements between European imperial powers, he was naïve in placing too much faith in idealism over the Realpolitik of European leaders during Paris peace negotiations in 1919. In the end, the peace adopted was a punitive one that helped trigger the grievances exploited by German dictator, Adolf Hitler, to sweep aside the fledgling Weimar Republic, resulting in the Second World War. The 1919 Versailles Treaty itself was dead-on-arrival in an isolationist US Senate.
Wilson’s appeals to “world public opinion” also had a quixotic air to it, since flag-waving European publics had enthusiastically supported their countries’ entry into the First World War. The League of Nations failed not just because it lacked American participation, it was based on an unrealistic reflection of power politics and national interests, and also excluded two critical powers: Germany and Soviet Russia. The world body thus epitomized the very “Victor’s Justice” that the US president had consistently sought to avoid.
Wilson died in February 1924. Two foundations, numerous schools, a government-funded think tank, a navy submarine, and the Geneva-based headquarters of the UN refugee agency all still bear his name. Despite Wilson being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919, he however failed to convince his own country to join the international organisation set up to preserve the post-war peace. Due to the failure of the League of Nations and the outbreak of another global conflict, Wilson’s international reputation had been badly damaged by 1939.
After 1945, his legacy was, however, resurrected by crusading “Wilsonian” American foreign policy jingoists seeking to spread a gospel of democracy and human rights around the world, while often hypocritically doing everything possible to prevent its practice in much of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia by supporting brutal autocrats. Based on the history we have just recounted, there was nothing progressive or liberal about Wilson’s career. He remained until his death a dyed-in-the-wool racist, even by the moral standards of his own age. Princeton’s action in expunging his name from two major buildings thus provides an ideal opportunity to start writing a more accurate, inclusive, and complex version of history than the one I was taught at Oxford.
Professor Adebajo is director, University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation, South Africa.
The wealthy Republicans who want to oust Trump in November's election
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jimmy Tosh, who runs a multi-million dollar hog and grain farm in Tennessee, is a lifelong Republican. He is pro-gun, supports lower taxes and agrees with most of Republican President Donald Trump’s agenda.
He is also spending his money to help defeat Trump in November’s election.
“I agree with 80% of the things he does; I just cannot stand a liar,” Tosh, 70, said of Trump.
RELATED COVERAGE
Explainer: Why Election Day could be just the start of a long battle over the U.S. presidency
Tosh is one of a growing number of wealthy conservative Americans who say Trump is a threat to democracy and the long-term health of the Republican Party. They are actively supporting his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 vote, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Several billionaire and millionaire donors to The Lincoln Project, the most prominent of Republican-backed groups opposing Trump’s re-election, told Reuters that elected Republicans should also be punished for enabling him. Some even support the ouster of vulnerable Republican senators to hand control of the chamber to Democrats.
Their money has fueled an unprecedented campaign from members of a sitting president’s own party to oust him from office. This is a sign that Trump has alienated some Republicans, most recently with his response to the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests over police brutality against Black Americans.
The ultimate impact of these actions remains to be seen in a country so deeply polarized. The “Never Trump” Republicans failed to stop his ascent in 2016 and became marginal figures as Trump came to dominate the party during his presidency. But this year could be different, some strategists from both parties said.
“The distinction in 2020 that we didn’t see in 2016 is the amount of money backing their efforts and their size,” said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist and a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“The number of people willing to go public about Trump and put serious money behind beating him — I don’t think we’ve seen an effort on this scale.”
Besides The Lincoln Project, several Republican-backed groups have been formed in recent months to support Biden including 43 Alumni for Biden, a super PAC involving hundreds of officials who served in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, and a coalition of former Republican national security officials.
Others are skeptical, noting that Trump is vastly outraising and outspending the Never Trump groups and still enjoys nearly 90% support among Republicans. In June alone, Trump’s campaign raised $55.2 million, compared to the $20 million that The Lincoln Project has raised since its formation in December.
Yet in a close election, even peeling away a sliver of wavering Republicans and some independents could make a difference, analysts said.
Tosh, who has given $11,000 to The Lincoln Project after seeing one of their ads attacking Trump, said he might give to other Republican-led groups too.
“I made the decision I will not support a Republican candidate in an election until Trump is gone,” he said.
Other top individual donors to The Lincoln Project include Christy Walton, the Walmart heiress who has mainly given to Democratic candidates in recent years; hedge fund billionaire Andy Redleaf, who sits on the board of visitors at the conservative Federalist Society; and Sidney Jansma Jr., an oil and gas executive from Michigan and a frequent donor to Republican candidates and causes.
The Lincoln Project ads have attacked Trump over his response to economic and health crises and racial tensions, targeting wavering Trump voters and independents.
Democratic ad maker Jimmy Siegel who worked on Clinton’s 2008 campaign, said some of the spots, viewed by millions, could be persuasive to “teetering” Republicans on the fence.
Erin Perrine, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, said of the anti-Trump groups: “This is the swamp – yet again – trying to take down the duly elected president of the United States.” She said Trump’s level of support among Republicans is “something any former president of any party could only dream of.”
‘REPUBLICANS SHOULD BE PUNISHED’
It is not just conservatives giving to the Republican anti-Trump groups. The Lincoln Project, for instance, is also receiving large sums from wealthy Democrats, filings with the Federal Election Commission show. Its biggest single donation in June was $1 million from hedge fund manager Stephen Mandel, a prolific Democratic donor.
Reed Galin, one of the group’s founders who worked for Bush and the late Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, said Trump’s bullying brand of politics is “not good for the party, and it’s also bad for the country.”
Redleaf, founder of Minnesota-based hedge fund Whitebox Advisors, said Biden will be the first Democratic presidential candidate he has voted for.
Readleaf, who calls himself a “conservative libertarian,” has donated $35,000 to The Lincoln Project. He said he agreed with the group’s push to also target Republican senators who face tough re-election battles in November.
Tosh said he has “mixed emotions.”
“I’ve been a Republican all my life and want to stay Republican - but the Republican Party has to change after what it’s done over the past three years.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jimmy Tosh, who runs a multi-million dollar hog and grain farm in Tennessee, is a lifelong Republican. He is pro-gun, supports lower taxes and agrees with most of Republican President Donald Trump’s agenda.
He is also spending his money to help defeat Trump in November’s election.
“I agree with 80% of the things he does; I just cannot stand a liar,” Tosh, 70, said of Trump.
RELATED COVERAGE
Explainer: Why Election Day could be just the start of a long battle over the U.S. presidency
Tosh is one of a growing number of wealthy conservative Americans who say Trump is a threat to democracy and the long-term health of the Republican Party. They are actively supporting his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 3 vote, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Several billionaire and millionaire donors to The Lincoln Project, the most prominent of Republican-backed groups opposing Trump’s re-election, told Reuters that elected Republicans should also be punished for enabling him. Some even support the ouster of vulnerable Republican senators to hand control of the chamber to Democrats.
Their money has fueled an unprecedented campaign from members of a sitting president’s own party to oust him from office. This is a sign that Trump has alienated some Republicans, most recently with his response to the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests over police brutality against Black Americans.
The ultimate impact of these actions remains to be seen in a country so deeply polarized. The “Never Trump” Republicans failed to stop his ascent in 2016 and became marginal figures as Trump came to dominate the party during his presidency. But this year could be different, some strategists from both parties said.
“The distinction in 2020 that we didn’t see in 2016 is the amount of money backing their efforts and their size,” said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist and a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“The number of people willing to go public about Trump and put serious money behind beating him — I don’t think we’ve seen an effort on this scale.”
Besides The Lincoln Project, several Republican-backed groups have been formed in recent months to support Biden including 43 Alumni for Biden, a super PAC involving hundreds of officials who served in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration, and a coalition of former Republican national security officials.
Others are skeptical, noting that Trump is vastly outraising and outspending the Never Trump groups and still enjoys nearly 90% support among Republicans. In June alone, Trump’s campaign raised $55.2 million, compared to the $20 million that The Lincoln Project has raised since its formation in December.
Yet in a close election, even peeling away a sliver of wavering Republicans and some independents could make a difference, analysts said.
Tosh, who has given $11,000 to The Lincoln Project after seeing one of their ads attacking Trump, said he might give to other Republican-led groups too.
“I made the decision I will not support a Republican candidate in an election until Trump is gone,” he said.
Other top individual donors to The Lincoln Project include Christy Walton, the Walmart heiress who has mainly given to Democratic candidates in recent years; hedge fund billionaire Andy Redleaf, who sits on the board of visitors at the conservative Federalist Society; and Sidney Jansma Jr., an oil and gas executive from Michigan and a frequent donor to Republican candidates and causes.
The Lincoln Project ads have attacked Trump over his response to economic and health crises and racial tensions, targeting wavering Trump voters and independents.
Democratic ad maker Jimmy Siegel who worked on Clinton’s 2008 campaign, said some of the spots, viewed by millions, could be persuasive to “teetering” Republicans on the fence.
Erin Perrine, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, said of the anti-Trump groups: “This is the swamp – yet again – trying to take down the duly elected president of the United States.” She said Trump’s level of support among Republicans is “something any former president of any party could only dream of.”
‘REPUBLICANS SHOULD BE PUNISHED’
It is not just conservatives giving to the Republican anti-Trump groups. The Lincoln Project, for instance, is also receiving large sums from wealthy Democrats, filings with the Federal Election Commission show. Its biggest single donation in June was $1 million from hedge fund manager Stephen Mandel, a prolific Democratic donor.
Reed Galin, one of the group’s founders who worked for Bush and the late Republican U.S. Senator John McCain, said Trump’s bullying brand of politics is “not good for the party, and it’s also bad for the country.”
Redleaf, founder of Minnesota-based hedge fund Whitebox Advisors, said Biden will be the first Democratic presidential candidate he has voted for.
Readleaf, who calls himself a “conservative libertarian,” has donated $35,000 to The Lincoln Project. He said he agreed with the group’s push to also target Republican senators who face tough re-election battles in November.
Tosh said he has “mixed emotions.”
“I’ve been a Republican all my life and want to stay Republican - but the Republican Party has to change after what it’s done over the past three years.”
Disabled Americans mark milestone as crisis deepens job woes
Patrice Jetter, a furloughed school crossing guard, poses for a photograph, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Hamilton, N.J. Jetter, who has cerebral palsy and partial hearing loss, wanted to work with kids when graduating from high school. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The Americans With Disabilities Act was a major turning point in opening large parts of U.S. society to disabled people, but three decades after its passage disabled workers still face higher unemployment than other adults -- a problem compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday marks 30 years since the ADA was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush with wide bipartisan support. It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in areas such as employment, transportation and public accommodations.
In practice, that’s meant everything from usable public bathrooms to seats in movie theaters and access to public schools.
“The historically dominant view was that it was an individual problem that each person or family had to cope with on their own,” said Douglas Kruse, an economist at Rutgers University who began using a wheelchair after a drunk driver crashed into him in 1990. “The ADA represented a shift in perspective that a lot of the problems with disability are more societal and environmental.”
That’s led to something simple but crucial: visibility.
“It’s not uncommon to see people with wheelchairs or blind people out doing what they need to do, or want to do, in cities or in restaurants,” said his wife Lisa Schur, a political scientist at Rutgers who studies disability and employment. “Before the ADA, it was unusual. People would be stared at. Now it’s more accepted.”
The law was a hard-fought milestone that came after years of work from disabled people and their supporters, said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Nevertheless, “the reality still is, people with disabilities are subject to pervasive discrimination in employment and many aspects of life, so the work of the ADA is not done.”
When it comes to employment, things were looking up in the booming June 2019 economy before the coronavirus hit. Still, the unemployment rate was nearly 8% — double that of other workers — even though a large majority said in surveys they can and want to work, Kruse said. Those who are employed often hold low-level jobs in industries like food service, home health care and janitorial work.
“It really seems to be last hired, first fired,” Schur said. “Even 30 years after the ADA, there’s still a lot of employer reluctance.”
The situation has gotten worse during the pandemic. The entire country is reeling from record unemployment and widespread layoffs as large sectors of the economy essentially shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but it’s even more pronounced among disabled people.
In June 2020, the unemployment rate for disabled people rose to 16.5%, compared to 11% for workers without a disability, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The ranks of the newly unemployed include Patrice Jetter of Hamilton, New Jersey. She applied to be a crossing guard every year for 12 years before she was first hired in 1993. Jetter, who has cerebral palsy and partial hearing loss, wanted to work with kids when graduating from high school, but had little preparation for taking her SATs in special education classes, so her scores weren’t high enough for college.
She finally got her job after writing to the newly elected mayor. She walked to work every day, even when snow kept her driving colleagues at home.
She loved joking with the elementary school kids who passed her with a vest and stop sign and wishing a good day to the drivers going past — including one woman who changed her route to work because Jetter’s smiles and waves brightened her morning.
“Once you’ve been a crossing guard, it’s in you. You’re never happy doing something else,” she said.
But in March, Jetter, 56, and the rest of the crossing guards in Hamilton were laid off since the pandemic had shut down schools and kids weren’t crossing the street.
“I remember there were nights I didn’t sleep I was so worried about falling behind on bills,” she said. She’s gotten by so far with help applying for benefits like unemployment and rent reductions and finding ways to pool her resources with other disabled friends. She’s also been able to wear a mask and return to practicing her Special Olympics sport of skating, where the leg problems caused by the disease fade away as she glides along the ice.
But it’s still unclear whether schools will be able to reopen and allow her job to restart in the fall. She’s worried about returning to the job market with a rush of other people also looking for work, many of whom won’t have to deal with discrimination she’s encountered over the years as a disabled Black woman.
Still, she’s got her optimism, ingenuity and determination on her side.
“The ADA has opened more doors for people with disabilities,” she said. “There’s still a lot more that has to be worked on, but if we keep plugging away things are going to get better and better.”
Advocates with groups such as The Arc are also pushing Congress to add more funding through Medicaid in the next coronavirus aid package for things like job coaches and transportation to help people such as Jetter get back to jobs that can help them live independently and be more connected to their community.
The pandemic has meant millions of people are working from home, with accommodations that some disabled people have long been denied. It’s shown that workers can be productive from home, though for those gains to translate effectively to the disabled community, access must be increased to the education and computers that make those careers possible, the professors said.
“There may be a silver living,” Kruse said. “Maybe this will shake up the view of how work can be done.”
Patrice Jetter, a furloughed school crossing guard, poses for a photograph, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Hamilton, N.J. Jetter, who has cerebral palsy and partial hearing loss, wanted to work with kids when graduating from high school. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The Americans With Disabilities Act was a major turning point in opening large parts of U.S. society to disabled people, but three decades after its passage disabled workers still face higher unemployment than other adults -- a problem compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday marks 30 years since the ADA was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush with wide bipartisan support. It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in areas such as employment, transportation and public accommodations.
In practice, that’s meant everything from usable public bathrooms to seats in movie theaters and access to public schools.
“The historically dominant view was that it was an individual problem that each person or family had to cope with on their own,” said Douglas Kruse, an economist at Rutgers University who began using a wheelchair after a drunk driver crashed into him in 1990. “The ADA represented a shift in perspective that a lot of the problems with disability are more societal and environmental.”
That’s led to something simple but crucial: visibility.
“It’s not uncommon to see people with wheelchairs or blind people out doing what they need to do, or want to do, in cities or in restaurants,” said his wife Lisa Schur, a political scientist at Rutgers who studies disability and employment. “Before the ADA, it was unusual. People would be stared at. Now it’s more accepted.”
The law was a hard-fought milestone that came after years of work from disabled people and their supporters, said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Nevertheless, “the reality still is, people with disabilities are subject to pervasive discrimination in employment and many aspects of life, so the work of the ADA is not done.”
When it comes to employment, things were looking up in the booming June 2019 economy before the coronavirus hit. Still, the unemployment rate was nearly 8% — double that of other workers — even though a large majority said in surveys they can and want to work, Kruse said. Those who are employed often hold low-level jobs in industries like food service, home health care and janitorial work.
“It really seems to be last hired, first fired,” Schur said. “Even 30 years after the ADA, there’s still a lot of employer reluctance.”
The situation has gotten worse during the pandemic. The entire country is reeling from record unemployment and widespread layoffs as large sectors of the economy essentially shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but it’s even more pronounced among disabled people.
In June 2020, the unemployment rate for disabled people rose to 16.5%, compared to 11% for workers without a disability, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The ranks of the newly unemployed include Patrice Jetter of Hamilton, New Jersey. She applied to be a crossing guard every year for 12 years before she was first hired in 1993. Jetter, who has cerebral palsy and partial hearing loss, wanted to work with kids when graduating from high school, but had little preparation for taking her SATs in special education classes, so her scores weren’t high enough for college.
She finally got her job after writing to the newly elected mayor. She walked to work every day, even when snow kept her driving colleagues at home.
She loved joking with the elementary school kids who passed her with a vest and stop sign and wishing a good day to the drivers going past — including one woman who changed her route to work because Jetter’s smiles and waves brightened her morning.
“Once you’ve been a crossing guard, it’s in you. You’re never happy doing something else,” she said.
But in March, Jetter, 56, and the rest of the crossing guards in Hamilton were laid off since the pandemic had shut down schools and kids weren’t crossing the street.
“I remember there were nights I didn’t sleep I was so worried about falling behind on bills,” she said. She’s gotten by so far with help applying for benefits like unemployment and rent reductions and finding ways to pool her resources with other disabled friends. She’s also been able to wear a mask and return to practicing her Special Olympics sport of skating, where the leg problems caused by the disease fade away as she glides along the ice.
But it’s still unclear whether schools will be able to reopen and allow her job to restart in the fall. She’s worried about returning to the job market with a rush of other people also looking for work, many of whom won’t have to deal with discrimination she’s encountered over the years as a disabled Black woman.
Still, she’s got her optimism, ingenuity and determination on her side.
“The ADA has opened more doors for people with disabilities,” she said. “There’s still a lot more that has to be worked on, but if we keep plugging away things are going to get better and better.”
Advocates with groups such as The Arc are also pushing Congress to add more funding through Medicaid in the next coronavirus aid package for things like job coaches and transportation to help people such as Jetter get back to jobs that can help them live independently and be more connected to their community.
The pandemic has meant millions of people are working from home, with accommodations that some disabled people have long been denied. It’s shown that workers can be productive from home, though for those gains to translate effectively to the disabled community, access must be increased to the education and computers that make those careers possible, the professors said.
“There may be a silver living,” Kruse said. “Maybe this will shake up the view of how work can be done.”
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