New Zealand removes statue of controversial colonist

AFP / MICHAEL BRADLEYA crane hoists the sculpture of Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton from the city square after requests from Maori and threats from anti-racism protesters to topple it

The New Zealand city of Hamilton on Friday tore down a statue of the colonial military commander after whom it was named, joining a growing list of places worldwide that are reckoning with their past.

A crane hoisted the bronze sculpture of Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton from the town square after requests from local Maori and threats from anti-racism protesters to topple it.

A small group of cheering spectators looked on.

Hamilton City Council acknowledged the statue's extraction was part of a push to remove memorials "which are seen to represent cultural disharmony and oppression" sparked by global anti-racism protests.

"I know many people -– in fact, a growing number of people –- find the statue personally and culturally offensive," mayor Paula Southgate said.

"We can't ignore what is happening all over the world and nor should we. At a time when we are trying to build tolerance and understanding... I don't think the statue helps us to bridge those gaps."

Hamilton was a naval commander who fought indigenous Maori defending their land against British colonial expansion in the 19th century.

He died at the Battle of Pukehinahina, or Gate Pa, in 1864, when -- in an early example of trench warfare -- a group of Maori in a fortified encampment successfully fended off British troops and artillery, despite being outnumbered.

The statue was donated to the council in 2013 and the council said its removal came after a formal request from the regional iwi, or tribe, Waikato-Tainui.

- 'He's a monster' -

Anti-racism protesters had vowed to tear it down at a demonstration this weekend, with activist Taitimu Maipi labelling Hamilton a murderer.

"How can we accept that he's a hero when he's a monster who led battles," Maipi told the Waikato Times.

Waikato-Tainui praised the statue's removal, saying it was discussing other problematic colonial names and symbols with Hamilton council, including the prospect of restoring the city's original Maori name Kirikiriroa.

"This was a devastating time for our people and these injustices of the past should not be a continual reminder as we look to grow and develop our beautiful city into the future," iwi chairman Rukumoana Schaafhausen said.

Hamilton council said the fate of the British commander's statue and what, if anything, should replace it were still under discussion.

Statues and place names honouring figures such as slavers and colonial military figures are being reassessed worldwide in response to anti-racism protests sparked by the police killing of African American man George Floyd.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said removing depictions of historic figures was part of "a wave of idiocy" that would prevent future generations learning from past mistakes.

"Why do some woke New Zealanders feel the need to mimic mindless actions imported from overseas?" said Peters, who leads the populist New Zealand First Party, a coalition partner in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's government.

"A self-confident country would never succumb to obliterating symbols of their history, whether it be good or bad or simply gone out of fashion."

Ardern has not yet weighed in on the statue debate but last year ordered that study of the conflict between Maori and British colonialists, known as the New Zealand wars, become compulsory in all schools.

#CASINOCAPITALISM 

Bankrupt Hertz gets approval to sell up to $1 billion in stock — but experts expect equity to be wiped out

‘This is not investing. It is gambling,’ says one CIO, while CreditSights says it’s a ‘head scratcher’

Published: June 13, 2020 By Claudia Assis and  Joy Wiltermuth

A Hertz shuttle bus picks up customers at the Los Angeles airport in August. BLOOMBERG NEWS/LANDOV

The market dislocation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has a poster child in Hertz Global Holdings Inc.

A bankruptcy court late Friday approved Hertz’s HTZ, +37.37% request to sell up to $1 billion in stock. The car-rental company appears to be seizing on a wave of intense, speculative interest in its shares since it declared bankruptcy late last month, drowning in debt and hit hard by the global restrictions on travel designed to slow to spread of the coronavirus.


Hertz stock topped a popularity chart among Robinhood app users on Friday.



The selling of new shares would be “a head scratcher,” analysts at Credisights said in a note before the court decision. Hertz got a delisting notice this week and an even more compelling negative is “being in chapter 11 with unsecured bonds at a very steep discount,” the analysts said.


“Unless a genie or a lamp showed up the collateral pool, we expect the eventual equity value will be zero,” the CreditSights analysts said.

Investors eyeing Hertz might be some of the same who have been buying “deep value ‘penny-like’ stocks” on Robinhood, said Nancy Tengler, chief investment officer at Laffer Tengler Investments, also ahead of the decision.


“This is not investing. It is gambling,” she said.

“This is for the quick buck crowd, not long-term investors,” Tengler went on. Before Friday’s decision, there was no similar precedent, she said.

Even so, the proposed stock sale still needs to spell out that “any money put into this company could be a total loss,” said Amy Lynch, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staffer and founder of FrontLine Compliance, which advises institutional money managers on compliance issues.

“The disclosures would have to be air tight in order to avoid lawsuits in the future,” Lynch told MarketWatch.


Hertz stock has nearly tripled in June, and gained 10% this week, the Wednesday delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange notwithstanding. The stock fell around 3% in the extended session on Friday after the court decision’s news, but ended the regular trading day up 37%.

The shares hit an all-time closing low of 56 cents on May 26, a few days after the company’s May 22 bankruptcy filing and a far cry from their Aug. 2014 record closing high of at $110.61. The next day, they logged their largest one-day increase ever, jumping 136%.

Recent average volume has been more than 16 times the volumes before the filing. Notably, Carl Icahn took the first opportunity after the filing to sell all of his stake at a steep loss.

Hertz’s motion to the bankruptcy court characterized the potential equity sale as an opportunity for the debtors to raise capital on better terms. The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Hertz is No. 1 at a popularity list at Robintrack, a site that tracks activity on the Robinhood app.

“From our vantage point, the 30-handle unsecured bond prices should create some reconsideration of equity upside for a company in chapter 11. We are old fashioned that way,” the CreditSights analysts said.

Hertz’s most widely traded October 2022 corporate bonds were changing hands at an average price of about 40.50 cents on the dollar Friday, a plunge from nearly 100 cents on the dollar at the start of March, according to bond trading and pricing platform MarketAxess. Bonds often are considered distressed once they trade below 70 cents on the dollar.

“We think this deal would be more robbing from the misinformed to give to the senior secured," they said.

Hertz allowed to sell $1 bn in shares despite bankruptcy

AFP/File / SAUL LOEBHertz has been given permission to sell $1 billion in shares even after it filed for bankruptcy in the US and Canada

Coronavirus-hit car rental company Hertz was granted permission Friday to sell $1 billion in shares, an extraordinary move after it declared bankruptcy in the United States and Canada.

The unusual green light was given by a bankruptcy court in the US state of Delaware, which "held a hearing and approved the Motion," according to documents filed by Hertz with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The company says it will sell the shares at its discretion in terms of timing and volume.

Hertz is trying to capitalize on a surge in its volatile stock price since it filed for bankruptcy on May 23.

Trading at less than a dollar at the end of last week, shares are now worth three times as much, even peaking at $5.53 at the beginning of the week.

On Friday the stock climbed 37.38 percent during the day, but fell 10.5 percent to $2.53 at 2130 GMT in after-market trading.

Traditionally, shares of bankrupt companies lose value with debt repayment taking precedence.

Experts say in Hertz's case, however, the price has been affected by the abundance of cheap money flooding the economy after the US Federal Reserve turned on the tap to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Traders after a good deal are also playing a role.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Hertz -- which filed for bankruptcy after lockdowns imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19 devastated the car rental industry -- is buried under $19 billion in debt.

Virus mine closures stir unease in Poland's rust belt

AFP / Wojtek RADWANSKIA spike in reported coronavirus cases at coal mines such as the Ruch Zofiowka plant has put the country on edge but locals worried about jobs are playing down the health crisis

A spike in reported coronavirus cases in Poland's coal mines has put the country on edge but residents worried about jobs are playing down the health crisis.

The issue is particularly sensitive ahead of a hard-fought presidential election on June 28 in Poland, where miners are still a powerful voting bloc.

Dominik Kolorz, head of the Solidarity trade union for the Silesian coal basin, told AFP he was concerned the increase in virus cases could serve as a pretext for the definitive closure of some mines.

"We hope the government will go on to restore the mining sector," Kolorz told AFP, speaking in Katowice in southern Poland, the regional capital of Silesia.

Miners and their families accounted for a high proportion of recent cases of coronavirus diagnosed in Poland, prompting the government to suspend work at 12 mines until the end of June.

AFP / Wojtek RADWANSKIThe virus can spread quickly in mines' cramped conditions, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has warned -- but one mining spokesman said cases detected at his company have mostly been mild or asymptomatic

All of them belong to the JSW mining group and the PGG conglomerate -- Europe's two biggest coal companies -- and employ thousands of people.

Poland depends on coal for 80 percent of its power needs but the closures are not expected to affect energy production as it has ample stockpiles.

Its reliance on the dirty fossil fuel is a thorny issue within the European Union, with Warsaw refusing to implement the bloc's target of going carbon neutral by 2050.

It has demanded more time to switch to green energy -- perhaps up to 2070 according to some sources.

- Virus 'attacking the mines' -

At JSW's Knurow-Szczyglowice mine, workers arriving for their shifts just before the suspension could be seen undergoing temperature checks and using hand sanitiser.

A large orange emergency tent stood nearby and signs instructed employees to wear masks at all times in a region that has become the epicentre of the coronavirus crisis in Poland.

The virus is "attacking in the mines" where cramped working conditions mean it can spread quickly, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday.

But Slawomir Starzynski, a spokesman for the JSW mining group, emphasised that the cases detected at his company have mostly been mild or asymptomatic.

AFP / Wojtek RADWANSKIIn the Silesia, the prevailing concern among miners is the future of their jobs

"Of the 3,000-some employees from our mines who tested positive for coronavirus, only three or four had to be hospitalised," he said.

Poland introduced anti-virus lockdown measures relatively early in March, which could account for its lower death toll from the disease than those of some western European countries.

It recorded 28,577 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 1,222 deaths as of Friday.

The government began easing restrictions last month, reopening restaurants, upping the public gathering limit to 150 people and scrapping the face mask requirement for those abiding by social distancing rules.

Campaigning ahead of the rescheduled presidential election is also in full swing.

The ballot was originally scheduled for May 10 but was postponed at the last minute because of the pandemic.

AFP / Wojtek RADWANSKIA security worker checks the temperature of a van driver arriving at the Ruch Zofiowka coal mineat Jastrzebie Zdroj, southern Poland

But Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski has warned that the sharp rise in cases could mean restrictions being re-introduced nationwide to stop the spread.

But in Silesia, the prevailing concern among miners was the future of their jobs.

As he arrived for his shift at the Knurow mine, Krzysztof, 40, said: "I don't know what to think.

"The mine is working fine. I don't know why they're closing it.

French protesters clash with police at

 anti-racism protests  

AFP / Anne-Christine POUJOULATThousands turned out for the Paris rally, and others were held in cities across France

Police clashed with demonstrators in Paris and Lyon Saturday, firing tear gas and water cannons as thousands turned out across France for the latest wave of protests against racism and police violence.

Officers prevented protesters trying to launch a march through the streets of the capital, at the end of a three-hour rally. They fired tear gas after some demonstrators pelted them with projectiles.

This was the latest in a series of French demonstrations following the death last month of black American George Floyd at the hands of police officers in the United States.

But the protesters were also highlighting what critics say is the problem of racism and violence in the French police.

Several thousand people congregated at the Place de la Republique in Paris, answering a call from a pressure group seeking justice in the case of Adama Traore, a young black man who died in police custody in 2016.

AFP / Anne-Christine POUJOULATViolence broke out in Paris after officers stopped protesters trying to launch a march through the streets of the capital

Traore's sister Assa Traore called on those attending the rally to "denounce the denial of justice, denounce social, racial, police violence", renewing a call for an investigation into her brother's death.

"The death of George Floyd -- this African-American killed on May 25 in Minneapolis by a white policeman -- is a direct echo of my brother's death. It's the same thing in France, our brothers are dying," she said.

- Clashes in Lyon -

One demonstrator, 19-year-old Djibril Sacko expressed his frustration.

"I came to demonstrate for justice (and) we have been gassed several times then they surrounded us and things got out of hand given we couldn’t leave," he said.

One demonstrator, 27-year-old student Elisa, said she did not routinely favour an "anti-cop discourse" but added it was "clear there is a problem of racism and fear of the police today".

In the southeast city of Lyon, police used water cannons and tear gas at the end of a demonstration attended by about 2,000 people.

In the Mediterranean city of Marseille, police said 2,200 people demonstrated. Organisers of the rally put the figure at between 4,000-5,000.

Other rallies took place in cities from Montpellier in the south to Nantes and Bordeaux in the west.

- Amnesty appeal -

The rallies came at the end of week when France's police watchdog said it had received almost 1,500 complaints against officers last year -- half of them for alleged violence.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday noted the need not to "lose the youth", as feelings run ever higher in the wake of the Floyd killing.

AFP / PHILIPPE DESMAZESAt least 2,000 people turned out to protest in Lyon

On Wednesday he described racism as "an illness which touches all society".

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has promised "zero tolerance" of racism in law enforcement, saying it is clear some officers "have failed in their Republican duty".

He cited several instances of racist and discriminatory remarks that have recently come to light.

Amnesty International meanwhile appealed for "a systemic reform of police practices" in France. "The seriousness of the situation requires a global response from the authorities," the group said in a statement.

Government spokesman Sibeth Ndiaye suggested in an interview with Saturday's Le Monde that there should be "constructive debate" regarding race, with efforts redoubled against racial discriminations".

Saturday's demonstrations followed two days of protests by police officers themselves, angry at the accusations being laid against them, and what they say is a lack of government support.

Frederic Lagache of the police union Alliance said he hoped Macron would receive a delegation, as many officers felt their "honour had been injured" over the widespread criticism of the force.

"All in solidarity": new worldwide demonstrations against police violence

AFP / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVASIncidents between anti-racist protesters and far-right counter-demonstrators, June 13, 2020 in London

Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday to denounce racism and police violence in Paris and in several French cities, as well as in Switzerland, Australia and London, where the rally took place in a tense atmosphere in front of activists from 'far right.

The murder in the United States of George Floyd, a black 40-year-old asphyxiated on May 25 in Minneapolis by a white policeman, pushed the crowds to take to the streets to demand an end to police violence and racial inequalities.

In Paris, the police fired tear gas after receiving a few projectiles during a rally of several thousand people - 15,000 according to the police - on the Place de la République.

The demonstrators had planned to march to the Place de l'Opéra, but the unauthorized parade was stopped by the police.

At the same time, the Council of State, the highest French administrative jurisdiction, announced the lifting of the ban on the assembly of more than ten people, imposed within the framework of the state of health emergency linked to the Covid pandemic -19, restoring the freedom to demonstrate in compliance with "barrier measures".

During the rally, at the call of the committee Adama Traoré, young black man who died in July 2016 after his arrest by gendarmes in the Paris region, his sister Assa Traoré called to "denounce the denial of justice", "social violence , racial, police ".

In the crowd, many young people were dressed in a black T-shirt flocked with the request carried for four years by the Traoré family: "Justice". "Until we have justice, you will not have peace."

On June 2, the Adama committee had mobilized 20,000 people in Paris. His discourse has broadened, from the denunciation of police violence to that of "systemic racism", finding an echo after the death of George Floyd.

AFP / Gal ROMAAnti-racist demonstrations: debunked and vandalized statues

Other parades have taken place across France, such as in Bordeaux, Nantes or Lyon. A small counter-demonstration by the police subsequently brought together a few dozen people in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, with cars and beacons.

- "Unacceptable violence" -

In central London, thousands of anti-racist protesters gathered in a tense atmosphere, while far-right activists gathered near the parliament around statues they intended to protect.

Retweeting a video of far-right protesters taking on the police, Interior Minister Priti Patel denounced "completely unacceptable violence" and called on protesters to return home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

Police said they had made more than 100 arrests after clashes between far-right counter-protesters and police. Six police officers were slightly injured.

AFP / CLEMENT MAHOUDEAUAnti-racist demonstration in Marseille, in the south of France, June 13, 2020

The police had to carry out an "important" operation because there were "pockets of violence directed against our police officers," said the Metropolitan Police Service.

Television footage showed demonstrators hitting or throwing police bottles, as well as clashes between the two camps.

"Racist brutality has no place on our streets," said Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and "anyone who attacks the police will face the full force of the law."

While images of the unrest were widely disseminated on social media, Mr Johnson tweeted: "Racism has no place in the UK and we have to work together to make it a reality".

AFP / DANIEL LEAL-OLIVASClashes in London between anti-racist protesters and far-right activists, June 13, 2020

Although the Black Lives Matter movement canceled the planned demonstration in the center of the capital, several hundred people gathered in Hyde Park before heading to parliament. British police had asked them to follow a specific route and disperse at 4:00 p.m. GMT to avoid the risk of clashes with far-right activists.

The anti-racism association "Hope Not Hate" had warned that several groups of supporters of football clubs, as well as members of far-right movements like Britain First, were planning to come together to defend monuments such as the statue of the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, near the parliament, degraded on the sidelines of demonstrations against racism last weekend.

The inscription "Was a racist" was tagged under the name of the famous conservative leader, accused of having made racist remarks, in particular against the Indians.

The Minister of the Interior asked that the statue of Churchill, sheltered in a metal box, be visible again. "We must release Churchill, a hero of our nation who fought fascism and racism in this country and in Europe," she told the Daily Mail on Saturday.

AFP / Michal CizekDemonstration against racism in front of the American Embassy in Prague, June 13, 2020

Thousands of demonstrators in Switzerland challenged the ban on the gathering of more than 300 people to prevent the spread of Covid-19. There were more than 10,000 in the center of Zurich, mostly dressed in black, waving banners proclaiming "Black Lives Matter" or "Racism is a pandemic too".

Several thousand people also participated in an unauthorized peaceful demonstration in Bern outside the Swiss government and parliament buildings in the capital.

In Australia, thousands of protesters marched against racism on Saturday in several cities, including Perth, despite the authorities' warning that the new coronavirus pandemic may resume due to the rallies.

BILL BARR LIED

Secret Service Finally Admits Using Pepper Spray On Protesters Ahead Of Trump's Bible Pose

Mary Papenfuss HuffPost  June 13, 2020

The Secret Service reversed an earlier claim and admitted Saturday that it did use pepper spray on protesters to clear the way before President Donald Trump held aloft a Bible outside a church for a photo op nearly two weeks ago.

“After further review, the U.S. Secret Service has determined that an agency employee used pepper spray on June 1st to secure the area near Lafayette Parks,” said the new statement. The oleoresin capsicum spray was “used in response to an assaultive individual,” the statement added. Details about the behavior were not provided.

Secret Service Statement: pic.twitter.com/hsocyFntAl
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) June 13, 2020

Last week the agency insisted that “no agency personnel used tear gas or capsicum spray.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers pepper spray a “riot control agent,” which it notes is “sometimes referred to as ‘tear gas’” — along with compounds more widely associated with tear gas, including chloroacetophenone (CN) and chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile (CS).

The U.S. Park Police also initially denied using tear gas. But a spokesman later said it was a “mistake” to say “tear gas” wasn’t used, because the pepper balls officers fired burn and make it difficult for targets to breathe.

Following the Secret Service reversal, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement noting that “once again, yet another federal agency is pulling back yet another lie meant to cover up the administration’s unlawful firing of tear gas and other weapons outside the White House on June 1.”

Critics erupted after the brutal law enforcement crackdown on anti-racism protesters that evening to clear the way way so Trump could pose with a Bible at St. John’s Episcopal Church across the street from the White House. The ACLU and Black Lives Matter have sued the Trump administration for what they labeled an “unconstitutional” and “frankly criminal attack” that evening.

Cell phone and media videos of the crackdown showed peaceful protesters struck with batons and shields, manhandled by law enforcement, and apparently gassed.

Attorney General William Barr, who ordered the removal of the protesters before Trump’s photo op, insisted in an interview last week that pepper spray is “not a chemical irritant.” He also claimed protesters were “not peaceful,” though that’s not supported by extensive video coverage of law enforcement action.

We've ID'ed the 4th canister @wusa9 collected Monday H & 17th as a Stinger Ball Grenade carrying OC gas and spreading rubber pellets at high speeds launched by police at crowds. Thanks to @Brian_Castner for help. https://t.co/RVP52fBv1n pic.twitter.com/9ck6POWkDX
— Nathan Baca (@NathanBacaTV) June 5, 2020

Constructing Crisis

Bert Spector
Cambridge University Press, Sep. 5, 2019 - Business & Economics - 316 pages

https://tinyurl.com/y956cah5

There is no such thing as a crisis. Rather than an actual, corporeal thing, a crisis is a claim asserted from a position of power and influence, intended to shape the understanding of others. A constructed crisis by a leader may or may not be legitimate, and, legitimate or not, the content of a claim alone does not determine whether people decide to believe it. Rather than viewing crises as the result of objective events, Spector demonstrates that leaders impose crises on organizations to strategically assert power and exert control. Interpreting crisis through a critical lens, this interdisciplinary book encompasses not just management and organizational literature, but also sociology, history, cognitive science, and psychology. The resulting wide-ranging, critical, and provocative analysis will appeal in particular to students and academics researching leadership and crisis management.

Contents

Undertaking a New Interpretive Effort	1
10	16
Crisis as a Reification of Urgency	18
Advancing the Crisis as Event Model	37
Problems Crises and Contextual Constructionism	58
An Objective Description and a Subjective UhOh	81
Believing Claims of Urgency Or Not	106
The Power of a Good Crisis Narrative	140

To Create Such a Crisis to Foster Such a Tension	165
Beyond ForgedinCrisis Leadership	191
So What?	221
References	253
Index	292
111	294
Copyright

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The History of the Police - SAGE Publications

            https://www.sagepub.com › sites › default › files › upm-binaries

   Policing in the United States, 1800–1970 ... patrol to whip even free Negroes away from their home or employer's business .