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'Too late to stop': Egypt and Turkey ramp up Libya war preparations

Both sides are eager to avoid confrontation, but the escalation continues as Egypt's parliament votes to approve military intervention
Borzou Daragahi International Correspondent THE INDEPENDENT

Egypt and Turkey edged closer to the possibility of armed conflict this week over Libya, with both sides preparing for an impending battle over a key city.

Egypt’s obsequious parliament voted unanimously behind closed doors late Monday to authorise President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s proposed military intervention in support of renegade Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar. Mr Sisi on Monday reportedly spoke with United States President Donald Trump in a likely attempt to get Washington to convince Ankara to stand down.

Meanwhile, Turkey and its Libyan allies of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord positioned heavy weaponry and fighters along the battlefront near the city of Sirte, the central Libyan city that is the gateway to the country’s crucial eastern oil infrastructure.

Libya was plunged into conflict following the toppling of longtime ruler Muammer Gaddafi in 2011 in a Nato-backed war. Mr Haftar’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces and the GNA and its antecedents have been battling for control of the country for more than six years.

The battle over Sirte, the hometown of Gaddafi, is also shaping up as a confrontation between two axes in the Middle East. On the one side are the authoritarian regimes of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, backed by Russia and France, who support Hafar’s Libyan Armed Armed Forces. On the other are populist Islamist-leaning governments in Turkey, Qatar and Libya’s Tripoli.
Read more

Egypt’s military threats suggest Trump could face a disaster in Libya

Mr Haftar was winning the war until Turkey forcefully intervened earlier this year, turning the tide of the conflict with its sophisticated domestically-made surveillance and combat drones, air defence systems, and Nato-calibre battle planning.

On Monday, Qatar’s defence minister Khalid bin Mohamed al Attiyah, Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar and Libyan interior minister Fathi Bashagha conferred in Ankara over the impending conflict. Turkey has been flooding Libya with weapons, flying transport planes to the recently captured al-Watiya airbase to avoid French attempts to intercept its ships at sea.

“It’s not like anything I have ever seen in my lifetime,” said Yoruk Isik, an open source intelligence analyst who closely monitors Turkish ship and plane movements. “This is probably the limit that our planes can travel. It’s not executed just well, it’s executed exceptionally well.”

Read more

Nato continues to ‘turn a blind eye’ to Turkish arms to Libya

Video footage posted on the internet showed convoys of trucks full of GNA fighters from nearby Misrata and other cities heading to Abugrein, which lies about 90 minutes from Sirte. Turkish media reported the deployment of T-122 Sakarya multiple rocket launchers and Korkut anti-aircraft systems outside Sirte.

Egypt faces a more formidable logistical challenge. Its eastern border lies a long day’s drive from the city. Its longer range fighter jets would have limited utility without close air support for ground troops.

Libya’s eastern-based parliament, which is under Mr Haftar’s sway, welcomed the potential Egyptian intervention. But Mr Sisi has strongly hinted that the threat of Egyptian military intervention was meant to deter a Turkish-backed incursion into Sirte and the southern city of Jufra, another flashpoint in the confrontation.

“I don't think that Egypt will go for war,” said Karim Salem, a Libya expert at the Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies, a Geneva-based advocacy organisation. “Even if they enter the east, they will not go for confrontation. For now, it’s a way to push from both sides that Sirte and Jufra be empty of military presence.”

The threat of military confrontation has prompted international players to refocus efforts on Libya. On Saturday, Germany, France and Italy issued a statement vowing to enforce a longstanding UN arms embargo on Libya that is now openly flouted by all sides.

“No one wants to see an escalation in Libya,” Mirette Mabrouk, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, wrote in a note on Monday. “The threat of spiraling violence, with the capacity to turn into another fully fledged proxy war, might be just the spur to political settlement that was needed.”

But forces loyal to the GNA have said repeatedly that they are poised to enter Sirte, with senior officials publicly stating that they are only awaiting the go-ahead from Turkey. Officials in Ankara have been negotiating with Moscow for a withdrawal of suspected Russian mercenaries deployed to both Sirte and Jufra, but the talks appear to have reached a stalemate.

Mr Isik called the Sirte operation “inevitable,” driven as much by Turkey’s domestic political calculations as what’s happening on the ground in Libya. The city is the last major urban outpost before Libya’s “oil crescent,” which includes refineries, storage facilities and export terminals in Ras Lanuf, Brega and al-Sidr.

“They’re going to take the opportunity in Sirte,” he said. “Maybe they will figure out some bizarre arrangement with the Russians. But they’re going to take [Haftar] out. The process has already started and it's too late to stop it.”

Oregon to sue federal agencies over response to Portland protests

July 18 (UPI) -- Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Saturday that the state will sue federal law enforcement agencies over their response to Black Lives Matter protests in Portland.

Rosenblum announced in a Twitter post that the lawsuit would be filed specifically in response to federal officers allegedly seizing and detaining residents without probable cause and excessive force. The agencies named included U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protection Service

Nightly protests against police violence have attracted hundreds to sometimes thousands in Portland for more than six weeks in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

Since at least Tuesday, federal officers have been using unmarked vehicles to grab protesters off the streets and detain them with little explanation of why they are being arrested in an apparent escalation of federal force, witnesses told Oregon Public Broadcasting.

"I share the concerns of our state and local leaders -- and our Oregon U.S. senators and certain congressional representatives -- that the current escalation of fear and violence in downtown Portland is being driven by federal law enforcement tactics that are entirely unnecessary and out of character with the Oregon way," Rosenblum said in a statement.

"These tactics must stop. They not only make it impossible for people to assert their First Amendment rights to protest peacefully. They also create a more volatile situation on our streets."

The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon also filed a lawsuit Friday against the DHS and the U.S. Marshals Service over the federal agencies' treatment of protesters, journalists and legal observers.

Last week police shot a Portland protester in the head with an impact munition, causing serious injuries, OregonLive reported.

Rosenblum announced a state criminal investigation with the Multnomah County District Attorney into the injury. She blamed the incident on a federal police officer.

"The federal administration has chosen Portland to use their scare tactics to stop our residents from protesting police brutality and from supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Every American should be repulsed when they see this happening. If this can happen in Portland, it can happen anywhere," Rosenblum said

During a Friday interview with National Public Radio, DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli suggested the tactics employed recently could be used elsewhere.

"With as much lawbreaking is going on, we're seeking to prosecute as many people as are breaking the law as it relates to federal jurisdiction. That's not always happening with respect to local jurisdiction and local offenses. But, you know, this is a posture we intend to continue not just in Portland but in any of the facilities that we're responsible for around the country," he said.

On Saturday afternoon Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) announced on Twitter that he and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) plan to introduce an amendment to the defense bill to "stop the Trump administration from sending its paramilitary squads onto America's streets.

"We won't let these authoritarian tactics stand," Merkley wrote.

Also Saturday, the New York Times reported on an internal DHS memo that hinted at future encounters in other cities and warned that the federal agent dispatched in Portland were not specifically trained in riot control or mass demonstrations.

"Moving forward, if this type of response is going to be the norm, specialized training and standardized equipment should be deployed to responding agencies."

Tensions between the city of Portland and federal agencies heated up after Acting Secretary Chad Wolf of the Department of Homeland Security arrived downtown on Thursday afternoon, KOIN reported. Federal officers deployed tear gas outside the federal courthouse after protesters stood their ground late Thursday night when they were told to disperse. By the end of the night, 20 people were arrested.

CBP said it arrested "violent anarchists" over the past several weeks, accusing them of damaging and destroying federal property.

CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan tweeted Friday that his agency "will continue to arrest the violent criminals that are destroying federal property and injuring our agents/officers in Portland."

"CBP will restore and maintain law and order."

Two separate marches were scheduled that night, one a "fight for Black Lives," by the PNW Youth Liberation Front against "the rise of fascism and hate in America," according to Radical Guide website. The other a "March for Black Education," which according to the PDX Black Lives Matter Events page was to bring awareness to the lack of black representation in Portland Public Schools and the treatment of Black, Indigenous, and people of color students and faculty.

Early Saturday morning, after Portland police declared the downtown demonstration to be unlawful, federal and local officers advanced on protesters and used tear gas -- whose use has been temporarily restricted in the city -- as well impact munitions and stun grenades at least twice to break up the demonstrations. Multiple outlets with reporters at the scene said it was not clear what precipitated the use of force.

On Saturday afternoon the Portland Police Bureau issued a press release announcing seven arrests and saying PPB did not use tear gas, also known as CS gas, on protesters.

"Beginning tonight command from the Federal Protective Service will not work in the Portland Police incident command center," the release added.

It is not clear when the Federal Protective Service started using the command center, though that aspect of collaboration between the agencies was first mentioned in a July 9 OPB story.

City leaders have placed distance between local and federal police in some public statements, but Portland police have since acknowledged "sharing updates in real time," OregonLive reports.

The total number of arrests since federal officers came to Portland has not been disclosed.

Last week federal officers arrested a protester for vandalizing a federal courthouse. According to a series of Portland police tweets, federal officers also arrested two other people for unlawfully pointing lasers into federal officers' eyes and another person for breaking a hole in the door of the federal courthouse with a hammer and striking one of the federal officers who responded to the scene in the head and shoulder with a hammer.


DAILY MAIL COVERAGE CHECK IT OUT 34 PHOTOS PLUS VIDEOS
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8538459/Protester-Navy-sweatshirt-shrugs-baton-beating-tear-gas-attack-federal-cops.html

Women Formed a 'Wall of Moms' to Protect Protesters From Federal Police in Portland

 BY ROBIN ZLOTNICK

Black Lives Matter protests may have left the media cycle, but they're still happening regularly in cities across the United States. And in Portland, Ore., unidentified federal police have been deployed by the president. They've been snatching protesters in the street and throwing them into unmarked cars and tear-gassing crowds.

In order to protect protesters from these federal agents, women formed a "Wall of Moms" between the police and the protesters. There were more than 30 moms who linked arms to create a barricade during these demonstrations. They chanted, "Feds stay clear! Moms are here!" and "Leave our kids alone" at the protest outside the federal courthouse, according to BuzzFeed News.

More protesters have arrived. A line of women haves linked arms to block the street. I’m told they call themselves the “wall of moms.” They’re chanting “feds stay clear, the moms are here” pic.twitter.com/eyYpUuoSRV
— Emily Gillespie (@emilygillespie) July 19, 2020

Protesters say that these federal officers have only served to escalate tensions in Portland. Not only are they grabbing people and shoving them into unmarked vans, but they're tear-gassing crowds, chasing and beating them with batons, and firing flash bangs.

The Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, said on CNN that the presence of the federal police officers is "actually leading to more violence and more vandalism." He continued, "They're not wanted here. We haven't asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave."

NBC News reports that Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, alleging "that federal law enforcement officers sent to Portland to suppress protests violated the Constitution by unlawfully detaining and arresting demonstrators without probable cause."

Oregon Governor Kate Brown wrote of the federal police presence on Twitter, "This political theater from President Trump has nothing to do with public safety. The President is failing to lead this nation. Now he is deploying federal officers to patrol the streets of Portland in a blatant abuse of power by the federal government."

Wall of Moms, Justice Center Portland. 7/18/20. #wallofmoms #resist #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/Q575eb9niP
— Julia Peattie (@repeattie) July 19, 2020

"We are about protecting peaceful citizens' right to protest," Bev Barnum, the organizer of "Wall of Moms," told BuzzFeed News. She created a Facebook event to organize the moms after she saw a viral video in which two armed federal officers exit an unmarked van and grab someone. They had no identifying features.

On the Facebook event, Barnum wrote, "Calling all moms. Let's do what we do best — protect people. As most of you have read and seen on the news, protesters are being hurt (without cause). And as of late, protesters are being stripped of their rights by being places in unmarked cars by unidentifiable law enforcement. We moms are often underestimated. But we're stronger than we're given credit for."

Barnum urged moms to wear white in order to stand out from the crowd and to wear a helmet in case things got violent. "We wanted to look like we were going to Target, like normal people," Barnum said.

Although she hoped that their "nonthreatening" appearance would stop federal officers from using violent measures against them and other protesters, the entire crowd was eventually tear-gassed. Still, Barnum said the moms will be out there "until no protester needs protecting."

Again, this is a chemical weapon of war being deployed against civilians who are exercising their right to protest an unwanted, militarized occupation of their city—not even by the entire federal government—but by specific orders of a president who aspires to be dictator. https://t.co/sgCwaeQPd9
— Bree Newsome Bass (@BreeNewsome) July 20, 2020

While the Saturday night protest ended in violence, the moms returned on Sunday to continue to provide protection to protesters. Julia Peattie, one of the members of the Wall of Moms Facebook group, said, "There's all the times in one's life when you hear about things in authoritarian regimes and Nazi Germany, and you say, 'I wouldn't put up with that.' This is that time."

Barnum clarified that while the Wall of Moms was there to protect protesters, they didn't want to take any attention away from the Black voices who need to be heard. Brenna Burnett, who participated in the Wall of Moms, said, "This is about Black moms every day losing their children, husbands, brothers, friends. This is about Black Lives Matter. This is not about white women coming in to save the day."

Moms Form Human Shield To Protect Portland Protesters From Federal Police
By Morgan Brinlee ROMPER
July 20, 2020
Reports that federal officers in Portland, Oregon, were detaining citizens without explanation and employing aggressive tactics against protesters has galvanized mothers of all ages to join the city's nightly protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Over the weekend, dozens of Portland moms formed a human shield to protect protesters from law enforcement officers. Videos shared across social media networks captured the group standing arm-in-arm, chanting, "Feds stay clear, moms are here!" before being teargassed by federal officers.

Nightly demonstrations sparked by the police killing of George Floyd have been ongoing in Portland since late May. Although largely peaceful, the demonstrations have frustrated President Donald Trump, who dispatched federal officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Portland in early July, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

But while Trump may have hoped to quell protests in Portland, reports that federal officers were allegedly using aggressive tactics against peaceful protesters and grabbing civilians off the street in unmarked cars, as Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, have served only to re-energize demonstrators and, most recently, mothers.

Dozens of moms outraged over law enforcements' aggressive response to peaceful protesters organized to form a "Wall of Moms" at protests in Portland over the weekend. On Saturday, a group of moms who identified themselves as Moms Against Police Brutality linked arms to form a human shield between protesters and police.

They chanted "This is what democracy looks like," "Feds go home, moms are here" and "Leave our kids alone" while standing between protesters and Portland's Hatfield Federal Courthouse. Video shared over Twitter by preschool educator Lindsey Smith showed federal officers fire flash bangs and tear gas at the line of moms as they stood chanting outside the courthouse.

But footage of federal officers firing tear gas at protesting moms on Saturday inspired even more mothers to show up to Sunday night's protest, this time wearing yellow.
"The wall of moms were in white yesterday, and they were tear gassed and shoved," one mother present at Sunday's protest told Willamette Weekly when asked what drew her to attend that evenings demonstration. "So we came in yellow today and we're alongside the fence telling them: 'Feds go home, the moms are here.'"

On Sunday, the moms, the majority of whom were white, once again linked arms to form a human shield around protesters and federal officers once again deployed tear gas against them, according to videos shared across social media.

"I am a 49 year old mother with a Masters in Education and I just got gassed by my own government," a woman who identified herself as a protesting mom in Portland wrote on Twitter in the pre-dawn hours Monday. "We were peaceful."

These are, of course, not the first mothers to have taken to the streets to protest police violence or to support Black Lives Matter protests. In fact, Black mothers have long been at the center of these protests. Still, Portland's protesting moms show mothers everywhere have had enough.

DAILY MAIL COVERAGE CHECK IT OUT 34 PHOTOS PLUS VIDEOS

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8538459/Protester-Navy-sweatshirt-shrugs-baton-beating-tear-gas-attack-federal-cops.html

Protester dubbed 'Naked Athena' strips off and dares police to shoot her with tear gas during tense stand-off in the 50-day 'Battle of Portland'

Unidentified woman struck a series of ballet and yoga poses in front of officers 

Surreal video footage from the scene shows the woman striding towards cops 

The 'Naked Athena' protester wore nothing but a beanie and face mask 

In Portland, courts have recognized nudity as a form of political protest which overrides public decency laws.
By SOPHIE TANNO FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 21 July 2020

A protester dubbed 'Naked Athena' confronted Portland police wearing only a face mask and beanie.

The unidentified woman struck a series of ballet and yoga poses in front of anti-riot officers at around 1.45 am on Saturday morning.

Surreal video footage from the scene shows the woman striding towards the officers, who were in heavy protective gear including gas masks and helmets, almost completely naked.

Oregon state law is pretty lenient on public nudity, and in Portland it is only illegal to be naked in public with the intent to arouse.

The standoff comes after the city of Portland marked its 50th consecutive night of unrest following the death of George Floyd, with crowds taking to the streets to denounce racial injustice.

A protester dubbed 'Naked Athena' confronted Portland police wearing only a face mask and beanie



Surreal video footage from the scene shows the woman marching towards the officers, who were in heavy protective gear including gas masks and helmets, almost completely naked

The unidentified woman struck a series of ballet and yoga poses in front of anti-riot officers at around 1.45 am on Saturday morning

And then? Naked Athena appeared and the little boys didn’t know what to do. pic.twitter.com/Elo69SsV0t— Donovan “It was the blurst of times” Farley 💻🐒 (@DonovanFarley) July 18, 2020

Officers proceed to fire pepper balls at the woman's feet and another protester is filmed rushing to protect her with a makeshift shield.

However she side-steps him to perform a series of yoga poses in front of the officers and even reclines onto the street at one point.

Her graceful poses stand in stark contrast to the heavily-armed guards.
According to Dave Killen, a photographer for The Oregonian, the officers left around 10 minutes after the naked woman showed up.

'She was incredibly vulnerable,' he told the news outlet.

'It would have been incredibly painful to be shot with any of those munitions with no clothes on.'
'Naked Athena' Portland protester dares police to shot tear gas at her




Officers proceed to fire pepper balls at the woman's feet and another protester is filmed rushing to protect her with a makeshift shield

The woman is then seen lying on the pavement as she strikes another pose in front of federal officers

In Portland, courts have recognized nudity as a form of political protest which overrides public decency laws

THERE ARE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE WEEKEND PROTESTS HERE
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8540579/Naked-Athena-protester-confronts-Portland-police.html

Christopher David's altercation with federal officers went viral after they hit him with batons and sprayed him with pepper spray

‘They just started whaling on me’: Veteran speaks out after video of federal officers beating him at Portland protests goes viral


‘I stood my ground at that point and just stayed there,’ Christopher David, 53, told The Independent 


Danielle Zoellner @dani__zoellner

Christopher David, a 53-year-old disabled Navy veteran, was so angry at the sight of federal officers sweeping up protesters in the last few nights on the streets of Portland, Oregon, that he decided to go and talk to them about it.

The city resident, who served more than eight years with the US Navy, got on a public bus on Saturday and headed to a protest in front of the city courthouse in the hope he could ask them some questions.

“I was enraged simply because I did not think they were taking their oath of office seriously or they were compromising their oath of office,” Mr David told The Independent. “So I actually went down because I wanted to talk to them about it.”

His advances were rebuffed, however, and he was the victim of a brutal attack that was caught on video and went viral on Sunday.

In the video, first shared by a reporter from the Portland Tribune, Mr David is seen taking a series of baton blows from a federal agent, without reacting to any of them, before he is finally forced back by pepper spray to the face.

“I stood my ground at that point and just stayed there ... I did nothing provocative. They just started whaling on me with batons, and I let them,” Mr David said.

“I probably could’ve taken a lot more baton blows if they had not sprayed pepper spray all over my eyes,” he added.

The use of federal agents to quell protests in Portland has drawn heavy criticism from local and national leaders. Federal officers from the US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security‘s Federal Protective Service have been deployed to Portland on orders from the Trump administration.

Their mandate was to protect federal buildings, but they have been accused of driving unmarked cars and seizing people from the street in recent days in the city, which has seen nightly protests for racial justice since the police killing of George Floyd.

Mr David detailed how the federal officers streamed out of the courthouse building Saturday night and immediately started “pushing people down in the intersection”.

“It was just chaos,” Mr David said about the moment. “That is when I wanted to walk over to them and talk to them because they were not adhering to their oath of office.”

“Were any of you enlisted? Why are you not keeping your oath of office?” Mr David shouted at the officers over the noise of the crowd.

The moment was described as chaotic from Mr David because the officers were already taking “aggressive” and “crazy” action against protesters within minutes of leaving the courthouse.

“There didn’t seem to be any design, or strategy, or plan to what they were doing,” he said. “It was bizarre. It almost looked like they were scared.”

Footage then showed Mr David standing still in front of the officers with his hands down at his side. He was carrying nothing in his hands and only had a backpack on him holding his ID and wallet.

One officer then started beating him with a baton when another sprayed pepper spray in his eyes, which encouraged the man to finally step away from the federal agents and move back towards the crowd.

The moment went viral after it was first shared on Twitter, with people calling Mr David “Captain Portland” and commending him for not moving when officers used aggressive force.

“That guy is a brick. And wow. Can’t believe that is how someone harmless-looking is treated,” one Twitter commenter wrote after viewing the footage.

Footage stopped with Mr David walking away, but that wasn’t the end for him.

A street medic named Tav, who uses the pronouns they/them, helped move the man away from the crowds because the pepper spray left him struggling to see. Then, with the assistance of friends, the medic got Mr David into an ambulance so he could be taken to the VA hospital nearby.

Although the altercation with officers was brief, the moment left the man’s hand severely damaged after one baton hit slammed right against his knuckles.

“It is pretty damaged. I am probably going to have to have surgery,” Mr David said.

It was in the emergency room when Mr David found out he’d become a viral star from his clash with federal agents.

“I exchanged phone numbers with Tav so I could call them later and thank them for rescuing me out of the park,” he detailed. Tav was the one who then called him and revealed that everyone was now referring to him as “Captain Portland” following the altercation.

“I had no freaking idea,” he added.

State and local officials have spoken out against the Trump administration for its use of federal agents to quell protests. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has called for the agents to be removed from the city, calling their use “a direct threat to democracy,” but the Trump administration hasn’t budged.

In a tweet published on Sunday, Mr Trump claimed his administration was trying to “help” Portland, not “hurt it”.

“We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal,” he wrote.

But residents like Mr David saw the administration’s response as an effort to create discontent in “any big, blue city”.

“This is just the first domino to fall,” he said. “He is trying to see how far he can push it in Portland and create some kind of model for other cities so he can stir up enough chaos and discontent to try and win the election again. All of this is just doubling down on his strategy of division and chaos.”

Mr David admitted there were protesters showing more aggressive behaviour during Saturday night’s protest, including breaking down fences outside the courthouse and placing them up against the front doors. But how federal officers responded, he said, was not justified.

“Their response is incredibly disproportionate and it is designed to incite anger, division, chaos, and riots,” he said about the federal agents. “That’s the only reason they’re here. They’re not trying to quell the city or dominate it. They’re trying to stir up chaos, because that is how Trump operates.”

Despite the injury to his hand, Mr David was considering attending another Portland protest. But now he has considered using his voice in different ways following his altercation with officers.

“I’d do it again but sometimes I have to listen to better advice from other people,” he said. “I am 53 and am not indestructible.”


DAILY MAIL COVERAGE CHECK IT OUT 34 PHOTOS PLUS VIDEOS

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8538459/Protester-Navy-sweatshirt-shrugs-baton-beating-tear-gas-attack-federal-cops.html

New footage shows the moment federal agents hit a protester wearing a Navy sweatshirt before spraying tear gas in the man's face during another night of demonstrations that have been taking place since the death of George Floyd as President Donald Trump claims his administration is just 'trying to help'

In the footage, the unidentified protester is seen being struck at least three times with a baton by one officer

Another officer is then seen spraying the man in the face with tear gas (pictured) The incident was shared on Twitter early Sunday morning

As the man starts to walk away, an officer hits him at least two more times before the protester threw his middle fingers in the air

Trump Shouldn’t Push Schools To Reopen, 63% Of Americans Report In New Poll

By Casey Suglia July 16, 2020 ROMPER

As teachers and parents are concerned about what education will look this fall and the Trump administration continuously calls for schools to reopen for in-person learning, even threatening to cut funding if they don't, a new poll has found that many Americans don't agree with the president's stance. In fact, a new survey conducted by YouGov for Yahoo! News found that 63% of Americans believe that President Donald Trump shouldn't push schools to reopen in the midst of a global pandemic.


Using a sample of 1,504 adult U.S. residents, the new YouGov and Yahoo! News survey conducted this week found that people are concerned about the speed at which the nation is reopening during the current pandemic, especially when it comes to schools. Over half of those surveyed reported that they believe states with a large number of new COVID-19 cases should not reopen schools for in-person learning. According to the survey 52% of respondents said they don't support schools reopening in hot spots for the virus, while 23% reported that they are OK with it.

The survey also touched on President Trump's repeated attempts to push schools to fully reopen in the fall. On July 6, Trump tweeted in all caps "SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!" and two days later threatened to cut funding from schools if they do not. "In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families," Trump tweeted on July 8. "May cut off funding if not open!"

YouGov and Yahoo! News' new survey found that 63% of Americans don't think Trump should put pressure on schools to reopen while 25% reported they think he should be doing it.

Even with growing number of coronavirus cases — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there are more than 3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States —Trump has continued to push for students to return to in-person instruction.

"It is a balancing act, but we have to open our schools," Trump said in an interview with CBS News. "We have learned one thing very strongly. Young people are in great shape when it comes to the coronavirus or whatever you want to call it. Young people are very, very, very much in good shape. And without question, they should open their schools, keep 'em safe, practice distancing, wash your hands."

While the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has supported the idea of students returning safely to schools this fall, the organization said in a statement this week the decision must be made by public health agencies and science — not politics.

"Returning to school is important for the healthy development and well-being of children, but we must pursue re-opening in a way that is safe for all students, teachers and staff. Science should drive decision-making on safely reopening schools. Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics," the AAP said in a statement dated July 10. "We should leave it to health experts to tell us when the time is best to open up school buildings, and listen to educators and administrators to shape how we do it."

If schools return to in-person learning, the CDC has released guidelines for reopening, which Trump tweeted are "expensive" and "tough." Among several others, the CDC's recommendations for schools include installing physical barriers like sneeze guards or Plexiglass and spacing out desk seating in classrooms.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation's top infectious disease experts, said in a Senate panel in June that schools should reopen based on how their state is reopening, and follow the guidelines accordingly. According to CBS News, Fauci said: "The basic fundamental goal would be as you possibly can to get the children back to school and use the public health efforts as a tool to help the children get back to school."

If you think you’re showing symptoms of coronavirus, which include fever, shortness of breath, and cough, call your doctor before going to get tested. If you’re anxious about the virus’s spread in your community, visit the CDC for up-to-date information and resources, or seek out mental health support. You can find all of Romper’s parents + coronavirus coverage here.

AMAZON, FEDEX WORKERS FOUGHT EXPLOITATION IN A PANDEMIC, THEN JOINED AN UPRISING

Paul Abowd, Mary Jirmanus Saba
July 15 2020, THE INTERCEPT

WHEN EMPLOYEES AT Amazon and FedEx were deemed essential in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, they formed a national organizing effort to press for workplace safety, hazard pay, and a voice on the job. When protests against police brutality spread across the country after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, essential workers took to the streets, calling out their bosses for trying to turn Black Lives Matter into a corporate PR slogan.

This video was captured mostly during May and June 2020. On July 13, 2020, video producer Mary Jirmanus Saba checked back in with Adrienne Williams, who continued driving for Amazon after recovering from heat stroke. “Nothing has really changed,” Williams said, besides temperature checks before entering the warehouse on foot. Williams continued to be critical of Amazon’s response, especially in California and Texas, which are now suffering new outbreaks of Covid-19. Williams continues to organize with a group called Bay Area Amazonians. “I saw how terrible Amazon is, and I felt like something had to be done, but nobody else was going to do it,” Williams said. “I still don’t know why I haven’t been fired.”

In a statement, Amazon said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees and partners.” In response to Williams’s assertions about the Mentor app, Amazon said that the app is only required on delivery devices provided to workers, not on their personal devices. FedEx said, “The safety and well-being of our 500,000 team members is our top priority.

PLAYING COPS: MILITIA MEMBER AIDS POLICE IN ARRESTING PROTESTER AT PORTLAND ALT-RIGHT RALLY
A REAL FALSE FLAG OPERATION; TRUMP & BARR'S VIOLENT ANARCHISTS IN PORTLAND IS AN ATTACK ON A MYTHICAL ANTI-FA

HERE IS THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE PORTLAND POLICE CAMPAIGN AGAINST
PORTLAND'S ANTI FASCIST ANARCHIST COMMUNITY, ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE COUNTRY.

IT IS FROM TRUMP'S FIRST YEAR IN POWER AND HIS RIGHT WING MILITIA STORM TROOPERS FOCUS THEIR ASSAULTS ON PORTLAND 

Photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images

PLAYING COPS: MILITIA MEMBER AIDS POLICE IN ARRESTING PROTESTER AT PORTLAND ALT-RIGHT RALLY

Arun Gupta THE INTERCEPT
June 8 2017, 5:06 p.m.

FOURTEEN PEOPLE WERE arrested at an alt-right rally in Portland, Oregon, last weekend. A man named Todd Kelsay helped with one of the arrests. In videos and photographs posted online, Kelsay can be seen on his knees with a group of police officers, reaching behind one of their backs to retrieve a plastic handcuff to arrest an unidentified black-clad protester. In one video, Kelsay appears to be assisting three officers in cuffing the suspect.

Yet Kelsay stood out. The Department of Homeland Security Federal Protective Service officers he was aiding wore dark blue helmets and flak jackets with “POLICE DHS” patched across the front. Kelsay, on the other hand, sported a desert camouflage helmet and ballistic vest over a black tee shirt and jeans.

The discrepancy in appearance arose because Kelsay is not with the Portland police nor with the federal DHS police whom he was aiding.

Kelsay, who is a member of the American Freedom Keepers, a right-wing militia, was there helping to secure the free speech rally” organized by alt-right activists. (The Freedom Keepers, Kelsay said, did not officially take part in the rally.) In an interview Tuesday, Kelsay told The Intercept that he was instructed by DHS police to assist in the arrest. “I was asked, while I was on the ground, by a police officer, ‘Help me, hand me the handcuffs.’ He was looking at me. So I handed him the cuffs,” Kelsay said. But that wasn’t the only time Kelsay or other alt-righters played cops at the rally.

Members of a security detachment attend a pro-Trump Freedom Rally at Terry Schrunk plaza in downtown Portland on June 4, 2017.
Photo: Diego Diaz/Icon Sportswire/AP

With the extremes of the American political spectrum squaring off nearly every week in tense rallies and counter-protests, where violence erupts not infrequently, police are drawing outside aid from only one side: the far-right. That police forces would ask for and accept help from far-right protesters might not be as surprising as it seems: In January, The Intercept revealed that right-wing infiltration of law enforcement had grown so prevalent that the FBI investigated the trend.

The relationship works both ways: Police get help, and alt-right demonstrators are seemingly put above the law in return. The result is that militia members who work security for alt-right events are carrying out policing activities with impunity under the gaze of actual police. At the June 4 Portland rally, eyewitnesses report at least two other instances in which alt-right forces apparently attacked protesters without instigation.

The protester Kelsay helped detain was arrested shortly after another member of the rally’s unofficial security detachment blocked his path as police stood quietly by. A DHS officer suddenly rushed toward the protester who then fled and was nabbed by a third militiaman.

This account of Kelsay’s self-described collaboration with DHS police is drawn from three hours of phone interviews with him, as well as witness accounts, videos, and photographs obtained by The Intercept and posted to social media. Kelsay, 48, repeatedly admitted he assisted DHS police in physically securing the individual. In the videos, the officer can be seen turning toward Kelsay before the militiaman retrieves a zip-tie. By this point there are more than half-a-dozen DHS officers securing the arrest, but none appear to ask Kelsay to leave or stop handling the suspect.

The Portland rally had been organized by alt-right leader Joey Gibson, and attended by hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump. Thousands of counter-protesters, including immigrant, religious, labor, and left groups opposed to the event, which came as Portlanders were still reeling from the May 26 murder of two men, allegedly by a white supremacist named Jeremy Christian (Christian attended a Gibson-sponsored event in Portland in late April).

DHS police were on hand because Terry Schrunk Plaza, the site of the rally, is federal property, including the sidewalk out front. A spokesperson for DHS Federal Protective Service said 40 officers from the FPS were “on the ground to secure the safety and security of everyone in and around federal facilities.” (DHS did not respond to a detailed inquiry about alleged cooperation between militia members and DHS police.)


Antifascist demonstrators confront police during a protest on June 4, 2017 in Portland, Ore.

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images


The DHS police looked on as Kelsay and the unidentified protester he would later arrest began arguing — “aggressive,” was how Kelsay described him. A three-minute video shows the two having a civil dispute. “You’re being asked to leave,” Kelsay said at one point, extending his arm. While Kelsay and the youth talk, a Portland officer and a DHS officer observe but do not question Kelsay’s actions. The young protester in black shuffles in the other direction and is blocked by another member of the rally security team, identifiable by the uniform of military-style clothing and yellow tape. With more police looking on, DHS officer charged the young protester in black, for reasons that remain unclear, and the chase began.

“They were yelling, ‘Stop, stop him,’” Kelsay recalled. He fell behind but kept up his chase: “So if the police needed the assistance I could give it.”

Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, a member of a different militia, was finally the one who stopped the protester. “I picked him up and slammed him into the ground,” Toese told The Intercept. “I was trying to help law enforcement.” As officers swarmed the scene, a fourth video appears to show Kelsay applying the zip-tie cuffs. Kelsay said the officer “put the cuffs on but I still had a hold of the tail of the cuff. He said, ‘Tighten them up.’ I don’t know if he was talking to me, but I had a hold of them, so I tightened them up. Then I helped them pick him up. I didn’t want him to get hurt.”

A photo snapped seconds later by an Oregon Public Broadcasting reporter shows a mix of militiamen and police. “Officers thank Trump Free Speech Rally hired security for their help taking down a fleeing protester,” Bryan M. Vance, the reporter, tweeted along with the picture.

Kelsay had been boasting of his relationship with the police earlier in the day. “‘All I have to do is snap my fingers and the cops will arrest you,’” Jonathan Shields, a counter-protester, recalled Kelsay saying in an encounter before the arrests (Kelsay denied making the remark). “He was granted authority to keep the sidewalk clear by the police,” Shields added.

Kelsay claims he was simply following orders from the police. “We did what they told us to — crowd control,” Kelsay said. “We were supposed to keep the counter-protesters out. We were permitted to exclude people if we saw they were a possible danger.”

But local police claim steps were taken to avoid protest attendees and unofficial security engaged in law enforcement activities. Sgt. Pete Simpson of the Portland Police Bureau said, “There was a conversation between the organizers of the event, the FPS and PPB that they were not to interfere in any arrests, particularly anyone acting as private security.”

Simpson, however, stopped short of expressing any grave alarm that the arrangement wasn’t honored. “Private citizens conducting policing functions is concerning if they are not being asked to help,” he said. Then Simpson turned his attention to mostly unconfirmed allegations made about left-wing counter-protesters: “I am more concerned about bricks, bloody tampons, and urine-filled balloons being thrown at our officers.” (The ACLU of Oregon criticized the police response to protesters.)


A protester is detained by Portland police during a demonstration in Portland, Sunday, June 4, 2017. Photo: Dave Killen/The Oregonian/AP


Eyewitnesses claim there were two other instances in which police ignored alt-righters running rampant. One counter-protester, Andrew Riley, said he saw an incident in the DHS-controlled area where a person in dark clothing, who was yelling, was “picked up by someone wearing camo clothing with the yellow stripes and a ballistic vest and body slammed to the ground.” He said, “Within five seconds at least three cops moved in and immediately knelt on the person,” and as they cuffed the person the militia man “was kneeling on the protester alongside police.”

In a third case, Nate Gowdy, a photojournalist, claimed he and other counter-protesters were attacked by pro-Trump demonstrators while DHS police watched passively. Eyewitness accounts, photos, and a recollection on Facebook paint a picture of alt-righters with helmets and battle gear make an unprovoked attack with pepper spray and a flagpole. Close to 10 DHS police stood nearby and only intervened to let the suspected alt-right attackers to leave the scene. (A video shows a crowd looking on as the obscured fracas unfolds.)

Alex Vitale, author of “The End of Policing” and professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, who reviewed footage of the arrest involving Kelsay, said the incident raises troubling questions. “It seems almost gratuitous, like this guy wants to get in on the action. A professional police force would not allow that.”

“Given the history of corrupt cooperation between right-wing forces and political police units like riot cops, anti-terror, and intelligence, we should always be alarmed between growing cooperation between alt-right forces and police forces,” Vitale said. “It does raise the question of what type of relationships are there, what information is being shared, and what type of planning went into this between the alt-right forces and the police handling the demonstration.”

Top photo: Right wing demonstrators hold up signs disparaging illegal immigrants at a rally on June 4, 2017 in Portland, Ore.

JULY 21, 2020 UPDATE
DAILY MAIL COVERAGE OF BARR'S SECRET POLICE ASSAULT ON PORTLAND PROTESTERS CHECK IT OUT 34 PHOTOS PLUS VIDEOS

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8538459/Protester-Navy-sweatshirt-shrugs-baton-beating-tear-gas-attack-federal-cops.html

Scientists find smallpox strains used to vaccinate Civil War soldiers


Scientists recovered the remnants of smallpox vaccine strains from artifacts in American Civil War-era vaccination kits. Photo by JD Howell/McMaster University


July 20 (UPI) -- At its peak, smallpox killed nearly 30 percent of people infected by the virus. Those who survived were often crippled. But forty years ago, after decades of vaccination efforts, the disease was eradicated.

Now, thanks to an analysis of American Civil War-era vaccination kits, scientists have traced the origins of the virus strains used during some of the earliest smallpox vaccination efforts in the United States, according to a study published Monday in the journal Genome Biology.

For the study, an international team of researchers captured viral molecules from biological material, including blisters and pus, left on blades, tin boxes and glass slides found inside the aging leather vaccination kits housed at the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Analysis of the molecules revealed the genomes of virus fragments, allowing scientists to identify the strain used to vaccinate Civil War soldiers against smallpox.

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In addition to highlighting the important work of vaccination, researchers suggest the study of early smallpox vaccination efforts can offer valuable lessons to scientists all over the globe, as they race to develop a vaccine against COVID-19.

"Understanding the history, the evolution and the ways in which these viruses can function as vaccines is hugely important in contemporary times," study co-author and evolutionary geneticist Hendrik Poinar said in a news release.

"This work points to the importance of looking at the diversity of these vaccine strains found out in the wild. We don't know how many could provide cross protection from a wide range of viruses, such as flus or coronaviruses," said Poinar, director of the Ancient DNA Center at McMaster University in Canada.

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To vaccinate patients against smallpox, physicians used the cowpox virus, a milder relative of the smallpox virus -- a technique first developed by the English physician Edward Jenner, during the late 18th century.

American Civil War soldiers enlisting in both the northern and southern armies were required to be vaccinated against smallpox.

"During the war, most of the College [of Physicians of Philadelphia] members served either in the army or as contract physicians and, as such, administered smallpox vaccination according to standard army protocol," researchers wrote in the paper.

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Analysis of the viral strains recovered from the Mütter Museum artifacts showed these protocols involved the propagation of a vaccinia virus strain in human subjects. Pus or scabs from one cowpox-infected patient was collected and applied to a scratch or cut in the skin of another patient. Exposure to cowpox helped the patient develop immunity to smallpox.

Researchers involved in the development of new vaccines are constantly working to determine how close a vaccine strain must be to a target virus to produce an immune response.

The latest research showed that the vaccinia virus strain being used during and after the American Civil War was, in fact, quite distantly related to smallpox.

"Vaccination is a wonderful process with a rich medical history that we should celebrate," said lead study author Ana Duggan.

"Medical museums are incredible repositories of our past and of our collective history. The new tools we develop in this work allow us to begin to investigate how medical sources, procedures and techniques have changed through time," said Duggan, a former postdoc in the anthropology department at McMaster and now a researcher at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

THEY WILL NEVER GO TO JAIL

St. Louis couple charged with threatening protesters with guns

TRUMP WILL PARDON THEM

St. Louis prosecutors charged Patricia McCloskey and husband Mark with felony unlawful use of a weapon counts on Monday for aiming their guns at Black Lives Matter protesters June 28 in front of their St. Louis mansion. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

July 20 (UPI) -- St. Louis prosecutors filed felony charges on Monday against a couple who brandished guns in front of their luxury mansion at protestors walking past during a June demonstration.

"It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest," said Kimberly Gardner, St. Louis circuit attorney in a statement. "We are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force. This type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis."

Mark and Patricia McCloskey were each charged with a felony count of unlawful exhibiting of a weapon.

Protesters walked through the gated community of Portland Place on June 28, as Mark McCloskey pointed an AR-15 rifle at them while his wife waved a semiautomatic handgun, placing protesters in fear of injury, charging documents said.

St. Louis police seized the couple's guns on July 10.

The McCloskeys' lawyer Joel Schwartz said in a statement that the charges were "disheartening" and said "I unequivocally believe no crime was committed."

"The First Amendment right of every citizen to have their voice and opinion heard ... must be balanced with the Second Amendment," Schwartz added, saying Missouri law permitted citizens to protect their property from potential threats.

At the time, Mark McCloskey said he felt threatened.

"A mob of at least 100 smashed through the historic wrought iron gates of Portland Place, destroying them, rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside and put us in fear for our lives," Mark McCloskey said.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Friday in a radio interview that he would likely pardon the McCloskeys if they were convicted of charges.

"By all means, I would, and I think that's exactly what would happen," Parson said. "If this is all about going after them because they ... did a lawful act, then, yeah, if that scenario in fact happened, I don't think they're going to spend any time in jail."