veteranstoday--2020-08-15--Dissecting the Beirut coverup: Ammonium nitrate not explosive and Lebanon was nuked before

We start with the text below in response to a Russia Today video where a so-called explosives expert explained Beirut .
RT has become quite unreliable for the past year , a distinct pro-Israel bias , has repeatedly attacked Syria ’ s President Assad and is backing racist-supremacist elements in the US .
RT cleaned this off , which reports the Israeli bombers at 30 seconds onward : We also burn Rick Sanchez as a fake anti-Zionst who went to RT because of equally fake media prosecution .
We recognize the “ OP , ” which we believe Snowden is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the blanket of Google/YouTube-Facebook disinformation and censorship , the selling of a fake narrative has become so reliable that nuclear terrorism is becoming a “ go to ” for Israel , Saudi Arabia and , of course , the US .
We begin by debunking ammonium nitrate with a detailed explanation from a mining engineer explaining how the cover story is absurd .
Simply put , you can ’ t make ammonium nitrate by itself explode , it simply burns .
And this is what a fireworks explosion looks like : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate .
From here we cover issues of the use of tactical nuclear weapons and present a reasonable assertion that Lebanon was nuked in 2006 .
We begin with a mining demolition engineer with decades of experience : “ Now listen carefully , it takes a TNT detonation to initiate or ignite a load of Anfo , Hanfo or Magnafrac .
What I mean by that is that for Anfo to detonate , it needs the violence of a TNT initiation before it itself will actually detonate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and burn numerous times .
It won ’ t explode , it will just burn .
And if doesn ’ t have the diesel fuel mixture it won ’ t even do that .
Ammonia Nitrate is a commercial fertilizer .
The company employees were each given two twenty Kilo bags of Ammonia Nitrate every spring to fertilize their lawns .
It will quite literally turn a brown lawn a vibrant green over night… ” He next describes listening to an interview on the Beirut warehouse fire where he became ‘ spin ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me to create a new word , ‘ spincious ’ .
“ I have to say I disagree with this gentleman .
The moment he hesitated to answer the very first ‘ yes ’ or ‘ no ’ question posed to him when asked if a match tossed on a pile of ammonia nitrate would initiate a catastrophic explosion , he hesitated for a few seconds before answering and I knew immediately that whatever he was going to say was maybe a bit cloudy and opaque .
I ’ ve worked in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a surveyor and a blasting technician .
For my last two years at a large open pit coal operation in the British Columbia foothills , my job was designing the blast patterns and deciding which explosive product to load into the drill holes .
We used ANFO , a mixture of ammonia nitrate and diesel fuel .
The AN stands for ammonia nitrate and FO stands for fuel oil or diesel fuel .
We used a product called HANFO or what is called heavy anfo .
It was called heavy anfo because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fuel in it ’ s mixture , hence the term Heavy anfo .
Both anfo and heavy anfo have to be used in dry holes .
If the holes are wet , the diesel component would wash out and the ammonia nitrate by itself would not ignite .
In those instances we would line the drill holes with plastic liners and then load the anfo or heavy anfo into the plastic liners .
If it still proved too wet , we went to a very expensive product called Magnafrac .
It was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less water proof , but still , if left to sit too long , the slurry would decompose and fail to ignite .
Heavy anfo has a higher power factor than regular anfo .
That means more bang for the buck or more explosive energy .
The name of the game was always to blast the most amount of rock with the least amount of actual product loaded .
This is called the powder factor .
The lower you can keep the powder factor and still break the host rock , the cheaper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , more expensive , Magnafrac very expensive which drove the powder factor up .
The goal was to maintain a balance .
I ’ ve handled all of these products , loaded them , helped the blast crew tie the pattern in with DET cord and basically pulled the trigger .
We used blasting wire connected to a blasting machine like you see in the old movies where the bad guys are trying to blow up railroad tracks .
In the early 90 ’ s , the wire and blasting machine was replaced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called non-electric blasting .
There was no electric charge produced to run down the yellow blasting wire to the DET cord and initiate the blast .
What was used was a product called ‘ shock tube ’ .
It was a small diameter hollow plastic tubing about 3 or 4 millimeters in diameter that had a very small powdery dusting of an explosive called ‘ pentlandite ’ a type of your basic TNT .
It was called shock tube for a reason because it was non-electric.It is basically a fundamental shock wave generator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air-driven or detonation-driven ) .
It produces a ‘ blast shock wave ’ .
This is the lead shock wave that then in turn initiates the DET cord , then the explosive .
To initiate the detonation there was a small , for lack of a better word , I will say clacker , that you could step on .
The non electric energy released when the clacker was stepped on was sufficient to ignite the very minute amount of powdered explosive in the shock tube that ran and initiated the DET cord @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hole filled with the actual explosive product used in the blast pattern itself .
Now here is where the rubber meets the road .
Up until now we are talking inert elements and components that combined or by themselves couldn ’ t blow up a box of Kleenex .
The key to all this were the 500 gram TNT detonators placed at the bottom of each drill hole at the bottom of the explosives .
We generally used 2 500 gram TNT detonators per hole .
That is where the ignition took place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a TNT detonation to initiate or ignite a load of Anfo , Hanfo or Magnafrac .
What I mean by that is that for Anfo to detonate , it needs the violence of a TNT initiation before it itself will actually detonate .
I ’ ve watched Anfo catch fire and burn numerous times .
It won ’ t explode , it will just burn .
And if doesn ’ t have the diesel fuel mixture it won ’ t even do that .
Ammonia Nitrate is a commercial fertilizer .
The company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bags of Ammonia Nitrate every spring to fertilize their lawns .
It will quite literally turn a brown lawn a vibrant green over night .
That practice was discontinued in about 1993 , at least at the mine I was employed at during that time span .
An automobile or truck perhaps running at speed , exploding and slamming into a mound of anfo etc .
might be able to deliver the explosive force necessary to detonate the explosive product .
Or the shock wave required .
( or a missile or bomb @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nitrate prills off mine site at a facility that was used by the explosive company that provided all the explosive product to our site .
This is a huge , explosive company that is global in scope .
And I will add that in all my time working with them and handling the various products , they/we used , they had a stellar safety record .
I ’ ve probably missed a lot and/or left out some information but this is all that I can recall to mind without having to refer to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were there pumps , in this storage facility , was there fuel oil saturating the ammonia nitrate that gradually was absorbed over time ?
Absolutely no disrespect meant or directed to Mr. Basulto or Mr. Sanchez.
” VT : Israel hit Hezbollah with an advanced tactical nuclear weapon in 2006 according to Russian military experts .
Today Russia sides with Israel and is suspected of running Donald Trump as a shill .
While Israel bombs Syria daily , Netanyahu prances around Moscow like a Czar .
TruPublica : A thermonuclear weapon weighing little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) can produce an explosive force comparable to the detonation of more than 1.2 million tons of TNT. A nuclear device no larger than traditional bombs can devastate an entire city by blast , fire , and radiation .
Nuclear weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction , and their use and control has been a major focus of international relations policy since their debut .
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT , is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology , to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy , and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament .
Five states have signed up to NPT , the US , UK , Russia , France and China .
Between them , they have declared 22,000 nuclear weapons in stock .
These five Nuclear Weapons States ( NWS ) have made undertakings not to use their nuclear weapons against a non-NWS party except in response to a nuclear attack .
India , Pakistan and N.Korea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not declare it and has therefore not signed up to the NPT treaty .
As of 2009 , only the US is known to have provided nuclear weapons for sharing .
Germany , Belgium , Netherlands , Italy and Turkey are still hosting U.S. nuclear weapons as part of NATO ’ s nuclear sharing policy .
Canada and Greece withdrew and no longer participate .
However , the USA sticks to the old policy that goes back to 1945 – to monopolise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making their non-proliferation part of international law in combination with new restrictive measures against others .
In his book Towards a World War III Scenario : The Dangers of Nuclear War Michel Chossudovsky tells us about the interconnection between the Pentagon and US corporations .
The book says the US Congress okay ’ d the use of tactical nuclear weapons in non-conventional wars in 2003 .
According to congressmen , it was quite “ safe for civilians ” .
In intensive warfare conditions , up-to-date tactical nuclear weapons can create an illusion of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together with conventional weapons .
For instance , according to Russian military experts , nuclear munitions of a new generation were used in Lebanon in 2006 during the operation against the Hezbollah .
The soil samples taken from craters had traces of enriched uranium .
At the same time , there was no gamma radiation and isotope of caesium 137 resulting from radioactive decay .
The radiation level was high inside the craters but went down approximately by half at the distance of just a few meters away .
According to U.S. military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nuclear weapon against another country since 1945 took place approximately 11 miles east of Basra , Iraq sometime between February 2 and February 5 , 1991 .
By then , Iraq ’ s former capitol had been declared a “ free fire on zone ” – open to carpet-bombing by high-flying formations of eight-engine B-52s .
“ Basra is a military town in the true sense , ” military spokesman General Richard Neal told the press .
“ The infrastructure , military infrastructure , is closely interwoven within the city of Basra itself.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ claimed there were no civilians left in Basra , the city was actually sheltering some 800,000 terrified residents .
In direct violation of Article 51 of the Geneva Protocols , which prohibits area bombing , the B-52s commenced saturation grid-bombing of the city .
Mixing fuel-air bombs with shrapnel-spraying cluster bombs , the bombers levelled entire city blocks , the Los Angeles Times reported , leaving “ bomb craters the size of football fields , and an untold number of casualties.
” [ Washington Post Feb 2/91 ; Los Angeles Times Feb 5/91 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to gigantic explosions and engulfed in “ a hellish nighttime of fires and smoke so dense that witnesses say the sun hasn ’ t been clearly visible for several days at a time , ” a 5-kiloton GB-400 nuclear bomb exploding 11 miles away under the desert attracted no notice .
Under the cover of massive Depleted Uranium tipped bombs that raised dirty mushroom clouds in thunderous explosions that rained radioactive dust over Jalalabad and nearby villages , the first nuclear bombs dropped since Basra in 1991 were detonated by American forces in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their field tests were concluded , United States forces would explode four 5-kiloton GBU-400 nuclear bombs in Tora Bora and other mountainous regions of Afghanistan and was so powerful that it actually created an earthquake there .
The use of such lethal weapons by US military , which is a gross violation of the Geneva Convention , has been sanctioned by both US presidents Bush and Obama ; thus they should be prosecuted for war crimes , as it is nothing less than a nuclear war .
The classification of DU munitions as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1st Protocal additional to the Geneva Conventions .
Their use is a war crime .
The US military contends that “ mini-nukes ” are “ humanitarian bombs ” which minimize “ collateral damage ” .
According to scientific opinion on contract to the Pentagon , they are “ harmless to the surrounding civilian population because the explosion is underground.
” The B61-11 is a bon fide thermonuclear bomb , a Weapon of Mass Destruction ( WMD ) in the real sense of the word .
Military documents distinguish between the Nuclear Earth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mini-nuke ” , which are nuclear weapons with a yield of less than 10 kilotons ( two-thirds of a Hiroshima bomb ) .
The NEP can have a yield of up to a 1000 kilotons , or seventy times a Hiroshima bomb .
This distinction between mini-nukes and the NEP is in many regards misleading .
In practice , there is no dividing line .
We are broadly dealing with the same type of weaponry : the B61-11 has several “ available yields ” , ranging from “ low yields ” of less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and up to the 1000-kiloton bomb .
In all cases , the radioactive fallout is devastating .
Moreover , the B61 series of thermonuclear weapons includes several models with distinct specifications : the B61-11 , the B61-3 , B61- 4 , B61-7 and B61-10 .
Each of these bombs has several “ available yields ” .
The latest in the series , the B61-12 is classed by many as the most dangerous nuclear weapon ever due to it being the first guided missile with dial-in yields making proliferation a real threat .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use is the “ low yield ” 10 kt bomb , two-thirds of a Hiroshima bomb .
What allows it to happen is the disinformation and propaganda issued that these weapons are somehow not really nuclear weapons – they are .
Depleted uranium has a half-life of 4.5 billion years and has thus earned the title “ The silent killer that will never stop killing ” .
These weapons are called ‘ micro-nukes ’ as if somehow that makes it better or legal .
We know that tactical nuclear weapons or mini-nukes are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were cleared for use in the conventional war theatre by the US Senate in 2002 .
Rather bizarrely , these weapons can be used without the approval of the Commander in Chief .
As prof. Chossudovsky from Global Research asserts “ the “ evidence ” of a nuclear attack against Yemen ( see video ) remains unconfirmed , the use of mini-nukes against countries in the Middle East has been on the Pentagon ’ s drawing board for almost 20 years .
In 1996 under the Clinton administration , the B61-11 tactical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the US in an attack against Libya.
” Nuclear weapons will now proliferate as a direct result of American use .
It is known that Israel enjoys the luxury of around 80 nuclear weapons , deliverable with great precision to any spot in Iran from land , air or sea .
This is especially so considering it is not a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty .
As the conflict in Syria rages on , concerns emerge as a result of the use of depleted uranium shells ( DU ) in Iraq .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Raqqa in Northern Syria , are concerned over the long-term impact of the growing number of strikes by Coalition forces on their city and nearby villages .
In a report to the United Nations on DU , the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ) warned that : “ in a post-conflict environment , the presence of depleted-uranium residues further increases the anxiety of local populations ” .
The collective experience of communities grappling with the public health and environmental legacy of conflict , and the known or suspected presence of radioactive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can have a lasting psychological impact on the memory of people .
These concerns have now spread to Syria .
It appears that Israel has used DU rounds as widely reported in Jamraya , Syria .
It is just a matter of time before we find out which other country has been contaminating Syria .
So awful are these weapons the international community has tried , in vain , towards an outright ban of their future use .
The collapse of Russia ’ s relationship with the West in the last five years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ non-proliferation as the super-powers intend on upgrading and increasing their weapons systems and nuclear arsenals .
Pakistan is now deploying short-range battlefield nuclear weapons designed to deter Indian tank columns .
Only four months ago , General Khalid Kidwai , the former director of Pakistan ’ s powerful Strategic Plans Division , the country ’ s main nuclear planning body , declared that Pakistan ’ s nukes “ are not seen as separate weapons ” , but are “ very much integrated ” with conventional forces .
To recap – nuclear weapons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uranium munitions , ‘ mini-nukes , ‘ bunker busters ’ are quite simply nuclear weapons that leave a legacy of long-term death and destruction .
The UN used nuclear weapons in Libya HERE – The use of Depleted Uranium in Libya has been certified by a group of independent scientists .
Nuclear weapons use and it ’ s deadly effects HERE .
Nuclear weapons use in Iraq is already devastating families experiencing profound congenital birth defects HERE and HERE NATO itself , refuses to cooperate with investigations of war crimes and indiscriminate use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Type “ congenital birth defects nuclear weapons Iraq ” into Google images for a truly horrific gallery of misery emerges .

This article, of the dozen or so VT has done on the nuclear attack on Beirut, was erased from the VT site with 8 others by hackers…from Russia.
Why? Is this why? VT was attacked today around the world including on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, at best a disgusting shopping guide level rag.
Running scared with the ammonium nitrate lie, or rather Scotts Turf Builder, a great fertilizer. It can’t burn, it can’t explode but in Beirut we are told it blew a 594 foot crater 40 feet deep in solid granite, something only done once before, by a hydrogen bomb. That hole is not so far from Las Vegas.
We start with the text below in response to a Russia Today video where a so-called explosives expert explained Beirut. RT has become quite unreliable for the past year, a distinct pro-Israel bias, has repeatedly attacked Syria’s President Assad and is backing racist-supremacist elements in the US.
RT cleaned this off, which reports the Israeli bombers at 30 seconds onward:
We also burn Rick Sanchez as a fake anti-Zionst who went to RT because of equally fake media prosecution. We recognize the “OP,” which we believe Snowden is as well, certainly Wikileaks but, under the blanket of Google/YouTube-Facebook disinformation and censorship, the selling of a fake narrative has become so reliable that nuclear terrorism is becoming a “go to” for Israel, Saudi Arabia and, of course, the US.
We begin by debunking ammonium nitrate with a detailed explanation from a mining engineer explaining how the cover story is absurd. Simply put, you can’t make ammonium nitrate by itself explode, it simply burns.
And this is what a fireworks explosion looks like:
The massive Chinese explosion was an explosive slurry, not fertilizer grade ammonium nitrate. From here we cover issues of the use of tactical nuclear weapons and present a reasonable assertion that Lebanon was nuked in 2006. We begin with a mining demolition engineer with decades of experience:
“Now listen carefully, it takes a TNT detonation to initiate or ignite a load of Anfo, Hanfo or Magnafrac. What I mean by that is that for Anfo to detonate, it needs the violence of a TNT initiation before it itself will actually detonate. I’ve watched Anfo catch fire and burn numerous times.
It won’t explode, it will just burn. And if doesn’t have the diesel fuel mixture it won’t even do that. Ammonia Nitrate is a commercial fertilizer. The company employees were each given two twenty Kilo bags of Ammonia Nitrate every spring to fertilize their lawns. It will quite literally turn a brown lawn a vibrant green over night…”
He next describes listening to an interview on the Beirut warehouse fire where he became ‘spin’ suspicious, or if you will allow me to create a new word, ‘spincious’. “I have to say I disagree with this gentleman. The moment he hesitated to answer the very first ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question posed to him when asked if a match tossed on a pile of ammonia nitrate would initiate a catastrophic explosion, he hesitated for a few seconds before answering and I knew immediately that whatever he was going to say was maybe a bit cloudy and opaque. I’ve worked in the open pit mining industry all my life as a surveyor and a blasting technician. For my last two years at a large open pit coal operation in the British Columbia foothills, my job was designing the blast patterns and deciding which explosive product to load into the drill holes. We used ANFO, a mixture of ammonia nitrate and diesel fuel. The AN stands for ammonia nitrate and FO stands for fuel oil or diesel fuel. We used a product called HANFO or what is called heavy anfo. It was called heavy anfo because it had a higher concentration of diesel fuel in it’s mixture, hence the term Heavy anfo.
Both anfo and heavy anfo have to be used in dry holes. If the holes are wet, the diesel component would wash out and the ammonia nitrate by itself would not ignite.
In those instances we would line the drill holes with plastic liners and then load the anfo or heavy anfo into the plastic liners. If it still proved too wet, we went to a very expensive product called Magnafrac. It was a slurry based emulsion that was more or less water proof, but still, if left to sit too long, the slurry would decompose and fail to ignite.
Heavy anfo has a higher power factor than regular anfo. That means more bang for the buck or more explosive energy. The name of the game was always to blast the most amount of rock with the least amount of actual product loaded. This is called the powder factor. The lower you can keep the powder factor and still break the host rock, the cheaper the cost. Anfo cheapest, hanfo, more expensive, Magnafrac very expensive which drove the powder factor up. The goal was to maintain a balance.
I’ve handled all of these products, loaded them, helped the blast crew tie the pattern in with DET cord and basically pulled the trigger. We used blasting wire connected to a blasting machine like you see in the old movies where the bad guys are trying to blow up railroad tracks. In the early 90’s, the wire and blasting machine was replaced with a much more efficient system we called non-electric blasting.
There was no electric charge produced to run down the yellow blasting wire to the DET cord and initiate the blast.
What was used was a product called ‘shock tube’. It was a small diameter hollow plastic tubing about 3 or 4 millimeters in diameter that had a very small powdery dusting of an explosive called ‘pentlandite’ a type of your basic TNT. It was called shock tube for a reason because it was non-electric.It is basically a fundamental shock wave generator, (shock tubes) either compressed air-driven or detonation-driven). It produces a ‘blast shock wave’. This is the lead shock wave that then in turn initiates the DET cord, then the explosive.
To initiate the detonation there was a small, for lack of a better word, I will say clacker, that you could step on. The non electric energy released when the clacker was stepped on was sufficient to ignite the very minute amount of powdered explosive in the shock tube that ran and initiated the DET cord which of course ran into each drilled hole filled with the actual explosive product used in the blast pattern itself.
Now here is where the rubber meets the road. Up until now we are talking inert elements and components that combined or by themselves couldn’t blow up a box of Kleenex. The key to all this were the 500 gram TNT detonators placed at the bottom of each drill hole at the bottom of the explosives. We generally used 2 500 gram TNT detonators per hole.
That is where the ignition took place. Now listen carefully, it takes a TNT detonation to initiate or ignite a load of Anfo, Hanfo or Magnafrac. What I mean by that is that for Anfo to detonate, it needs the violence of a TNT initiation before it itself will actually detonate. I’ve watched Anfo catch fire and burn numerous times.
It won’t explode, it will just burn. And if doesn’t have the diesel fuel mixture it won’t even do that. Ammonia Nitrate is a commercial fertilizer. The company employees were each given two twenty Kilo bags of Ammonia Nitrate every spring to fertilize their lawns. It will quite literally turn a brown lawn a vibrant green over night. That practice was discontinued in about 1993, at least at the mine I was employed at during that time span.
An automobile or truck perhaps running at speed, exploding and slamming into a mound of anfo etc. might be able to deliver the explosive force necessary to detonate the explosive product. Or the shock wave required. (or a missile or bomb)
We used to make the ammonia nitrate prills off mine site at a facility that was used by the explosive company that provided all the explosive product to our site. This is a huge, explosive company that is global in scope. And I will add that in all my time working with them and handling the various products, they/we used, they had a stellar safety record.
I’ve probably missed a lot and/or left out some information but this is all that I can recall to mind without having to refer to my various texts and notes.
So were there pumps, in this storage facility, was there fuel oil saturating the ammonia nitrate that gradually was absorbed over time? Absolutely no disrespect meant or directed to Mr. Basulto or Mr. Sanchez.”


veteranstoday--2020-08-15--COVID-19: Just Another Hit to the Homeless

Health Editor ’ s Note : One of the precautionary tasks of preventing contracting or spreading COVID-19 is careful , thorough hand washing , done before touching your face , after touching anything that is not in your home , after touching surfaces where another person may have touched , etc .
Hand washing should be done several times during the day .
Imagine that you do not have the convenience of a sink , running water , or soap in order to carry out this essential task .
Or imagine that you are living in a homeless shelter and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested positive .
How can those who test positive be isolated for the mandatory 14 days when shelters are not large enough to accommodate physical distancing in living quarters ?
In actuality isolation will be impossible to coronavirus will spread through the facility .
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to Americans who have roofs over their heads…Imagine how much worse it is for the homeless to negotiate the pandemic world we now live in……Carol ATTENTION READERS Due to the nature of independent content , VT can not guarantee content validity .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so a clear comprehension of VT 's independent non-censored media is understood and given its proper place in the world of news , opinion and media .
All content is owned by author exclusively .
Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT , other authors , affiliates , advertisers , sponsors , partners or technicians .
Some content may be satirical in nature .
All images within are full responsibility of author and NOT VT. About VT - Read Full Policy Notice - Comment Policy Due to the nature of independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ validity.We ask you toso a clear comprehension of VT 's independent non-censored media is understood and given its proper place in the world of news , opinion and media.All content is owned by author exclusively .
Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT , other authors , affiliates , advertisers , sponsors , partners or technicians .
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All images within are full responsibility of author and NOT VT .

Homelessness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Metcalfs—Joni, 57, and Derek, 60—married in August 1983 and raised four children. When Derek lost his job with the federal government, they eventually ended up living in the streets. Recently, they found permanent housing. https://t.co/1PQDw8ijuV
Health Editor’s Note: One of the precautionary tasks of preventing contracting or spreading COVID-19 is careful, thorough hand washing, done before touching your face, after touching anything that is not in your home, after touching surfaces where another person may have touched, etc. Hand washing should be done several times during the day.
Imagine that you do not have the convenience of a sink, running water, or soap in order to carry out this essential task. Or imagine that you are living in a homeless shelter and find that others who live there have tested positive. How can those who test positive be isolated for the mandatory 14 days when shelters are not large enough to accommodate physical distancing in living quarters? In actuality isolation will be impossible to coronavirus will spread through the facility. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to Americans who have roofs over their heads…Imagine how much worse it is for the homeless to negotiate the pandemic world we now live in……Carol


veteranstoday--2020-08-15--Anti-Racist Uprising in Minneapolis Infiltrated by Extreme-right Hooligans

VT sent its own team to Minneapolis , headed by Jeff Smith , last week .
The violence there is 100 % fake .
Same with Portland , all of it hired out , promises of bail , police coddling the paid ring leaders or , as in many places , getting thousands in extra pay for “ being the hooligans.
” The city of Minneapolis is where it all began .
It is where the last drop fell on the surface of a proverbial overflowing lake , causing the dam to burst , consequently starting to destroy the foundations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just one single man can , under certain dreadful circumstances , put into motion the entire avalanche of events .
It can smash the whole regime into pieces .
It can fully rewrite history , and even change the identity of a nation .
It can… although it not always does .
George Floyd ’ s death became a spark .
The city of Minneapolis is where the murder occurred , and where the ethnic minorities rose in rage .
But it is also where white extreme right-wing criminals , and some even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uprising , kidnapped what could have become a true revolution and began choking legitimate rebellion by a stained duvet of nihilism and confusion .
Here , we will not speculate .
We will not point fingers at “ deep state ” or some multi-billionaire families , and to what extent they have been involved .
Let others do this if they know details .
But this time , I simply came to listen .
And to pass to the world what I discovered first hand and what I was told .
This time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lake Street , both in Minneapolis .
I spoke to Native American people there .
To those who joined forces with the African-American community during those dangerous days after May 25 , 2020 .
To people who dared to defend their neighborhoods against brutality against white gangs , which came to loot , infiltrate , and derail the most powerful uprising in the United States in modern history .
Bob Rice is a Native American owner of Pow Wow Grounds , a local entrepreneur , and a ‘ community protection organizer.
’ His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
During the COVID-19 pandemic , it has been reduced , for the time being , to a takeaway business , but even as such , it is enormously popular among the Native Americans , as well as others .
At the back of the cafe is huge storage , full of food .
Everyone hungry , in need of help , can simply come here and take whatever he or she needs .
We grab some freshly brewed coffee from the shop and take it out to the public benches outside .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a very long time , against people of color .
Not only talking about Minneapolis but in all these other places , since the 1991 Rodney King incident .
Things were boiling and building up – leading to a big blow up.
” “ And all this discrimination did not start here ; it came centuries ago from Europe.
” “ After the George Floyd murder , I wanted to show solidarity .
Native Americans were experiencing an even higher degree of persecution than Black people .
We had to stand together .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the murder of George Floyd , in order to support protests.
” For a while , we talked about the mass media in the United States , an official and even some ‘ independent one , ’ and how it quickly and violently turned against the left , as well as against those who have been daring to expose endemic racism in the United States .
But soon , we returned to the events that took place here , in May and June .
“ I noticed the presence of strange elements right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guys breaking windows .
At about 6 am , the morning after , I traveled down to South Minneapolis .
There were piles of rocks in front of the rioters .
Flash hand grenades .
I kept on moving around the areas and kept on seeing rocks .
I noticed the Minneapolis Umbrella Man , dressed all in black , with mask and black umbrella and black hammer smashing things – at the end being stopped by black guys .
People were walking out of the store with car parts , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ?
These guys didn ’ t seem to be as part of the protest .
I started moving and going away from the area , thinking that these guys would burn down stores and places soon .
I even called up my insurance company the following morning to see if my policy covers civil unrest .
That night they burned a lot of stores – auto stores , liquor stores , all types of businesses .
I thought that if we do not do something ourselves to protect our neighborhoods , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too.
” “ From what I saw , I couldn ’ t tell you who these guys were , but they were not from here .
So , we put up our protection zone calling out people on Facebook .
We became the Headquarters of protection of Native American businesses and nonprofit organizations , as well as banks , shops , investment properties , etc .
all belonging to the Native American community around here .
I noticed there were Caucasian people , driving cars very slowly with no license plates , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We formed a human shield , chain , along Franklin Avenue , to protect ourselves and our people .
At a high point , about 300 people were protecting the area all night long for about eight days in a row .
It had to be done , because here we had people from all over , including Wisconsin , descending on us – we had white supremacist group Proud Boys here .
They arrived wearing masks .
We had young white kids – 16 and 17 years old – coming from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caught them .
Obviously , they came out here because they thought it was an exciting thing to do .
They didn ’ t even know where they were – this area is very dangerous with drug dealing and gang violence at night .
Lucky , they got caught by us.
” And the coverage ?
I wanted to know whether these events , in the heart of Native American neighborhoods , were described in depth by media reports .
There was no media reporting on these matters – mass media blamed everything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When liquor stores and tobacco shops were on fire , no police or fire trucks were around .
Then the National Guard took over – using tear gas .
Just incredible how our so-called President has done all the mess going and even made it worse !
” Robert Pilot , Native Roots Radio host , drove me for days all around the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul , explaining what really took place on both Franklin Avenue and Lake Street .
But before , we visited provisory , impromptu monument , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place .
There were flowers , graffiti , works of art ; there was grief , and there was solidarity .
Native American people clearly supported the plight of the African-Americans .
The area was safe ; it was well organized .
People of all races came here to pay tribute to the murdered man , and centuries of atrocious history of the United States .
“ Native American neighborhoods armed themselves after the Floyd murder .
But not only that : economic hardships ensued after the murder ; food banks have come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be a food distribution deport but ended up becoming a food bank for anyone to donate and get what they need .
Protesters were everywhere ; the young generation got fed up .
So different from other murders .
The last straw was the murder of George Floyd .
Four years earlier , in 2016 , Philando Castile , an African American man , got murdered by police .
He had worked in a school cafeteria .
His murder was broadcast live on Facebook .
It was a buildup .
10,000 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minneapolis – the site of the murder of George Floyd .
Combination of racial and overall frustration.
” We drove by burned stores , services , gas stations .
Everything was resembling a war zone , and in a way , it was .
If you are there , things are extremely raw , emotional .
It is not like analyzing things from a distance from the comfort of one ’ s home .
Robert continued explaining , as we drove by block after block of the Middle East-style combat destruction : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American people as compared to White Americans .
We need allies , too .
We have to support each other .
Signs everywhere in my neighborhood , ‘ Black Lives Matter.
’ ” “ Some young white people have woken up .
They see the truth .
The opinion of the masses is moving to the left ; they are feeling fed up with what is happening around them and what it is that the country is doing to the world because of oil .
What is interesting is that there is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something new and mind-blowing .
The media is misreporting , minimizing the enormity and magnitude of protests , CNN , MSNBC , etc.
” Robert Pilot is not only a radio host , but he is also a teacher : “ White teachers are still teaching history ; they are teaching it to black and Native American kids !
Political standing of my students – a few are engaged , but definitely not all .
Perhaps 10 percent of people are engaged and doing the work for 90 percent .
The white guilt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel : You should stand behind us and with us but not in front of us .
Revolution is happening in that sense .
Everything is changing since protests are happening.
” Not everyone likes the changes ; definitely not everyone .
The establishment is fighting back , trying to survive , in its existing , horrid form .
“ Generally , Black and Native Americans are together , supportive of each other .
It is symbolic that the Native American movement started on Franklin Avenue , where protests began in 1968 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stores like grocery stores and hospitals .
Why should we ?
But we had to mobilize and stop members of the KKK and Proud Boys type of guys.
” We drive some 100 miles north , in order to meet Ms. Emma Needham – a young Native American activist .
Emma was kind enough to bring traditional medicine from her area .
We met halfway at the Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area .
Before our encounter , along the highway , we are surrounded by true ‘ Americana ’ : endless open spaces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ car-long cargo train pulled by two monstrous engines , while pushed by yet another one .
We pass by St .
Cloud Correctional Facility – an ancient-looking prison that bears the resemblance of some massive medieval English mansion surrounded by an elaborate system of barbed wires and watchtowers .
In one of the towns along the road , there is a big makeshift market selling posters , T-shirts , and other memorabilia , all related to the current President .
It is called Trump Shop .
Big banners are shouting at passing cars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Again , ” “ Trump 2020 – No More Bullshit , ” and “ God , Guns & Guts Made America .
Let ’ s Keep All Three ” .
Emma is a storyteller , a writer .
She is an intelligent , outspoken , sincere , and passionate person : “ Where we were , we did not see a lot of white men with masks attacking , but what we did see were two young white kids , around 16 , from Wisconsin , looting a liquor store which was run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over Friday and Saturday nights around the Indian American Cultural Center in Minneapolis .
On Friday night , within half a mile to a mile in all directors , we could see and hear the riots and looting .
There were gunshots , helicopters hovering all around us .
But nobody came to rescue us.
” “ On Saturday night , we could see white people on Jeeps , waving flags , cruising around the neighborhood .
“ The white kids from Wisconsin were there , it appeared to me , opportunistic grabbing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who came to protest and loot were outsiders , not from the neighborhoods .
It does not make sense for people in Minneapolis to burn down and loot stores they rely on.
” I wanted to know whether the Native Americans and African-Americans were helping each other in that difficult hour ?
“ There was big solidarity between Black people and Native American people ; there was empathy.
” “ It has been lifelong degradation for many of us growing up poor and severely marginalized in reservations , but we had never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to what resembled a war .
Those of us who were down in North Minneapolis those nights – Friday and Saturday – could not find words to describe what was happening .
But we had a strong sense that what has been happening to us , Native Americans was happening to Black Americans , too – 400 years of surviving in a system of oppression .
Enough is enough !
Shared horrors – same for both groups !
” I asked whether everything changed , and this is a new beginning for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not sound overly optimistic : “ A black American female artist once said , ‘ I love my white friends , but I don ’ t trust you because I know when the time comes , you need to choose your skin color .
You count on the freedom and safety which you have .
Whether you make that conscious decision or not , it will be there for you.
’ ” On my behalf , Robert Pilot asked Brett Buckner , his fellow radio host , and an African American activist , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of rioters were whites and not from the community .
He replied : “ I would say so .
Based on police reports and accounts from the community members , most of the damage was done by outsiders .
Unfortunately , their actions will cause our community pain for years and even decades to come.
” Before I finished writing this report , “ Umbrella man ” got ‘ identified.
’ “ Masked “ Umbrella Man ” who was seen smashing windows of Minneapolis AutoZone that was later burned to the ground during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hells Angels gang member with ties to white supremacist group ’ … The Star Tribune reported the 32-year-old man has links to Aryan Cowboy Brotherhood , a white supremacist gang based in Minnesota and Kentucky.
” He was one of many , but the most notorious one .
Looking at his photos when in action , he was bearing a striking resemblance to ‘ ninja ’ looking rioters – right-wing hooligans – who were unleashed in order to bring chaos to Hong Kong , people who have been supported and financed by Western @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work in Hong Kong , since the beginning of the riots .
Coincidence ?
And if not : who really ‘ inspired ’ whom ?
Before I left Minneapolis , Robert Pilot and his wife Wendy interviewed me on their Native Roots Radio .
What was supposed to be just 30 minutes appearance ended up being a one-hour event .
They showed me their city and their state , sharing sincere feelings and hopes , unveiling suffering of both African American and Native American communities .
This time , I traveled to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But I was also asked to talk , and so I did .
During the interview , I took them to several parts of the world , where black people still suffer enormously , due to Western imperialism and corporate greed .
The world where Native people of Latin America , Canada , as well as other parts of the Planet , are brutally humiliated , robbed of everything , even murdered by millions .
We were complimenting each other .
Our knowledge was .
I am glad I came to Minnesota .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ history in the making .
I am also delighted that I observed solidarity between the African American and Native American people .
For centuries , both went through hell , through agony .
Now , they were awakening .
Minnesota is where the latest and very important chapter of American history began .
But I also went to Washington , D.C. , Baltimore , New York City , Massachusetts .
I witnessed protests , anger , despair .
But there was also hope .
Hope , despite tear gas and riot police , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poverty rates .
Something was ending , something unsavory and brutal .
Whether this could be considered a new beginning was still too early to tell .
In Minnesota , I chose to see events through the eyes of Native Americans , people who were here ‘ forever , ’ to whom this land used to belong .
People who were exterminated by the “ new America , ” by European migrants , in a genocide that claimed roughly 90 % of the native lives .
These were people who were robbed of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ am glad ; I am proud that I chose this angle .
True peace , true reconciliation can only come after history as well as reality are fully understood , never through denial .
Now , both African Americans and Native Americans are speaking , and the world is listening .
It has to listen .
At least this is already progress .
These two groups are forming a powerful alliance of victims .
But also , an alliance of those who are determined to make sure that history never repeats itself .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Outlook – a journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences ] Andre Vltchek is a philosopher , novelist , filmmaker and investigative journalist .
He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries .
Six of his latest books are “ New Capital of Indonesia ” , “ China Belt and Road Initiative ” , “ China and Ecological Civilization ” with John B. Cobb , Jr. , “ Revolutionary Optimism , Western Nihilism ” , a revolutionary novel “ Aurora ” and a bestselling work of political non-fiction : “ Exposing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his other books here .
Watch Rwanda Gambit , his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky “ On Western Terrorism ” .
Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and Latin America , and continues to work around the world .
He can be reached through his website , his Twitter and his Patreon

VT sent its own team to Minneapolis, headed by Jeff Smith, last week. The violence there is 100% fake. Same with Portland, all of it hired out, promises of bail, police coddling the paid ring leaders or, as in many places, getting thousands in extra pay for “being the hooligans.”
(Reportage from Minneapolis)
Text and photos: Andre Vltchek
The city of Minneapolis is where it all began. It is where the last drop fell on the surface of a proverbial overflowing lake, causing the dam to burst, consequently starting to destroy the foundations of the empire.
A death of just one single man can, under certain dreadful circumstances, put into motion the entire avalanche of events. It can smash the whole regime into pieces. It can fully rewrite history, and even change the identity of a nation. It can… although it not always does.
George Floyd’s death became a spark. The city of Minneapolis is where the murder occurred, and where the ethnic minorities rose in rage.
But it is also where white extreme right-wing criminals, and some even say, entire regime, perpetrated the uprising, kidnapped what could have become a true revolution and began choking legitimate rebellion by a stained duvet of nihilism and confusion.
Here, we will not speculate. We will not point fingers at “deep state” or some multi-billionaire families, and to what extent they have been involved. Let others do this if they know details. But this time, I simply came to listen. And to pass to the world what I discovered first hand and what I was told.
This time I simply went to Franklin Avenue and Lake Street, both in Minneapolis.
I spoke to Native American people there. To those who joined forces with the African-American community during those dangerous days after May 25, 2020. To people who dared to defend their neighborhoods against brutality against white gangs, which came to loot, infiltrate, and derail the most powerful uprising in the United States in modern history.
*
Bob Rice is a Native American owner of Pow Wow Grounds, a local entrepreneur, and a ‘community protection organizer.’ His legendary café is located on Franklin Avenue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been reduced, for the time being, to a takeaway business, but even as such, it is enormously popular among the Native Americans, as well as others.
At the back of the cafe is huge storage, full of food. Everyone hungry, in need of help, can simply come here and take whatever he or she needs.
We grab some freshly brewed coffee from the shop and take it out to the public benches outside.
Bob Rice then begins his story:
“There has been police brutality for a very long time, against people of color. Not only talking about Minneapolis but in all these other places, since the 1991 Rodney King incident. Things were boiling and building up – leading to a big blow up.”
“And all this discrimination did not start here; it came centuries ago from Europe.”
“After the George Floyd murder, I wanted to show solidarity. Native Americans were experiencing an even higher degree of persecution than Black people. We had to stand together. I went down to the site of the murder of George Floyd, in order to support protests.”
For a while, we talked about the mass media in the United States, an official and even some ‘independent one,’ and how it quickly and violently turned against the left, as well as against those who have been daring to expose endemic racism in the United States.
But soon, we returned to the events that took place here, in May and June.
“I noticed the presence of strange elements right from the start. I was watching guys breaking windows. At about 6 am, the morning after, I traveled down to South Minneapolis. There were piles of rocks in front of the rioters. Flash hand grenades. I kept on moving around the areas and kept on seeing rocks. I noticed the Minneapolis Umbrella Man, dressed all in black, with mask and black umbrella and black hammer smashing things – at the end being stopped by black guys. People were walking out of the store with car parts, and I thought, “why stealing those things”? These guys didn’t seem to be as part of the protest. I started moving and going away from the area, thinking that these guys would burn down stores and places soon. I even called up my insurance company the following morning to see if my policy covers civil unrest. That night they burned a lot of stores – auto stores, liquor stores, all types of businesses. I thought that if we do not do something ourselves to protect our neighborhoods, they will burn down all of our areas, too.”
“From what I saw, I couldn’t tell you who these guys were, but they were not from here.
So, we put up our protection zone calling out people on Facebook. We became the Headquarters of protection of Native American businesses and nonprofit organizations, as well as banks, shops, investment properties, etc. all belonging to the Native American community around here.
I noticed there were Caucasian people, driving cars very slowly with no license plates, yelling racial slurs out of the windows. We formed a human shield, chain, along Franklin Avenue, to protect ourselves and our people.
At a high point, about 300 people were protecting the area all night long for about eight days in a row. It had to be done, because here we had people from all over, including Wisconsin, descending on us – we had white supremacist group Proud Boys here. They arrived wearing masks. We had young white kids – 16 and 17 years old – coming from Wisconsin, looting liquor stores. We caught them. Obviously, they came out here because they thought it was an exciting thing to do. They didn’t even know where they were – this area is very dangerous with drug dealing and gang violence at night. Lucky, they got caught by us.”
And the coverage? I wanted to know whether these events, in the heart of Native American neighborhoods, were described in depth by media reports.
Bob Rice replied readily:
There was no media reporting on these matters – mass media blamed everything on the Black Lives Matter movement.
When liquor stores and tobacco shops were on fire, no police or fire trucks were around. Then the National Guard took over – using tear gas.
Mr. Rice sighed, still in disbelief:
Just incredible how our so-called President has done all the mess going and even made it worse!”
*
Robert Pilot, Native Roots Radio host, drove me for days all around the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, explaining what really took place on both Franklin Avenue and Lake Street.
But before, we visited the provisory, impromptu monument, where the murder of George Floyd took place. There were flowers, graffiti, works of art; there was grief, and there was solidarity. Native American people clearly supported the plight of the African-Americans.
The area was safe; it was well organized. People of all races came here to pay tribute to the murdered man, and centuries of atrocious history of the United States.
As we drove, Robert Pilot explained:
“Native American neighborhoods armed themselves after the Floyd murder. But not only that: economic hardships ensued after the murder; food banks have come up. The Pow Wow Grounds used to be a food distribution deport but ended up becoming a food bank for anyone to donate and get what they need.
Protesters were everywhere; the young generation got fed up. So different from other murders. The last straw was the murder of George Floyd. Four years earlier, in 2016, Philando Castile, an African American man, got murdered by police. He had worked in a school cafeteria. His murder was broadcast live on Facebook. It was a buildup. 10,000 people protested on 38th Street and Chicago in Minneapolis – the site of the murder of George Floyd. Combination of racial and overall frustration.”
We drove by burned stores, services, gas stations. Everything was resembling a war zone, and in a way, it was.
If you are there, things are extremely raw, emotional. It is not like analyzing things from a distance from the comfort of one’s home.
Robert continued explaining, as we drove by block after block of the Middle East-style combat destruction:
“There is a small percentage of African American people as compared to White Americans. We need allies, too. We have to support each other. Signs everywhere in my neighborhood, ‘Black Lives Matter.’”
“Some young white people have woken up. They see the truth. The opinion of the masses is moving to the left; they are feeling fed up with what is happening around them and what it is that the country is doing to the world because of oil.
What is interesting is that there is a protest every single day, which is something new and mind-blowing. The media is misreporting, minimizing the enormity and magnitude of protests, CNN, MSNBC, etc.”
Robert Pilot is not only a radio host, but he is also a teacher:
“White teachers are still teaching history; they are teaching it to black and Native American kids! Political standing of my students – a few are engaged, but definitely not all. Perhaps 10 percent of people are engaged and doing the work for 90 percent.
The white guilt now and then… But many of us feel: You should stand behind us and with us but not in front of us. Revolution is happening in that sense. Everything is changing since protests are happening.”
Not everyone likes the changes; definitely not everyone. The establishment is fighting back, trying to survive, in its existing, horrid form.
Robert Pilot concludes:
“Generally, Black and Native Americans are together, supportive of each other.
It is symbolic that the Native American movement started on Franklin Avenue, where protests began in 1968. We would never burn down our own stores like grocery stores and hospitals. Why should we?
But we had to mobilize and stop members of the KKK and Proud Boys type of guys.”
*
We drive some 100 miles north, in order to meet Ms. Emma Needham – a young Native American activist. Emma was kind enough to bring traditional medicine from her area. We met halfway at the Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area.
Before our encounter, along the highway, we are surrounded by true ‘Americana’: endless open spaces, half-empty highways, more than 100 car-long cargo train pulled by two monstrous engines, while pushed by yet another one. We pass by St. Cloud Correctional Facility – an ancient-looking prison that bears the resemblance of some massive medieval English mansion surrounded by an elaborate system of barbed wires and watchtowers.
In one of the towns along the road, there is a big makeshift market selling posters, T-shirts, and other memorabilia, all related to the current President. It is called Trump Shop. Big banners are shouting at passing cars: “Trump, Make America Great Again,” “Trump 2020 – No More Bullshit,” and “God, Guns & Guts Made America. Let’s Keep All Three”.
Emma is a storyteller, a writer. She is an intelligent, outspoken, sincere, and passionate person:
“Where we were, we did not see a lot of white men with masks attacking, but what we did see were two young white kids, around 16, from Wisconsin, looting a liquor store which was run by Native Americans.”
“I stayed over Friday and Saturday nights around the Indian American Cultural Center in Minneapolis. On Friday night, within half a mile to a mile in all directors, we could see and hear the riots and looting. There were gunshots, helicopters hovering all around us. But nobody came to rescue us.”
“On Saturday night, we could see white people on Jeeps, waving flags, cruising around the neighborhood. “The white kids from Wisconsin were there, it appeared to me, opportunistic grabbing whatever was available.”
“Majority of those who came to protest and loot were outsiders, not from the neighborhoods. It does not make sense for people in Minneapolis to burn down and loot stores they rely on.”
I wanted to know whether the Native Americans and African-Americans were helping each other in that difficult hour?
Emma did not hesitate:
“There was big solidarity between Black people and Native American people; there was empathy.”
“It has been lifelong degradation for many of us growing up poor and severely marginalized in reservations, but we had never seen anything like this, so close to what resembled a war.
Those of us who were down in North Minneapolis those nights – Friday and Saturday – could not find words to describe what was happening. But we had a strong sense that what has been happening to us, Native Americans was happening to Black Americans, too – 400 years of surviving in a system of oppression. Enough is enough! Shared horrors – same for both groups!”
I asked whether everything changed, and this is a new beginning for the nation? As many, Emma did not sound overly optimistic:
“A black American female artist once said, ‘I love my white friends, but I don’t trust you because I know when the time comes, you need to choose your skin color. You count on the freedom and safety which you have. Whether you make that conscious decision or not, it will be there for you.’”
On my behalf, Robert Pilot asked Brett Buckner, his fellow radio host, and an African American activist, whether he could confirm that the majority of rioters were whites and not from the community. He replied:
“I would say so. Based on police reports and accounts from the community members, most of the damage was done by outsiders. Unfortunately, their actions will cause our community pain for years and even decades to come.”
*
Before I finished writing this report, “Umbrella man” got ‘identified.’
On July 29, 2020, Daily Mail wrote:
“Masked “Umbrella Man” who was seen smashing windows of Minneapolis AutoZone that was later burned to the ground during George Floyd protests is identified as ‘Hells Angels gang member with ties to white supremacist group’… The Star Tribune reported the 32-year-old man has links to Aryan Cowboy Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang based in Minnesota and Kentucky.”
He was one of many, but the most notorious one. Looking at his photos when in action, he was bearing a striking resemblance to ‘ninja’ looking rioters – right-wing hooligans – who were unleashed in order to bring chaos to Hong Kong, people who have been supported and financed by Western governments. I know, because I work in Hong Kong, since the beginning of the riots. Coincidence? And if not: who really ‘inspired’ whom?
*
Before I left Minneapolis, Robert Pilot and his wife Wendy interviewed me on their Native Roots Radio. What was supposed to be just 30 minutes appearance ended up being a one-hour event.
They showed me their city and their state, sharing sincere feelings and hopes, unveiling suffering of both African American and Native American communities.
This time, I traveled to the United States in order to listen. But I was also asked to talk, and so I did.
During the interview, I took them to several parts of the world, where black people still suffer enormously, due to Western imperialism and corporate greed. The world where Native people of Latin America, Canada, as well as other parts of the Planet, are brutally humiliated, robbed of everything, even murdered by millions.
We were complimenting each other. Our knowledge was.
I am glad I came to Minnesota. I am thankful that I could witness history in the making.
I am also delighted that I observed solidarity between the African American and Native American people. For centuries, both went through hell, through agony. Now, they were awakening.
Minnesota is where the latest and very important chapter of American history began. But I also went to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York City, Massachusetts. I witnessed protests, anger, despair. But there was also hope. Hope, despite tear gas and riot police, lockdowns, despite mismanaged COVID-19 and increasing poverty rates. Something was ending, something unsavory and brutal. Whether this could be considered a new beginning was still too early to tell.
In Minnesota, I chose to see events through the eyes of Native Americans, people who were here ‘forever,’ to whom this land used to belong. People who were exterminated by the “new America,” by European migrants, in a genocide that claimed roughly 90% of the native lives. These were people who were robbed of their culture and their riches. I am glad; I am proud that I chose this angle.
True peace, true reconciliation can only come after history as well as reality are fully understood, never through denial.
Now, both African Americans and Native Americans are speaking, and the world is listening. It has to listen. At least this is already progress. These two groups are forming a powerful alliance of victims. But also, an alliance of those who are determined to make sure that history never repeats itself.
*
First published by NEO – New Eastern Outlook – a journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences]