Ann Arbor protesters rally against use of federal agents; police brutality

Updated Jul 25, 2020; Posted Jul 25, 2020

Ann Arbor gathers to protest arrests by federal agents

By Andrew Mullin | amullin@mlive.com

ANN ARBOR, MI – Protesters and politicians gathered around the federal building in Ann Arbor on Saturday to protest against police brutality and federal agents coming to Michigan.

About 200 people showed up to the building at 200 E. Liberty St. to rally against unidentified federal agents being sent to Michigan and to call for police reform. The rally was proceeded by a march through downtown.

White House to send federal agents into Detroit to ‘restore safety’ in U.S. cities

Jeff Gaynor, a retired teacher and current Ann Arbor School Board member, was one of the organizers of the event. He said he felt compelled to organize the rally after he heard about the federal agents in Portland, Oregon.

“The U.S. government action detention of protesters by federal agencies is something I never expected to happen, at least not in this country…,” Gaynor said. “When I saw no other protests in the area, I felt compelled to deal with it.”

While the topic of the federal agents was brought up, police reform was also discussed. Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor and former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed were among those giving speeches.

“A chant of ‘defund the police’ means we want to challenge the status quo. That is OK,” Clayton said. “If at the end of the day, we ended up shifting funds somewhere else to help people that have been discriminated in the past, underserved in the past and marginalized in the past, I do not have a problem with that.”

Taylor spoke about the federal agents being used in Portland.

“Under no circumstances will we accept secret police in Portland, in Chicago, in Detroit and never in Ann Arbor,” he said

After the rally, protesters began marching, snaking their way through downtown streets chanting phrases such as “Black Lives Matter”, “Whose streets? Our Streets!” and “This is what democracy looks like.”

At the end of the march, protesters knelt in silence in the middle of the South Division and Liberty streets for eight minutes, 46 seconds, the length of time George Floyd was knelt on and killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

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Early Coronavirus chronology after COVID-19 found in Spain from March 2019

Early Coronavirus chronology after COVID-19 found in Spain from March 2019

Wikipedia

Coronavirus fact check chronology

Very interesting development that a strain of the Covid-19 virus — SARS-CoV-2 — has been discovered in a frozen sample of sewage in Barcelona dating from 12th March 2019, indicating (as some scientists have posited) that the virus was already circulating the world before exploding so virulently in Wuhan in December 2019.

America needs to provide an explanation as to why they were able to brief NATO and Israel about the coming pandemic in November but failed to warn China in the middle of a vicious trade war. In a bonfire of the virus protection measures: Trump disbanded in May 2018 the pandemic team set up by Obama, slashed their Beijing CDC office until no staff remained by July 2019, threatened to pull out of WHO and defunded research.

This, of course, means that NATO member Britain was fully in the frame having being tipped off about the virus even before China. However, despite still messing up its handling of the outbreak at home, it is nevertheless prepared to scapegoat China at the behest of the Trump administration. Very noble, chaps. So glad to see we took back control!

To bolster Trump's accusations of tardiness, there are still claims  –  which I thought had long been put to bed – that China suppressed its whistleblower doctors. Of course, early fumbles with the novel coronavirus, and taking less than five weeks from initial discovery to full-on national lockdown and eventual eradication of the virus, can hardly compete in the criminal negligence stakes with America's six months of paralysis.

In a full frontal attack on Age of Enlightenment fact-based science, Trump went medieval on our collective ass. For tales of suppression of doctors, you need only look at the attacks on Dr Anthony Fauci, the World Health Organisation, hospital workers who warn about lack of PPE and scientists working with China in vital research, such as Dr Peter Daszak whose crucial work was defunded. The treatment of the Seattle doctor who realised, "It's just everywhere" in January is a case in point.

So to clarify the chronology of the virus's discovery in China, the following is gleaned from the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, WHO, Xinhua, Asia Review, Read Passage, The Lancet and others.

An "odd" lung infection is noted in the Wuhan hospital 18th December.

Dr Zhang Jixian sees a sick family 26th December and on 27th December, she reports the unusual pneumonia to her hospital boss and local health authority in Wuhan. The provincial CDC then initiates full scale research at the hospital.

By 30th December, the Wuhan Municipal Health Committee (WMHC) notifies its medical institutions. “The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission issued an urgent notification to medical institutions under its jurisdiction, ordering efforts to appropriately treat patients with pneumonia of unknown cause.” (Xinhua)

On the same day, 30 December, Dr Ai Fen sends private message mentioning SARS to other doctors which is seen by opthalmologist Dr Li Wenliang.

Li sends a private WeChat message warning a group of eight medical colleagues incorrectly that it could be SARS and includes patients' private medical information - from there it goes viral. He is reprimanded by police on 3rd January and told to sign a pledge he won't do it again. (He tragically catches Covid-19 from a patient and dies 7th February.)

The WMHC issues a public notification on its Weibo account on 31st December when CCTV, CGTN and Reuters carry the story.

Same day, 31st Dec, China receives genome results from a commercial lab - the WHO is told (and then formally briefed 3rd Jan). US CDC learn from the 31st Dec reports and begin development reports for HHS on Jan 1st.

2nd Jan the WHO activates their incident management system.

On 3rd January, the US CDC chief Redfield talks to China's CDC chief, Guo. Redfield tells Azar who then tells the White House and instructs his chief of staff to share the Chinese report with the national security council.

The virus genome is identified, sequenced and shared internationally in record time by 12th January.

China's genuine biggest blunder allows a public banquet in Wuhan to go ahead on 18th January. Local officials are later disciplined and sacked.

Evidence for human to human transmission is confirmed 20th January.

Wuhan lockdown begins 23rd Jan when its air traffic is stopped. Two 1,000 bed emergency hospitals for confirmed cases are built in 10 days.

Complete China lockdown begins 1st February.

China reopens 76 days later having eradicated the virus but cautiously leaving the system in place to deal with flare-ups. It had a total of 86,000 cases with 4,653 deaths, most in Hubei.

Trump golfs with Brett Favre — as coronavirus deaths approach 150,000: report

TRUMP BEATS JONESTOWN RECORD
Published  July 25, 2020 By Bob Brigham


President Donald Trump reportedly golfed on Saturday while on vacation at his Bedminster resort in New Jersey.

Deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere reportedly told Reuters correspondent Steve Holland that Trump was golfing with retired quarterback Brett Favre.

HuffPost White House correspondent S.V. Dáte has been closely tracking the amount of presidential time and taxpayer dollars devoted to Trump’s hobby.

“He has now spent 262 days on a golf course he owns in his 1,283 days in office,” Dáte reported. “It is his 81st day at Bedminster.” By Dáte’s calculations, taxpayers have now spent $139.8 million on Trump’s golf habit

Trump’s latest round of golf occurred as coronavirus continues to devastate America, with total fatalities approaching 150,000.


GOLF UPDATE — 25 JULY 2020:

Trump is back at his golf course in New Jersey.

He has now spent 262 days on a golf course he owns in his 1,283 days in office.

It is his 81st day at Bedminster.

Taxpayer-paid golf tab rises to $139.8 million.https://t.co/2nZJqTDg1h

— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) July 25, 2020

1,171 Coronavirus deaths were reported in the US on Friday. The 7-day average went up to 886 deaths per day. The 7-day average was 574 deaths per day one month ago. (It was 483 on July 4.)

It was the fourth straight day over 1,000 deaths, the first time since May 20-23. pic.twitter.com/uOqGgHCGe6
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) July 25, 2020

https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1287136700540444672

‘Men hide behind their wives’: DHS chief faces protest at home after agents storm Portland
Published July 26, 2020 By David Edwards

Neighbors of acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf came to his home to protest on Sunday after his agency clashed with demonstrators in Portland, Oregon.

According to writer Julia Rosas, the group of neighbors assembled outside Wolf’s home because they oppose the use of force against protesters in Portland.

One woman, who described herself as Wolf’s neighbor, complained that powerful men and women often face no consequences for misbehavior.

“We know there are no career consequences for these men and women,” she explained. “We know there are no financial consequences for these men and women. We know there are no legal consequences for these men and women. We must make social consequences for these men and women. We must make it uncomfortable for them.”

“We will not be good Germans!” the neighbor continued. “We will not be the people who watched our neighbors commit these atrocities and said nothing because their kids were home, because they were polite.

She added: “What has been made more clear than ever is that men hide behind their wives, behind their children!”

Wolf and his family were reportedly not at home at the time of the event.

Watch the video below.
One speaker at the protest outside of Sec. Chad Wolf’s home complains how there’s no financial, career, and legal consequences for people like him. Says there must be social/political consequences: “[Wolf] lives here quietly…and we need to do something about that.” pic.twitter.com/b47dUrKFrB
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) July 26, 2020

MAJORITY OF DUTCH WANT FACE MASKS MANDATORY IN PUBLIC

By Zack Newmark on Sunday, 26 July 2020 - 11:51

Doctor's hand holding a surgical mask in front of the Dutch flagAlexanderPiragisDepositPhotosDeposit Photos

The weekly survey from political pollster Maurice de Hond showed that 55 percent of people in the Netherlands want face masks to be made mandatory within indoor public spaces. The mandate would have broad support from people across the political spectrum, except for those backing far right wing nationalist parties.

The survey was conducted after public health agency RIVM revealed that the number of positive tests for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus had soared during the third week of July. The virus can cause respiratory illness Covid-19, which has caused over 6,100 deaths in the Netherlands and nearly 12 thousand hospitalizations.

De Hond's poll showed that 49 percent of those voting for the conservative VVD, the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, were in favor of a strict mask rule. The coalition parties were also largely in favor of the mandate, with 63 percent of CDA voters, 58 percent of both D66 and CU voters signaling their approval.

The left wing opposition supporters also largely wanted to see the stricter face mask rule come into play. Some 64 percent of Labour (PvdA) voters were in favor, as well as 58 percent of both GroenLinks and Socialist Party (SP) backers. The party courting the elderly vote, 50Plus, showed 67 percent support, while animal rights party PvdD were level with the VVD at 49 percent.

Nationalist supporters of the FvD were less enthusiastic, with 40 percent in open to the face mask law. Those polling for the PVV showed 36 percent approval.

The percentage of undecideds was not revealed, and it was not clear how many people took part in the poll.

A separate survey of 24 thousand people by television program EenVandaag found that 67 percent of people were in favor of face masks being required in indoor spaces, with 60 percent also saying face masks help build awareness of the ongoing public health crisis.

Still, 53 percent said it would not likely improve others' participation in social distancing. The television poll also showed that just 37 percent said they supported a the government requiring people to wear a mask outdoors.

AMSTERDAM  

JAM-PACKED RED LIGHT DISTRICT GIVING RESIDENTS NEW ANGST

By Zack Newmark on Monday, 13 July 2020 - 14:07

Red Light District, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsJase EssUnsplash

Residents in Amsterdam expressed shock and concern when confronted with an overcrowded city center over the weekend. De Wallen, home to the city's Red Light District, was extremely busy, neighbors told broadcaster AT5.

"I am quite anxious here in Amsterdam, but I am not wearing my mask because nobody does that here," a Belgian woman told the broadcaster. She and her friend were very surprised by the lax attitude in the popular tourism spot.

"In Germany people are very aware of the distance between each other, and there is also a lot of fear among the people. But here it is as if coronavirus does not exist," a German tourist said.

Yet ten Hoorn lives near the Oude Kerk, and said it was impossible to keep a physical distance of 1.5 meters in her neighborhood. She enjoys the bustling, crowded square where she lives, but was growing increasingly concerned over social distancing rules being ignored. "I'll walk the dog with a mask on," she said.

Her photos taken around her home over the weekend showed people jammed into the narrow streets. The images looked like any other summer day, with men and women slowing to a crawl in front of the sex workers standing in the windows.

She said she could not understand why the city's signs promoting social distancing in the neighborhood were only written in Dutch. "Tourists often have no idea what it says."

Simon Baker, another resident, added, "I am a nurse and I just want to be able to behave responsibly on the street." He said he has already found a bag of white powder ditched in his plants.

Ten Hoorn found discarded laughing gas cylinders in the flower bed next to her home. The two said it was another sign that the typical city center tourism was restarting.

Amsterdam was not the only place in the Netherlands where overcrowding was problematic over the weekend. In Groningen, images acquired by broadcaster RTV Noord showed people standing shoulder-to-shoulder in bars which were packed to capacity.

Deel Groninger kroegen is ondanks coronaregels tjokvol https://t.co/tb2RjprJ9M pic.twitter.com/GRqUWGIt9A

— RTV Noord (@rtvnoord) July 12, 2020

• DUTCH BUSINESS

 BIG SPIKE IN SEX TOYS SALES DURING CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN

By Janene Pieters on Thursday, 23 July 2020 - 19:30

Sex toys in pinkJuliaMikhaylovaDepositPhotosDeposit Photos

The online sales of sex toys and other erotic items showed a big increase during the coronavirus crisis, according to EDC Retail, which calls itself Europe's market leader in erotic toys. At peak times, the sales of vibrators, dildos and other sex toys were 162 percent higher than in the same period last year, EDC Retail said, ANP reports.

When the coronavirus first started hitting pandemic proportions early this year, the supply of toys from the factories in China threatened to stall, prompting EDC to warn of a possible sex toy shortage in February. The company says it had to "pull out all the stops" to process orders during peak times. 

EDC Retail, the parent company of the EasyToys online shop, naturally also expects considerably higher turnover this year. Last year the company's turnover amounted to 33.4 million euros. CEO Eric Idema previously told the Telegraaf that he expects that to increase to 55 million euros this year. 

To avoid future shortages, EDC Retail is allocating almost 4 million euros to expand its current 8 thousand square meters warehouse in Veendam by another 3 thousand square meters. "It offers space for many thousands of pallet places. That gives us enough space for a year's stock, instead of three months," Idema said, according to the news wire.

DUTCH LANDLORDS DISCRIMINATING AGAINST FOREIGN STUDENTS IN COVID CRISIS: UNION

By Janene Pieters on Friday, 24 July 2020 - 09:55

A student housing complex in Amersfoort. May 2016Photo: arnaudmartinez/DepositPhotos

International students were already having trouble with landlords taking advantage of them in the Netherlands, but this situation worsened significantly during the coronavirus crisis, student union LSVB reported based on information from its Housing Hotline. International students report that landlords are forcing them to pay full rent and utilities, even though they're not living in their accommodation at this time, refusing to let them cancel their contracts, or even threatening them, the union said on Friday. 

"Due to their limited knowledge of Dutch tenancy law, international students in the housing market are immediately 1-0 behind," LSVB chairman Lyle Muns said in a statement, before speaking at length on the issue with NL Times. "There are known cases in which a landlord imposed 50 euros per day in illegal fines if late payments were made or in which the student wanted to move but the landlord refused to terminate the rental contract when legally required to do so. This is just the tip of the iceberg." Muns also told NL Times of several cases where landlords were trying to evict international students, even though there is a ban against housing evictions due to the economic impact of the global health crisis.

These problems existed before the coronavirus crisis, but the pandemic exacerbated them. One student had to return to the United Kingdom because of Covid-19. "This means my property is empty and I will not be using gas, electricity, water or internet. The property manager still says I need to pay the rent in full, including all of these utilities," he reported. Another student's income from her home country was halved and eventually stopped because of the virus, but her landlord insisted that she pays a month's rent as notice before leaving for her home country.

Another young woman ended up living with two men after their other three housemates moved out due to the crisis and she lost her job. She requested that her lease be terminated for these reasons. "However, they will not allow for this and insist that the only way is for me to sublease my room. No one is trying to rent a room in this climate," she said. Another student returned to Spain in March due to the crisis, but left his possessions in his Rotterdam flat, then still thinking the crisis would be over soon. Now that the crisis has stretched months, and his family needs his rent money to buy food, he asked that his contract be terminated earlier. The landlord threatened him, told him to pay the whole rent, or she would remove his possessors from the apartment, deregister him, and keep his deposit. 

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST FOREIGN STUDENTS, SHOCKING SERVICE COSTS

Other general problems international students report include having to pay substantial amounts in extra fees on top of their rent, facing rental agreements that are in Dutch which they cannot understand, and advertisements that explicitly exclude them. "An issue constantly coming up is that of 'Dutch only' advertisements. Then where this is not said I have received replies denying international students simply for the fact that I am international," one student reported. 

"That is not acceptable," he said to NL Times. According to Muns, the 'Dutch only' ads are clearly discriminatory, and that is an extremely common problem in the Netherlands. "I'm afraid some students in the international community just get used to it." He continued to say that if the Netherlands continues its policy of inviting an ever-increasing number of foreign students, "we need to make sure they get housing and that they are not discriminated against." 

While in some cases the rental price may be regulated, in many cases international students have found themselves subjected to skyrocketing service costs which are unregulated, and can even double the total price a student has to pay monthly. Foreign students often snap up these apartments just to guarantee they have a place to live, even if they cannot afford these tacked-on services which many do not need, and do not want, like saunas and elaborate fitness centers, Muns said to NL Times.

“When it comes to these landlords asking for these service costs, they are also often investment groups or landlords with multiple accommodations. They build luxurious facilities that are not what the students need.” Occasionally, he said, these rental schemes are also presented by independent property owners.

MOST COMPLAINTS CAME FROM LEIDEN AND ROTTERDAM 

The student union received a total of 480 reports, questions and complaints from international students on its Housing Hotline between January 2019 and June 2020. International students in Leiden have the most problems, with 143 reports coming from that city. Rotterdam also had many complaints at 93, followed by The Hague with 76, Utrecht with 22, Amsterdam with 14, and Delft with 12. All the other student cities had seven or fewer complaints. 

"What we see is that Leiden and Rotterdam are two cities that do not have renting teams set up locally with an objective to help out students facing issues with their landlords," Muns said to NL Times. Amsterdam, for example, has specialized teams which provide mediation and inform students of their rights, and complaints are far fewer there. "These students [in Rotterdam and Leiden] basically have no other place to go than to come to us."

LSVB calls for "renting teams" to be established in each student city. These teams should help students - both local and international - with their queries, complaints and problems regarding student housing. “When it comes to being able to protect your rights, we are telling all municipalities to have strong renting teams that provide information in English,” Muns said. This should not only focus on rental prices, but also as a guide for international students to avoid traps, and either bad or illegal contracts. He also said that education institutions, housing companies, municipalities and the national government all share the responsibility to protect these students. 

But he stressed that while these renting teams are an important step, they do not solve the root of the problem, which is a significant shortage of student housing. "The shortage causes desperation, and students are willing to go along with unaffordable contracts because they are afraid of being homeless when they arrive." According to Muns, there is a shortage of 40 thousand student homes in the Netherlands. Cutting this shortfall and making sure there are enough adequate, accessible homes for foreign students is as important as enforcing tenancy law.

For now, any student, international or otherwise, facing discrimination, unfair contracts, or questionable behavior from their landlord can file a report with the LSvB Housing Hotline. Muns said everyone who calls will be helped individually, informed of their rights, and connected to legal assistance if necessary.

DUTCH 'VEGAN STREAKER' HELD IN CONNECTION WITH DUCK SLAUGHTERHOUSE ARSON

By Byron Mühlberg on Saturday, 27 June 2020 - 10:49

A fire department commanding officer's vehicle in the Haaglanden region. June 7, 2019cakifotoDepositPhotosDeposit Photos

A 34-year-old animal rights activist, Peter J., has reportedly confessed to setting a number of trucks alight outside of a duck slaughterhouse in Ermelo late last month, the newspaper AD reported on Saturday. J., who has been widely dubbed the 'Vegan Streaker' in the media, is known in various corners of the world for interrupting events involving animals, like bullfights and dolphin shows, by protesting naked in the middle of them.

J. reportedly turned himself in two days after the May 28 incident, in which five trucks went up in flames outside of meat supplier Tomassen Duck-To's duck slaughterhouse on the Fokko Kortlanglaan in the early hours of the morning. Police later confirmed the man's arrest on May 30, but did not allude to details about his motivation at the time.

He was slightly injured in the blaze after accidentally setting himself on fire while attempting to torch the trucks, the newspaper reported. He had been trying to take action against animal mistreatment, his lawyer Jan-Hein van Dijk told AD. He said the arson was an isolated incident, and his client was the only offender. However, the public prosecution would not comment if J. was the only suspect in the case.

The 34-year-old animal rights activist has been involved in multiple run-ins with law enforcement for his protests, which have seen him disrupting horse shows, bullfights in Spain, and a dolphin show in Japan, where he jumped naked into the water during the event.

WILDERS' DIRECT MESSAGES ACCESSED IN MAJOR TWITTER HACK

By Janene Pieters on Thursday, 23 July 2020 - 09:23

Geert WildersPhoto: Buurserstraat38/DepositPhotos

During a major hack into Twitter's systems last week, the perpetrators had access to the direct messages of 36 account, "including 1 elected official in the Netherlands", Twitter Support said on Thursday. As far as is known, PVV leader Geert Wilders was the only Dutch politician to be hacked. GAY FASCIST ISLAMOPHOBE

Direct messages can be sent between Twitter users. They are not visible to others. According to Twitter, the hackers targeted a total of 130 accounts and posted tweets on 45 accounts. With 36 accounts they accessed the DM inbox, and with 8 accounts they downloaded the 'Your Twitter Data' archive. 

In the hack, Wilders' profile picture was replaced by a caricature of a black man and his account was used to retweet conspiracy theories. This raised doubts about whether his account was hacked by the same perpetrators that hacked the other accounts. The other accounts were of high-profile Americans including presidential candidate Joe Biden, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. From these accounts the hackers tweeted requests for Bitcoin. 

Broadcaster NOS spoke to a Dutch hacker who says they were the one to break into Wilders' account. According to the hacker, they did so with the help of an American. 

"To date, we have no indication that any other former or current elected official had their DMs accessed," Twitter said, seemingly indicating that Biden's private messages are safe. 

We believe that for up to 36 of the 130 targeted accounts, the attackers accessed the DM inbox, including 1 elected official in the Netherlands. To date, we have no indication that any other former or current elected official had their DMs accessed. 

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 22, 2020