southfront--2020-06-04--Jihadi Paradise: HTS & Horas Al-Din Are Heading To New Confrontation In Greater Idlib

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay ’ at Tahrir al-Sham ( HTS ) and Horas al-Din may be heading to a new military confrontation in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib .
According to several sources , a new incident on June 3 increased tensions between the two groups .
HTS security forces reportedly arrested a member of Horas al-Din who was collecting Zakat [ Islamic tax ] from civilians .
The terrorist claimed that the money will be used to fortify the frontline in northwestern Hama .
HTS held Horas al-Din ’ s tax-collector in a Sharia court in the city of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ storming the court and freeing its member by force .
In the last few months , HTS and Horas al-Din were engaged in several incidents .
However , non of them developed into a full-scale confrontation .
More recently , Horas al-Din took a more aggressive approach towards HTS .
The group ’ s senior Sharia official , Sami al-Oraydi , released a video message in which he hinted against HTS ’ growing cooperation with Turkey .
HTS and Horas al-Din are competing on the remaining resources in Greater Idlib .
This competition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between the two terrorist groups .
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Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Horas al-Din may be heading to a new military confrontation in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib.
According to several sources, a new incident on June 3 increased tensions between the two groups. HTS security forces reportedly arrested a member of Horas al-Din who was collecting Zakat [Islamic tax] from civilians. The terrorist claimed that the money will be used to fortify the frontline in northwestern Hama.
HTS held Horas al-Din’s tax-collector in a Sharia court in the city of Jisr al-Shughur. Horas al-Din responded by storming the court and freeing its member by force.
“The region is now witnessing a military alert, both sides are deploying military reinforcements, which warn of clashes between the two organizations,” the Rumaf Agency citied local sources as saying.
In the last few months, HTS and Horas al-Din were engaged in several incidents. However, non of them developed into a full-scale confrontation.
More recently, Horas al-Din took a more aggressive approach towards HTS. The group’s senior Sharia official, Sami al-Oraydi, released a video message in which he hinted against HTS’ growing cooperation with Turkey.
HTS and Horas al-Din are competing on the remaining resources in Greater Idlib. This competition will likely end with a new confrontation between the two terrorist groups.
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southfront--2020-06-05--ISIS Terrorists Ambush Egyptian Navy Special Forces in Northern Sinai

A special forces unit of the Egyptian Navy was reportedly ambushed by ISIS terrorists while on a mission in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula .
The UK-based New Arab said the unit was carrying out a mission near the coastal town of al-Dhibah on June 3 when it fell into an ambush set by ISIS cells .
Several boats of the Egyptian Navy intervened to evacuate the unit .
However , they were targeted by the terrorists who managed to damage one of them .
Egyptian sources said that two service members were killed and eleven others were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ISIS ’ Amaq news agency claimed that an officer and two soldiers were killed .
One of the ambush ’ s casualties was identified as “ Sergeant Ibrahim Ahmed El Shenawy ” of the Egyptian Navy ’ s Special Forces .
The Egyptian Air Force responded to the ambush by carrying out a series of airstrikes on ISIS terrorists and hideouts around the town of al-Dhibah .
Egyptian government forces are conducting anti-terrorism operations in Sinai on a regular basis .
Last week , the army announced that 19 terrorists of ISIS were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ THIS TOPIC : • Egyptian Army Says 19 Terrorists Were Eliminated In Sinai ( Photos )

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A special forces unit of the Egyptian Navy was reportedly ambushed by ISIS terrorists while on a mission in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.
The UK-based New Arab said the unit was carrying out a mission near the coastal town of al-Dhibah on June 3 when it fell into an ambush set by ISIS cells. Several boats of the Egyptian Navy intervened to evacuate the unit. However, they were targeted by the terrorists who managed to damage one of them.
“Medical sources at the al-Arish Military Hospital confirmed to the New Arab that it recorded a number of deaths and injuries among land and naval forces during the early morning hours of Wednesday [June 3],” the outlet said in a report.
Egyptian sources said that two service members were killed and eleven others were injured in the ambush. Meanwhile, ISIS’ news agency Amaq claimed that an officer and two soldiers were killed.
One of the ambush’s casualties was identified as “Sergeant Ibrahim Ahmed El Shenawy” of the Egyptian Navy’s Special Forces.
استشهدصباح اليوم في احدى المداهمات بشمال سيناء
الشهيد رقيب بطل مقاتل/ ابرهيم احمد الشناوي من قوة القوات الخاصة البحرية
لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله العلي العظيم اللهم أغفر له وارحمه واجعل قبره روضة من رياض الجنة الله يرحمك يا بطل يا عظيم??????? pic.twitter.com/FI9nxt79sf — ??Marwa Ahmed Rizk?? (@ah_ma77) June 3, 2020
The Egyptian Air Force responded to the ambush by carrying out a series of airstrikes on ISIS terrorists and hideouts around the town of al-Dhibah.
Egyptian government forces conduct anti-terrorism operations in Sinai on a regular basis. Last week, the army announced that 19 ISIS terrorists were eliminated in the region.
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southfront--2020-06-05--DARPA To Invest In AI Algorithms That Will Simulate Russian Troops In War Games

The US Military ’ s researchers are asking the industry to develop artificial intelligence ( AI ) algorithms that can potentially simulate challenging enemy behaviour during war games .
This is quite difficult to replace by human role-players .
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) in Arlington , Va. , issued a solicitation ( DARPA-PA-19-03-08 ) for the COnstructive Machine-learning Battles with Adversary Tactics ( COMBAT ) project .
COMBAT will develop artificial intelligence ( AI ) algorithms to generate models of enemy brigade behaviors that challenge and adapt to friendly forces in simulation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Projects Agency ( DARPA ) is issuing a new Artificial Intelligence Exploration ( AIE ) Opportunity entitled COMBAT , which invites submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of Artificial Intelligence , Modeling , and Simulation .
COMBAT will develop artificial intelligence ( AI ) algorithms to generate models of adversary ( Red Force ) brigade behaviors that challenge and adapt to U.S .
Forces ( Blue Force ) in simulation experiments .
This effort will investigate how an adversary may evolve from current to future tactics based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If successful , COMBAT will rapidly develop multiple feasible Red Force Courses of Action ( COA ) , identify optimal solutions , and provide reasoning to support recommendations .
In future war games , COMBAT will deliver an AI Red Force capable of reacting in ways not easily replicated by human role-players , challenging Blue role-players and stimulating the development of new Blue tactics , ” the solicitation reads .
The idea is that in future war games , COMBAT will deliver an artificially intelligent enemy that can challenge friendly force participants and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is significant , because , currently , war games involve just humans who utilize long-established tactics for both sides .
COMBAT , on the other hand , would seek to disrupt the traditional enemy strategy by generating new and surprising enemy actions .
This would in turn cause friendly forces to develop new tactics in response .
The selected companies will have to model an enemy motorized rifle brigade tactic in a force-on-force model and simulation tool , which the company itself will choose .
This tool must be able to model @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; their command-and-control hierarchies ; and behaviors at the brigade , operational , and tactical levels .
Companies selected will develop their initial enemy AI algorithms and behaviors according to “ The Russian Way of War : Force Structure , Tactics and Modernization of Russian Ground Forces , ” published by the Army Foreign Military Studies Office , 2016 .
At the same time DARPA published a pre-solicitation looking for technology that would allow the detection of artificial intelligence systems present in the enemy ranks .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Counter Russian & Chinese ‘ Threats ’ • No Agreements On “ Killer Robots ” Needed As Russia And China Won ’ t Keep Them : US Department Of State

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The US Military’s researchers are asking the industry to develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that can potentially simulate challenging enemy behaviour during war games.
This is quite difficult to replace by human role-players.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., issued a solicitation (DARPA-PA-19-03-08) for the COnstructive Machine-learning Battles with Adversary Tactics (COMBAT) project.
COMBAT will develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to generate models of enemy brigade behaviors that challenge and adapt to friendly forces in simulation experiments.
“The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is issuing a new Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) Opportunity entitled COMBAT, which invites submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of Artificial Intelligence, Modeling, and Simulation. COMBAT will develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to generate models of adversary (Red Force) brigade behaviors that challenge and adapt to U.S. Forces (Blue Force) in simulation experiments. This effort will investigate how an adversary may evolve from current to future tactics based on Blue Force actions and responses. If successful, COMBAT will rapidly develop multiple feasible Red Force Courses of Action (COA), identify optimal solutions, and provide reasoning to support recommendations. In future war games, COMBAT will deliver an AI Red Force capable of reacting in ways not easily replicated by human role-players, challenging Blue role-players and stimulating the development of new Blue tactics,” the solicitation reads.
The idea is that in future war games, COMBAT will deliver an artificially intelligent enemy that can challenge friendly force participants and stimulate development of new battle tactics.
This is significant, because, currently, war games involve just humans who utilize long-established tactics for both sides.
COMBAT, on the other hand, would seek to disrupt the traditional enemy strategy by generating new and surprising enemy actions.
This would in turn cause friendly forces to develop new tactics in response.
The selected companies will have to model an enemy motorized rifle brigade tactic in a force-on-force model and simulation tool, which the company itself will choose.
This tool must be able to model several company-size enemy forces in a brigade; their command-and-control hierarchies; and behaviors at the brigade, operational, and tactical levels.
Companies selected will develop their initial enemy AI algorithms and behaviors according to “The Russian Way of War: Force Structure, Tactics and Modernization of Russian Ground Forces,” published by the Army Foreign Military Studies Office, 2016.
At the same time DARPA published a pre-solicitation looking for technology that would allow the detection of artificial intelligence systems present in the enemy ranks.
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southfront--2020-06-05--Syria Receives “Second Batch” Of MiG-29 Fighter Jets, When “First Batch” Took Place And What It Was

Syria Receives “Second Batch” Of MiG-29 Fighter Jets, When “First Batch” Took Place And What It Was Unclear

The Syrian Arab Army received its second batch of MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia .
When exactly the first batch was delivered and what it consisted of remains entirely unclear .
“ In the framework of military and technical cooperation between Russia and Syria , the Russian side handed over the second batch of advanced and modernized MiG-29 fighter jets to Syria , during a ceremony at Hmeimim base , ” a military source said , cited by Syrian state outlet SANA , said .
“ As of June 1 , 2020 , Syrian pilots will begin to carry out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the source concluded .
Photographs also showed Su-24 bombers en route to Syria , but there ’ s no report that such aircraft had also been transferred to the Syrian Arab Army .
Notably , the Su-24 bombers are unmarked , which could potentially mean that they are also being delivered , this comes down to speculation .
There is , however , doubt that the transfer took place at all , or whether it was an information cover for the well-known May story with the flight of the Su-24M and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the forces of the Libyan National Army .
The Syrian announcement came four days after the United States accused Russia of delivering at least 14 MiG-29 and Su-24 aircraft to Libya via Syria , where US Africa Command said they were repainted before continuing on to support Khalifa Hifter ’ s campaign against the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli .
Viktor Bondarev , a parliamentarian who formerly led the Russian air force , denied the government had sent aircraft to Libya .
Meanwhile , on June 3rd , the network source Fighterbomber distributed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Su-24M flying to Syria , still with the indicative signs of the Russian Aerospace Forces , commenting : “ I hope in a new place that these will serve … the Soviet war machines of the Cossacks will not be put to shame , and each of them is waiting for at least another thousand hours of flight “ and that “ unfortunately , all aircraft did not fit in the photo.
” The flight number “ 07 blue ” identifies the MiG-29 fighter ( type 9-13 ) , which was part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Use of the 185th Center for Combat Training and Combat Application of Fighter Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Volga airport in the Astrakhan Region , and this is precisely the destination that these MiG-29s and Su-24s flew to Hmeimim Air Base .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Violence And Chaos Spread In Turkish-Occupied Part Of Syria

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The Syrian Arab Army received its second batch of MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia.
When exactly the first batch was delivered and what it consisted of remains entirely unclear.
#SYRIA | Syrian Arab Army received the second batch of advanced MiG-29 fighter jets from #Russia – in the framework of military & technical cooperation between our countries. Syrian already begin to carry out missions on those planes | https://t.co/APPLjGzRAU | #SAA #روسيا #سوريا pic.twitter.com/QJOmyqO2WS — Russian Embassy, Syria (@RusEmbSyria) June 3, 2020
“In the framework of military and technical cooperation between Russia and Syria, the Russian side handed over the second batch of advanced and modernized MiG-29 fighter jets to Syria, during a ceremony at Hmeimim base,” a military source said, cited by Syrian state outlet SANA, said. “As of June 1, 2020, Syrian pilots will begin to carry out missions on those planes in Syrian airspace,” the source concluded.
Footage of Su-24 bombers and MiG-29 fighters being transferred to Syria then given to Syrian Air Force.https://t.co/UEBC7W6q7Y — ZOKA (@200_zoka) June 4, 2020
Photographs also showed Su-24 bombers en route to Syria, but there’s no report that such aircraft had also been transferred to the Syrian Arab Army.
Notably, the Su-24 bombers are unmarked, which could potentially mean that they are also being delivered, this comes down to speculation.
There is, however, doubt that the transfer took place at all, or whether it was an information cover for the well-known May story with the flight of the Su-24M and MiG-29 aircraft through Hmeimim to Libya for the forces of the Libyan National Army.
The Syrian announcement came four days after the United States accused Russia of delivering at least 14 MiG-29 and Su-24 aircraft to Libya via Syria, where US Africa Command said they were repainted before continuing on to support Khalifa Hifter’s campaign against the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli.
AFRICOM’s commander called the move a “serious escalation.”
Viktor Bondarev, a parliamentarian who formerly led the Russian air force, denied the government had sent aircraft to Libya.
Meanwhile, on June 3rd, the network source Fighterbomber distributed photographs of the flight, showing MiG-29 and Su-24M flying to Syria, still with the indicative signs of the Russian Aerospace Forces, commenting:
“I hope in a new place that these will serve … the Soviet war machines of the Cossacks will not be put to shame, and each of them is waiting for at least another thousand hours of flight “and that “unfortunately, all aircraft did not fit in the photo.”
The flight number “07 blue” identifies the MiG-29 fighter (type 9-13), which was part of the 116th Training Center for Combat Use of the 185th Center for Combat Training and Combat Application of Fighter Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Volga airport in the Astrakhan Region, and this is precisely the destination that these MiG-29s and Su-24s flew to Hmeimim Air Base.
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southfront--2020-06-05--The Saker: “The Systemic Collapse of the US Society Has Begun”

Written by The Saker ; Originally appeared at The Unz Review I have lived in the United States for a total of 24 years and I have witnessed many crises over this long period , but what is taking place today is truly unique and much more serious than any previous crisis I can recall .
And to explain my point , I would like to begin by saying what I believe the riots we are seeing taking place in hundreds of US cities are not about .
They are not about : • The infighting of the US elites/deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these because they encompass of these issues , and more .
It is important to always keep in mind the distinction between the concepts of “ cause ” and “ pretext ” .
And while it is true that all the factors listed above are real ( at least to some degree , and without looking at the distinction between cause and effect ) , none of them are the true cause of what we are witnessing .
At most , the above are pretexts , triggers if you want , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today is the systemic collapse of the US society .
The next thing which we must also keep in mind is that evidence of correlation is not evidence of causality .
Take , for example , this article from CNN entitled “ US black-white inequality in 6 stark charts ” which completely conflates the two concepts and which includes the following sentence ( stress added ) “ because of a long history of policies that excluded and exploited black Americans , said Valerie Wilson , director of the program on race , ethnicity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Institute , a left-leaning group .
” The word “ because ” clearly point to a causality , yet absolutely nothing in the article or data support this .
The US media is chock-full of such conflations of correlation and causality , yet it is rarely denounced .
For a society , any society , to function a number of factors that make up the social contract need to be present .
The exact list that make up these factors will depend on each individual country , but they would typically include some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by most people of the legitimacy of the government and its institutions , often a unifying ideology or , at least , common values , the presence of a stable middle-class , the reasonable hope for a functioning “ social life ” , educational institutions etc .
Finally , and cynically , it always helps the ruling elites if they can provide enough circuses ( TV ) and bread ( food ) to most citizens .
This is even true of so-called authoritarian/totalitarian societies which , contrary to the liberal myth , typically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ segment of the population ( if only because these regimes are often more capable of providing for the basic needs of society ) .
Right now , I would argue that the US government has almost completely lost its ability to deliver any of those factors , or act to repair the broken social contract .
In fact , what we can observe is the exact opposite : the US society is highly divided , as is the US ruling class ( which is even more important ) .
Not only that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , all the vociferous Trump-haters have been undermining the legitimacy not only of Trump himself , but of the political system which made his election possible .
I have been saying that for years : by saying “ not my President ” the Trump-haters have de-legitimized not only Trump personally , but also de-legitimized the Executive branch as such .
Finally , it is pretty clear that for all its disclaimers about supporting only the “ peaceful protestors ” and its condemnation of the “ out of town looters ” , most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the alt media ) is completely unable to give a moral/ethical evaluation of what is taking place .
What I mean by this is the following : By repeating mantras about how “ Black anger is legitimate ” the US liberal media is basically placing a seal of approval on the violence and looting .
After all , if Black “ anger ” is legitimate , and if “ White privilege ” is real , then it is quite “ understandable ” that this “ anger ” “ sometimes ” “ boils over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ excesses ” .
Just take a look at this image of Biden kneeling down before a Black demonstrator : Of course , Biden and his supporters will claim that Biden was only kneeling before a cute little girl and her peacefully protesting father , but when combined with the attacks against Trump ’ s “ law and order ” rhetoric by Biden and his supporters ( including four former US Presidents ! )
, I believe that these kinds of photo-ops are sending a very different message : keep “ protesting ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , coming from a guy like Biden , the ultimate symbol of the 1 % er elites and a perfect example of “ White privilege ” , just goes to show that the hypocrisy of US politicians really knows no bounds or limits .
The exact same message of weakness and even submissive impotence is , I believe , sent every time a cop kneels when confronting even peaceful demonstrators like on this photo .
While this might be intended as a message of compassion , and maybe even an apology , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a powerful sign of surrender of the local authorities and I find that extremely dangerous .
Yes , there are plenty of racist , violent and otherwise incompetent cops in the USA .
And yes , many of my Black friends reported feeling singled out and treated rudely by cops .
But having extensively traveled the world , I want to assure you that the US most definitely does not have the worst cops out there .
In fact , I believe that most US cops are decent people .
Much more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thin blue line ” which protects society against criminals .
And while I do believe that US policemen ought to be better educated , better trained , better led and better supervised , I also realize that there is also no short term alternative to them .
It is all very fine to dream about educated , peaceful and non-racist cops , but if you remove the existing police force from the equation , there are no other alternatives ( the national guard or the regular armed forces do not qualify and don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal with civilians anyway ) , especially in those states which have successfully killed the 2nd Amendment by means of what I call “ death by a thousand regulatory cuts ” ( including NY and NJ ) .
Then there is what Solzhenitsyn called the “ decline of courage ” in the West : the vast majority US politicians have basically lost the ability to criticize Blacks , even when it is quite obvious that many of the current problems of the Black population of the US are created by Blacks themselves : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obscene and overall disgusting “ rap culture ” with which most Black youth are now “ educated ” in since early childhood or how many Black youth have been brainwashed into considering gang members and street prostitutes as the measure of what “ looking cool ” looks like in terms of clothes , language and overall behavior .
I believe that it is pretty obvious to any person who lived in the US that Blacks are very often ( mostly ? )
the cause of their own misery : I can tell you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( who live in the USA ) have told me many times that a ) they think that US Blacks have opportunities which they would never have in Africa or Jamaica and that b ) local Blacks often resent Africans and Jamaican Blacks because the latter do so much better in the US society .
I can also testify to the fact that I have seen a lot of anti-Latino feelings from US Blacks .
As for how Blacks often feel about Asians , all we need to do is remember the LA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do believe that many ( most ? )
people in the US know that the strongest and most frequent form of racism in the US will be anti-White , especially from politically engaged Blacks .
I can personally attest that there is plenty of anti-White racism in the USA .
Not only did I experience it myself ( I lived in Washington , DC from 1986-1991 ) , but it has been amply documented by people like Colin Flaherty whose books “ White Girl Bleed A Lot : The Return of Racial Violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ” and “ Knockout Game a Lie ?
: Awww , Hell No !
” are excellent primers on Black on White violence and racism .
Yet , anybody daring to suggest that US Blacks themselves are at least partially responsible for their own plight will immediately be labeled a “ racist ” .
To those of you who live outside the USA , I would recommend this simple thought experiment : just take 20-30 minutes and watch the footage of BOTH the “ peaceful protests ” AND “ the violent riots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what the folks you see in the footage are wearing , but also how they speak , how they act , what they say and how they say it and ask yourself a simple question : would you want to hire any of these guys and pay them a decent salary ?
I very much doubt that many of you would .
Frankly , most of these rioters are unhirable , and “ racism ” has nothing to do with this .
The fact is that what is sometimes called the “ MTV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nothing else than a systematic glorification of criminal mayhem .
Forget about rap hits like the famous “ Fuk Da Police ” or “ Kill d ’ White People “ , I would argue that 99 % of rap is a glorification of all the worst problems of Black communities in the US ( drugs , violence , promiscuous sex , objectification of women , alcoholism , glorification of criminal behavior in the streets and in prisons , etc. )
.
Yet most US politicians seem to be paralyzed and feel the need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by this so-called “ Black culture ” .
But it is even worse than that .
Combine an emasculated ruling polity which does not dare to call a stone a stone and which promotes a ( pretend ) “ culture ” which glorifies violence and hatred against all non-criminals , including law abiding Black who are called “ Toms ” and who are also singled out as in this “ beautiful ” rap which includes the following “ verses ” : “ Then you got niggas that ’ s blacker then the night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends are white , Niggas like that are gon na hang up from a tree , And burn them up alive and let everybody see ” ( check out this “ beautiful ” rap here and for the full lyrics , a truly fascinating read , here ) .
Next , throw in a completely dysfunctional state which is owned and operated by a tiny gang of obscenely rich narcissistic bastards ( of all races , very much including Blacks ) , add to it a total absence of any real social opportunities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the worst recession in US history with record high levels of unemployment even among those who would be employable ( folks with dropped down pants , excessive tattoos , past felony convictions and a comprehensively non-professional attitude would not even get a job even if the economy was booming ) .
Then , you get a relatively localized “ spark ” ( like the murder of George Floyd by a gang of arrogant imbeciles in uniform ) to start a fire which will instantly spread throughout the entire country , especially since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Blacks who want to “ piggyback ” their personal agenda on top of the one of Black Lives Matter or Antifa ( I am , of course , referring to the real cornucopia of Trump-haters which never accepted his election ) .
Conclusion 1 : this is not the US version of the Gilets Jaunes !
Some might be tempted to say that what we are seeing in the US is a US version of the French Gilets Jaunes .
I assure you that it is not .
For one thing , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program .
US rioters do not .
Next , the Gilets Jaunes were mostly peaceful and much of the violence was instigated by the French police forces ( including the use of fake rioters ) .
While there are definitely peaceful protesters in the USA , neither BLM or AntiFa have truly denounced the riots ( and why should they when the US media and politicians don ’ t have the courage to do that either ? )
.
Finally , the French ruling classes and media did not show the kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did take place although Macron did pose with two “ gangstas ” in an effort to look “ cool ” ( which failed ) : Conclusion 2 : this is not a revolution or a civil war Some are now fantasizing that what we are witnessing today is either a revolution or a civil war .
I believe that this is neither .
For a revolution to take place there must be a force capable of changing not the person ( s ) in power , but fundamentally change the regime , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another one .
Declaring that “ Black lives matter ” or looting stores or even demanding that the police be defunded , does not have this kind of potential capability .
For a civil war to take place you need at least two sides , each with a clearly identifiable political agenda .
Since the real power in the US is hidden from the public awareness , there is no potential for a “ the people vs the rulers ” kind of civil war in the US .
A “ Right/Conservative vs Left/Liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because both the US Right and the US Left are , in reality controlled by a deep state which is neither liberal nor conservative .
Finally , a “ rematch ” between North and South is not possible either because the modern US is not really split along North/South lines anymore .
In terms of geography , there is somewhat of a “ Big cities vs rural USA ” split , but it takes place in both the north and the south of the country .
Instead , what we do observe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into “ zones ” some of which will be doing much better than others ( big cities with a strong Black population fare the worst , mostly White small towns fare best ; that is even true within the same state ) .
In some of these zones , we will see more of this kind of acts of self-protection : This kind of confrontations , even if they are not violent , are yet another illustration of the state being simply unable to take charge and protect the people .
Conclusion 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initiated the systemic collapse of the US society I call what is happening today an insurrection : a violent revolt or rebellion against the authorities as such .
When you burn a police precinct you do not “ protest ” against the actions of a few cops , no , what you are doing is expelling the cops from your neighborhood ( I know that personally .
In Argentina I lived in a suburb of Buenos-Aires in which the police station was attacked so often that it closed and was never rebuilt ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state should have the monopoly on the ( legal ) use of force , you are basically rejecting the authority and legitimacy of the state which operates the police force .
This insurrection is most unlikely to remove Trump from office ( hence it is not a coup or a revolution ) , but the anti-Trump faction of the ruling elites have now clearly adopted the strategy of “ worse is better ” simply because they realize that these riots are probably their last chance to blame it all on Trump ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) and maybe , just maybe , defeat him in November .
Right now all we see can only be called a mob-rule ( technically referred to as an “ ochlocracy “ ) .
But mobs , no matter how violent , rarely succeed in achieving tangible political results as they act ‘ against something ’ and not ‘ for something ’ .
This is why the real ( behind-the-scenes ) ruling classes need to instrumentalize this mob-induced insurrection to their political advantage .
So far , I would say that neither the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this .
But there is a very long and potentially extremely dangerous summer ahead and this might well change .
Irrespective of whether either faction will succeed in instrumentalizing the riots , what we are seeing today is a systemic collapse of the US society .
That is not to say that the US will disappear , not at all .
But just like it took the Soviet Union a decade or more to fully collapse ( roughly from 1983-1993 ) , it will take the US many years to fully crash .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ began taking form in 1999 , there will be a New US coming out of the current collapse .
Total and final collapses are very rare , mostly they just initiate a lengthy and potentially very dangerous transformation process , the outcome of which is almost impossible to predict .
However , just as the Russian people had to stop kidding themselves with silly dreams about “ democracy ” and had to tackle the real problems of Russia , so will the people of the US have to find the courage to deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliberately .
If they fail to do that , the country will most likely simple further disintegrate into numerous and mutually hostile entities .

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Written by The Saker; Originally appeared at The Unz Review
I have lived in the United States for a total of 24 years and I have witnessed many crises over this long period, but what is taking place today is truly unique and much more serious than any previous crisis I can recall. And to explain my point, I would like to begin by saying what I believe the riots we are seeing taking place in hundreds of US cities are not about. They are not about:
Racism or “White privilege” Police violence Social alienation and despair Poverty Trump The liberals pouring fuel on social fires The infighting of the US elites/deep state
They are not about any of these because they encompass all of these issues, and more.
It is important to always keep in mind the distinction between the concepts of “cause” and “pretext”. And while it is true that all the factors listed above are real (at least to some degree, and without looking at the distinction between cause and effect), none of them are the true cause of what we are witnessing. At most, the above are pretexts, triggers if you want, but the real cause of what is taking place today is the systemic collapse of the US society.
The next thing which we must also keep in mind is that evidence of correlation is not evidence of causality. Take, for example, this article from CNN entitled “US black-white inequality in 6 stark charts” which completely conflates the two concepts and which includes the following sentence (stress added) “Those disparities exist because of a long history of policies that excluded and exploited black Americans, said Valerie Wilson, director of the program on race, ethnicity and the economy at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning group.” The word “because” clearly point to a causality, yet absolutely nothing in the article or data support this. The US media is chock-full of such conflations of correlation and causality, yet it is rarely denounced.
For a society, any society, to function a number of factors that make up the social contract need to be present. The exact list that make up these factors will depend on each individual country, but they would typically include some kind of social consensus, the acceptance by most people of the legitimacy of the government and its institutions, often a unifying ideology or, at least, common values, the presence of a stable middle-class, the reasonable hope for a functioning “social life”, educational institutions etc. Finally, and cynically, it always helps the ruling elites if they can provide enough circuses (TV) and bread (food) to most citizens. This is even true of so-called authoritarian/totalitarian societies which, contrary to the liberal myth, typically do enjoy the support of a large segment of the population (if only because these regimes are often more capable of providing for the basic needs of society).
Right now, I would argue that the US government has almost completely lost its ability to deliver any of those factors, or act to repair the broken social contract. In fact, what we can observe is the exact opposite: the US society is highly divided, as is the US ruling class (which is even more important). Not only that, but ever since the election of Trump, all the vociferous Trump-haters have been undermining the legitimacy not only of Trump himself, but of the political system which made his election possible. I have been saying that for years: by saying “not my President” the Trump-haters have de-legitimized not only Trump personally, but also de-legitimized the Executive branch as such.
This is an absolutely amazing phenomenon: while for almost four years Trump has been destroying the US Empire externally, Trump-haters spent the same four years destroying the US from the inside! If we look past the (largely fictional) differences between the Republicrats and the Demolicans we can see that they operate like a demolition tag-team of sorts and while they hate each other with a passion, they both contribute to bringing down both the Empire and the United States. For anybody who has studied dialectics this would be very predictable but, alas, dialectics are not taught anymore, hence the stunned “deer in the headlights” look on the faces of most people today.
Finally, it is pretty clear that for all its disclaimers about supporting only the “peaceful protestors” and its condemnation of the “out of town looters”, most of the US media (as well as the alt media) is completely unable to give a moral/ethical evaluation of what is taking place. What I mean by this is the following:
By repeating mantras about how “Black anger is legitimate” the US liberal media is basically placing a seal of approval on the violence and looting. After all, if Black “anger” is legitimate, and if “White privilege” is real, then it is quite “understandable” that this “anger” “sometimes” “boils over” and leads to “regrettable” “excesses”. Just take a look at this image of Biden kneeling down before a Black demonstrator:
Of course, Biden and his supporters will claim that Biden was only kneeling before a cute little girl and her peacefully protesting father, but when combined with the attacks against Trump’s “law and order” rhetoric by Biden and his supporters (including four former US Presidents!), I believe that these kinds of photo-ops are sending a very different message: keep “protesting” as we are on your side which, coming from a guy like Biden, the ultimate symbol of the 1%er elites and a perfect example of “White privilege”, just goes to show that the hypocrisy of US politicians really knows no bounds or limits.
I have to note here that these riots also represent a potential danger for both factions of the Uniparty in power: for the Demolicans the riots probably represent the very last chance to prevent a Trump-reelection, but if the Demolicans are too obvious in support of the riots, then it could backfire against them and turn all the frightened “law and order” types against them. But if they do not support the riots, then the Demolicans will alienate their core constituency (a hodgepodge of various “minorities” pushing their narrow identity-politics agenda). Likewise, for Trump this is an opportunity to show his “law and order” credentials and promise the White people and the relatively fewer Blacks of his base that he will protect them. However, if he is too direct about this and if Trump orders what might be seen by many as unfair or excessive force (of which there has been a lot almost everywhere), then he risks pushing many moderate Republicrats over the edge and side with the Demolicans (or, at least, withhold their vote). In other words, both factions of the Uniparty feel that the riots are both an opportunity and a threat and this is why neither faction can come out and speak truthfully about the real causes of the riots.
The exact same message of weakness and even submissive impotence is, I believe, sent every time a cop kneels when confronting even peaceful demonstrators like on this photo. While this might be intended as a message of compassion, and maybe even an apology, the only thing the rioters will see here is a powerful sign of surrender of the local authorities and I find that extremely dangerous.
Yes, there are plenty of racist, violent and otherwise incompetent cops in the USA. And yes, many of my Black friends reported feeling singled out and treated rudely by cops. But having extensively traveled the world, I want to assure you that the US most definitely does not have the worst cops out there. In fact, I believe that most US cops are decent people. Much more importantly, these cops are the “thin blue line” which protects society against criminals. And while I do believe that US policemen ought to be better educated, better trained, better led and better supervised, I also realize that there is also no short term alternative to them. It is all very fine to dream about educated, peaceful and non-racist cops, but if you remove the existing police force from the equation, there are no other alternatives (the national guard or the regular armed forces do not qualify and don’t have the correct training to deal with civilians anyway), especially in those states which have successfully killed the 2nd Amendment by means of what I call “death by a thousand regulatory cuts” (including NY and NJ).
Then there is what Solzhenitsyn called the “decline of courage” in the West: the vast majority US politicians have basically lost the ability to criticize Blacks, even when it is quite obvious that many of the current problems of the Black population of the US are created by Blacks themselves: I think of the truly vulgar, obscene and overall disgusting “rap culture” with which most Black youth are now “educated” in since early childhood or how many Black youth have been brainwashed into considering gang members and street prostitutes as the measure of what “looking cool” looks like in terms of clothes, language and overall behavior. I believe that it is pretty obvious to any person who lived in the US that Blacks are very often (mostly?) the cause of their own misery: I can tell you that my Jamaican and Sub-Saharan African friends (who live in the USA) have told me many times that a) they think that US Blacks have opportunities which they would never have in Africa or Jamaica and that b) local Blacks often resent Africans and Jamaican Blacks because the latter do so much better in the US society. I can also testify to the fact that I have seen a lot of anti-Latino feelings from US Blacks. As for how Blacks often feel about Asians, all we need to do is remember the LA riots in 1992. Finally, I do believe that many (most?) people in the US know that the strongest and most frequent form of racism in the US will be anti-White, especially from politically engaged Blacks.
I can personally attest that there is plenty of anti-White racism in the USA. Not only did I experience it myself (I lived in Washington, DC from 1986-1991), but it has been amply documented by people like Colin Flaherty whose books “White Girl Bleed A Lot: The Return of Racial Violence to America and How the Media Ignore It” and “Knockout Game a Lie?: Awww, Hell No!” are excellent primers on Black on White violence and racism. Yet, anybody daring to suggest that US Blacks themselves are at least partially responsible for their own plight will immediately be labeled a “racist”.
To those of you who live outside the USA, I would recommend this simple thought experiment: just take 20-30 minutes and watch the footage of BOTH the “peaceful protests” AND “the violent riots” and look carefully not only at what the folks you see in the footage are wearing, but also how they speak, how they act, what they say and how they say it and ask yourself a simple question: would you want to hire any of these guys and pay them a decent salary? I very much doubt that many of you would. Frankly, most of these rioters are unhirable, and “racism” has nothing to do with this.
The fact is that what is sometimes called the “MTV culture” is, in reality, nothing else than a systematic glorification of criminal mayhem. Forget about rap hits like the famous “Fuk Da Police” or “Kill d’White People“, I would argue that 99% of rap is a glorification of all the worst problems of Black communities in the US (drugs, violence, promiscuous sex, objectification of women, alcoholism, glorification of criminal behavior in the streets and in prisons, etc.). Yet most US politicians seem to be paralyzed and feel the need to pretend like they are absolutely charmed by this so-called “Black culture”. But it is even worse than that.
Combine an emasculated ruling polity which does not dare to call a stone a stone and which promotes a (pretend) “culture” which glorifies violence and hatred against all non-criminals, including law abiding Black who are called “Toms” and who are also singled out as in this “beautiful” rap which includes the following “verses”: “Then you got niggas that’s blacker then the night, Running around town saying their best friends are white, Niggas like that are gonna hang up from a tree, And burn them up alive and let everybody see” (check out this “beautiful” rap here and for the full lyrics, a truly fascinating read, here). Next, throw in a completely dysfunctional state which is owned and operated by a tiny gang of obscenely rich narcissistic bastards (of all races, very much including Blacks), add to it a total absence of any real social opportunities, then toss in the COVID pandemic and the worst recession in US history with record high levels of unemployment even among those who would be employable (folks with dropped down pants, excessive tattoos, past felony convictions and a comprehensively non-professional attitude would not even get a job even if the economy was booming). Then, you get a relatively localized “spark” (like the murder of George Floyd by a gang of arrogant imbeciles in uniform) to start a fire which will instantly spread throughout the entire country, especially since there are so many other groups besides Blacks who want to “piggyback” their personal agenda on top of the one of Black Lives Matter or Antifa (I am, of course, referring to the real cornucopia of Trump-haters which never accepted his election).
Conclusion 1: this is not the US version of the Gilets Jaunes!
Some might be tempted to say that what we are seeing in the US is a US version of the French Gilets Jaunes. I assure you that it is not. For one thing, the Gilets Jaunes had a pretty clear political program. US rioters do not. Next, the Gilets Jaunes were mostly peaceful and much of the violence was instigated by the French police forces (including the use of fake rioters). While there are definitely peaceful protesters in the USA, neither BLM or AntiFa have truly denounced the riots (and why should they when the US media and politicians don’t have the courage to do that either?). Finally, the French ruling classes and media did not show the kind of “understanding” of the riots which did take place although Macron did pose with two “gangstas” in an effort to look “cool” (which failed):
Conclusion 2: this is not a revolution or a civil war
Some are now fantasizing that what we are witnessing today is either a revolution or a civil war. I believe that this is neither.
For a revolution to take place there must be a force capable of changing not the person(s) in power, but fundamentally change the regime, the polity, itself and replacing it with another one. Declaring that “Black lives matter” or looting stores or even demanding that the police be defunded, does not have this kind of potential capability.
For a civil war to take place you need at least two sides, each with a clearly identifiable political agenda. Since the real power in the US is hidden from the public awareness, there is no potential for a “the people vs the rulers” kind of civil war in the US. A “Right/Conservative vs Left/Liberal” civil war is also not possible, because both the US Right and the US Left are, in reality controlled by a deep state which is neither liberal nor conservative. Finally, a “rematch” between North and South is not possible either because the modern US is not really split along North/South lines anymore. In terms of geography, there is somewhat of a “Big cities vs rural USA” split, but it takes place in both the north and the south of the country. Instead, what we do observe is a social breakup of the US into “zones” some of which will be doing much better than others (big cities with a strong Black population fare the worst, mostly White small towns fare best; that is even true within the same state). In some of these zones, we will see more of this kind of acts of self-protection:
This kind of confrontations, even if they are not violent, are yet another illustration of the state being simply unable to take charge and protect the people.
Conclusion 3: this is an insurrection which has initiated the systemic collapse of the US society
I call what is happening today an insurrection: a violent revolt or rebellion against the authorities as such. When you burn a police precinct you do not “protest” against the actions of a few cops, no, what you are doing is expelling the cops from your neighborhood (I know that personally. In Argentina I lived in a suburb of Buenos-Aires in which the police station was attacked so often that it closed and was never rebuilt). And since in a civilized society the state should have the monopoly on the (legal) use of force, you are basically rejecting the authority and legitimacy of the state which operates the police force. This insurrection is most unlikely to remove Trump from office (hence it is not a coup or a revolution), but the anti-Trump faction of the ruling elites have now clearly adopted the strategy of “worse is better” simply because they realize that these riots are probably their last chance to blame it all on Trump (and Russia, why not?!) and maybe, just maybe, defeat him in November.
Right now all we see can only be called a mob-rule (technically referred to as an “ochlocracy“). But mobs, no matter how violent, rarely succeed in achieving tangible political results as they act ‘against something’ and not ‘for something’. This is why the real (behind-the-scenes) ruling classes need to instrumentalize this mob-induced insurrection to their political advantage. So far, I would say that neither the Demolicans nor the Republicrats have succeeded in this. But there is a very long and potentially extremely dangerous summer ahead and this might well change.
Irrespective of whether either faction will succeed in instrumentalizing the riots, what we are seeing today is a systemic collapse of the US society. That is not to say that the US will disappear, not at all. But just like it took the Soviet Union a decade or more to fully collapse (roughly from 1983-1993), it will take the US many years to fully crash. And just like a New Russia eventually began taking form in 1999, there will be a New US coming out of the current collapse. Total and final collapses are very rare, mostly they just initiate a lengthy and potentially very dangerous transformation process, the outcome of which is almost impossible to predict.
However, just as the Russian people had to stop kidding themselves with silly dreams about “democracy” and had to tackle the real problems of Russia, so will the people of the US have to find the courage to deal with their real problems, frontally and deliberately. If they fail to do that, the country will most likely simple further disintegrate into numerous and mutually hostile entities.
Time will tell.
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southfront--2020-06-05--SDF Neutralizes More Terrorists In Second Day Of Large Counter-ISIS Operation (Video)

The Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF ) have arrested more terrorists in the framework of its ongoing large-scale security operation against ISIS cells in northeast Syria .
On June 5 , the Hawar News Agency ( ANHA ) reported that 21 terrorists have been apprehended so far .
At least 17 of them were captured on the first day of the operation .
The operation , which was launched on June 4 , is supported by the U.S.-led coalition .
Around 6,000 personnel of the SDF are working to secure a vast area lying between the town of al-Shaddadi in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ al-Bukamal in southern Deir Ezzor .
In a statement released on June 5 , the SDF General-Command said the operation is targeting ISIS cells in an attempt to destabilize northeast Syria .
“ The campaign to deter terrorism launched by our forces with the [ U.S.-led ] international coalition is proceeding well , and has achieved good results so far , it will continue until the full mission assigned to it is completed , ” the statement reads .
ISIS remnants in northeast Syria wreaked havoc in the last few months .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ locals cooperating with the Kurdish-led group .
Now , the security situation in northeast Syria is improving .
However , the terrorist group will likely maintain some level of influence in the region , especially in Arab-majority areas .
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The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have arrested more terrorists in the framework of its ongoing large-scale security operation against ISIS cells in northeast Syria.
On June 5, the Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported that 21 terrorists have been apprehended so far. At least 17 of them were captured on the first day of the operation.
The operation, which was launched on June 4, is supported by the U.S.-led coalition. Around 6,000 personnel of the SDF are working to secure a vast area lying between the town of al-Shaddadi in southern al-Hasakah and the government-held town of al-Bukamal in southern Deir Ezzor.
In a statement released on June 5, the SDF General-Command said the operation is targeting ISIS cells in an attempt to destabilize northeast Syria.
“The campaign to deter terrorism launched by our forces with the [U.S.-led] international coalition is proceeding well, and has achieved good results so far, it will continue until the full mission assigned to it is completed,” the statement reads.
ISIS remnants in northeast Syria wreaked havoc in the last few months. The terrorists targeted SDF personnel as well as locals cooperating with the Kurdish-led group.
Now, the security situation in northeast Syria is improving. However, the terrorist group will likely maintain some level of influence in the region, especially in Arab-majority areas.
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southfront--2020-06-05--Distraction Tactics: Reports Of Chinese and Iranian Hacking, Russians Behind Protests

State-backed Chinese hackers allegedly targeted staffers working on the U.S. presidential campaign of Democrat Joe Biden , and Iranian hackers allegedly targeted email accounts belonging to Republican President Donald Trump ’ s campaign staff .
Both of these claims were made by the head of Threat Analysis Group , Shane Huntley .
Huntley said there was “ no sign of compromise ” of either campaign .
Essentially , both alleged hacking attempts resulted in nothing .
It comes at a very useful time , when the Black Lives Matter protests are sweeping the nation , and Google has generally remained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide any details on Huntley ’ s claims .
“ We sent the targeted users our standard government-backed attack warning and we referred this information to federal law enforcement , ” a Google representative said .
Attempts by foreign adversaries to break into presidential campaigns are allegedly common .
“ We are aware of reports from Google that a foreign actor has made unsuccessful attempts to access the personal email accounts of campaign staff , ” a Biden campaign spokesman said .
“ We have known from the beginning of our campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks and we are prepared for them.
” The Trump campaign , the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York provided no comment .
John Hultquist , senior director of intelligence analysis with U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc , described the two hacking groups as “ espionage actors ” and said they were likely attempting to collect intelligence rather than steal material to leak online .
The FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence also provided no comment on the matter .
Separately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ foreign actors ” are stoking US protests .
Barr accused Antifa and other “ extremist groups ” of hijacking the protest to engage in violence and “ senseless acts of anarchy.
” Barr also alleged that some unspecified “ foreign actors ” have been “ playing all sides to exacerbate the violence.
” In response , Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova is an insult to Americans and a dismissal of the US ’ actual problems .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Protests In U.S. Couldn ’ t Last A @ @ @ @ @ @

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State-backed Chinese hackers allegedly targeted staffers working on the U.S. presidential campaign of Democrat Joe Biden, and Iranian hackers allegedly targeted email accounts belonging to Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign staff.
Both of these claims were made by the head of Threat Analysis Group, Shane Huntley.
Huntley said there was “no sign of compromise” of either campaign. Essentially, both alleged hacking attempts resulted in nothing.
Recently TAG saw China APT group targeting Biden campaign staff & Iran APT targeting Trump campaign staff with phishing. No sign of compromise. We sent users our govt attack warning and we referred to fed law enforcement. https://t.co/ozlRL4SwhG — Shane Huntley (@ShaneHuntley) June 4, 2020
It comes at a very useful time, when the Black Lives Matter protests are sweeping the nation, and Google has generally remained neutral on the matter.
Google declined to provide any details on Huntley’s claims.
“We sent the targeted users our standard government-backed attack warning and we referred this information to federal law enforcement,” a Google representative said.
Attempts by foreign adversaries to break into presidential campaigns are allegedly common.
“We are aware of reports from Google that a foreign actor has made unsuccessful attempts to access the personal email accounts of campaign staff,” a Biden campaign spokesman said. “We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them.”
The Trump campaign, the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York provided no comment.
John Hultquist, senior director of intelligence analysis with U.S. cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc, described the two hacking groups as “espionage actors” and said they were likely attempting to collect intelligence rather than steal material to leak online.
The FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence also provided no comment on the matter.
Separately, US Attorney General William Barr claimed that “foreign actors” are stoking US protests.
Barr accused Antifa and other “extremist groups” of hijacking the protest to engage in violence and “senseless acts of anarchy.” Barr also alleged that some unspecified “foreign actors” have been “playing all sides to exacerbate the violence.”
In response, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova is an insult to Americans and a dismissal of the US’ actual problems.
“Firstly, it’s yet another attempt to explain internal problems by external factors. Secondly, it’s disrespect for US citizens whose problems are attributed to ‘foreign meddling’ without any evidence.”
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southfront--2020-06-05--America Fails Pandemic Stress Test

America Fails Pandemic Stress Test

It is well established in scholarly literature on international conflict that whenever a country behaves in an erratic , aggressive manner , it is nearly always a reflection of deep-seated internal social , political , and economic problems which the country ’ s leadership is unable or unwilling to address .
United States is an example of what happens when that country is a superpower facing not only international decline , but also internal decay .
Zbigniew Brzezinski infamously described the Soviet Union as “ Upper Volta with rockets ” .
That was never a fair comparison , since USSR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social exclusion , and downright police repression that the United States boasts .
Likewise the Soviet health care system could have coped with a pandemic better than the US one or even the current Russian Federation one .
Today ’ s America , however , is that country Brzezinski spoke about .
Expanding its global influence through direct , proxy , and hybrid wars became the most attractive policy tool intended to restore the health of the US economy which , since the end of the Cold War , was kept alive mainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US Federal Reserve which in the end inflated several stock market bubbles .
Even today the Federal Reserve ’ s main concern is keeping the Dow Jones rally going , because a collapse on the markets would permanently cripple the US economy .
However , at risk of mixing metaphors , an economy built on equity bubbles is a house of card that will collapse at the slightest shock .
COVID-19 proved to be that shock , a “ Black Swan ” event that has been predicted for many years that would precipitate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and of the balance of power in the international system .
The pandemic became a test of not just public health systems , but of the strength of each country ’ s economy , the cohesion of its society , and the ability of its government to govern .
Even though we are still in the early stages of the crisis , we can already see that some states are passing the test ( so far ) with flying colors , while others are being wracked by internal turmoil .
To quote Warren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see who has been swimming naked .
The United States has been revealed to be quite wardrobe-challenged in this instance .
The callous slow-motion torture and murder of George Floyd in the Democratic Party stronghold of Minneapolis by four police officers with long histories of brutality against ethnic minorities was the spark that ignited the powder keg of US race relations .
It certainly did not help that the United States created forty million new unemployed and failed to provide them with adequate financial support , due to the infamously miserly US social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is disproportionately lethal to US ethnic minorities who suffer from a higher level of underlying medical conditions due to poverty , malnutrition , and stress , so did the job losses disproportionately affect African Americans .
The average black worker does not “ work from home ” on his laptop computer .
Rather , the average black worker is employed in food service , hospitality , and retail , all of which have been crushed by the pandemic and , especially , the lockdown measures .
It is no wonder that the conservatives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as quickly as possible .
Chasing millions of African Americans back to their menial jobs , even when it involved them facing greater risk of infection and death , would at least deprive them of the free time they have available to protest .
The speed with which the protests spread across the country , affecting every state and most large cities , is a reflection of the universality of the problem that the events in Minneapolis revealed .
In the face of slow-motion economic collapse and the destruction of the American middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both state and federal levels has subtly but effectively sought to shift the economic pain to the minorities , in order to preserve the standard of living of the white middle class on whose support the legitimacy of the US political and economic system still rests .
The armed white militias that protested at several state legislatures only a month earlier are an expression of that fear .
The “ don ’ t tread on me ” Gadsden Flags quite clearly express who is to be tread upon , and who is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US elites attempt to economically marginalize the white middle class , they may expect a forceful response .
The weak police response to law-breaking perpetrated by armed white militias was not lost on most commentators , either .
But these politics of “ economic triage ” where the pain is shifted to the communities of color also implies the need for heavy-handed police repression which US police forces are all too happy to deliver .
US law enforcement should not be seen as a collection of politically-neutral guardians of law and order .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ right , even the far-right , and it is no surprise that Donald Trump enjoys the overwhelming support of American police unions and organizations .
While these trends were evident for the last decade at least , since the 2008 crisis to which the US government never found an adequate response , the pandemic accelerated it to the point of the tensions and grievances finally boiling over .
Whenever a fire breaks out , it is ultimately either put out or burns itself out due to lack of fuel .
It is doubtful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on its own , given that the US law enforcement is now providing more provocation with its heavy-handed tactics on daily basis , and moreover neither the pandemic nor the economic crisis are going anywhere any time soon .
Since the United States is now in the throes of domestic unrest not seen since the days of Vietnam War , it raises the question of what is to be done about it ?
Which leaders , which policies , might definitively address the grievances of the masses ?
We can safely say Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because to the extent he is wielding a fire hose , it seems to be mostly spraying gasoline on the fire .
Literally every action , every statement , every tweet , has served to polarize and exacerbate the problems .
It may be Trump is doing this deliberately , hoping to replicate Richard Nixon ’ s “ silent majority ” strategy , an idea that is supported by Trump himself tweeting these words .
Yes , the riots polarize , but the hope is that , when the smoke clears , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two and , like Nixon , he secures his re-election .
Richard Nixon won his re-election by a landslide , even though after the fact almost nobody admitted ever voting for him .
However , few things motivate voting for conservatives in the US more than the sight of black rioters and looters .
Of course , the problem Trump faces here is that Joe Biden has impeccable “ law and order ” credentials , complete with the ability to “ dog whistle ” to white conservatives .
Biden , after all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1970s he did not want his children to “ grow up in a racial jungle ” , and his support of anti-crime legislation which led to the mass incarceration of African-Americans in the last few decades suggests he is willing to put his money where his mouth is .
Thanks to his role as Obama ’ s vice president , he also has certain sway among the African American community that has served him well in the primaries and obscured his previous racist record .
But in the end Biden is no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics was just enough to keep America from blowing up .
Biden does not have the same combination , and moreover he is presiding over an economic catastrophe that will not be as easy to rectify by throwing money at banks the way the 2008 crisis was .
The one politician who correctly identifies both problems and solutions and who also commands considerable popular support , Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders , has been effectively sidelined by the Democratic Party which is utterly uninterested in adopting policies of economic and social justice .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , America will move toward greater police repression which will be far more easily accepted by the white public when it is done during a Biden presidency .
Given that neither Biden ’ s nor Obama ’ s public appearances were effective at demobilizing the protests , it means the United States is facing the prospect of its own Yellow Vest-style uprising , namely a continuous low-level anti-government uprising that will ebb and flow but never entirely disappear .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Caliphate In Miniature : Rift Between Turkey And @ @ @

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Written by J.Hawk exclusively for SouthFront
It is well established in scholarly literature on international conflict that whenever a country behaves in an erratic, aggressive manner, it is nearly always a reflection of deep-seated internal social, political, and economic problems which the country’s leadership is unable or unwilling to address. United States is an example of what happens when that country is a superpower facing not only international decline, but also internal decay. Zbigniew Brzezinski infamously described the Soviet Union as “Upper Volta with rockets”. That was never a fair comparison, since USSR lacked the massive pockets of poverty, social exclusion, and downright police repression that the United States boasts. Likewise the Soviet health care system could have coped with a pandemic better than the US one or even the current Russian Federation one. Today’s America, however, is that country Brzezinski spoke about. Expanding its global influence through direct, proxy, and hybrid wars became the most attractive policy tool intended to restore the health of the US economy which, since the end of the Cold War, was kept alive mainly by extremely permissive monetary policies of the US Federal Reserve which in the end inflated several stock market bubbles. Even today the Federal Reserve’s main concern is keeping the Dow Jones rally going, because a collapse on the markets would permanently cripple the US economy.
This is Philly around 5:30 today. There is just no defense for this behavior. At all. #BLUEFALL pic.twitter.com/jgeESpvZo3 — Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) June 5, 2020
However, at risk of mixing metaphors, an economy built on equity bubbles is a house of card that will collapse at the slightest shock. COVID-19 proved to be that shock, a “Black Swan” event that has been predicted for many years that would precipitate a radical transformation of domestic political systems and of the balance of power in the international system. The pandemic became a test of not just public health systems, but of the strength of each country’s economy, the cohesion of its society, and the ability of its government to govern. Even though we are still in the early stages of the crisis, we can already see that some states are passing the test (so far) with flying colors, while others are being wracked by internal turmoil. To quote Warren Buffett, when the tide recedes you see who has been swimming naked. The United States has been revealed to be quite wardrobe-challenged in this instance.
The Spark
The callous slow-motion torture and murder of George Floyd in the Democratic Party stronghold of Minneapolis by four police officers with long histories of brutality against ethnic minorities was the spark that ignited the powder keg of US race relations. It certainly did not help that the United States created forty million new unemployed and failed to provide them with adequate financial support, due to the infamously miserly US social safety net. And just as COVID-19 is disproportionately lethal to US ethnic minorities who suffer from a higher level of underlying medical conditions due to poverty, malnutrition, and stress, so did the job losses disproportionately affect African Americans. The average black worker does not “work from home” on his laptop computer. Rather, the average black worker is employed in food service, hospitality, and retail, all of which have been crushed by the pandemic and, especially, the lockdown measures. It is no wonder that the conservatives wanted to “re-open” the economy as quickly as possible. Chasing millions of African Americans back to their menial jobs, even when it involved them facing greater risk of infection and death, would at least deprive them of the free time they have available to protest.
Just about an hour ago, police officers shove man in Niagara Square to the ground (WARNING: Graphic). Video from: @MikeDesmondWBFO pic.twitter.com/JBKQLvzfET — WBFO (@WBFO) June 5, 2020
The Fuel
The speed with which the protests spread across the country, affecting every state and most large cities, is a reflection of the universality of the problem that the events in Minneapolis revealed. In the face of slow-motion economic collapse and the destruction of the American middle class, the US political system at both state and federal levels has subtly but effectively sought to shift the economic pain to the minorities, in order to preserve the standard of living of the white middle class on whose support the legitimacy of the US political and economic system still rests. The armed white militias that protested at several state legislatures only a month earlier are an expression of that fear. The “don’t tread on me” Gadsden Flags quite clearly express who is to be tread upon, and who is not. They are a warning that should US elites attempt to economically marginalize the white middle class, they may expect a forceful response. The weak police response to law-breaking perpetrated by armed white militias was not lost on most commentators, either. But these politics of “economic triage” where the pain is shifted to the communities of color also implies the need for heavy-handed police repression which US police forces are all too happy to deliver. US law enforcement should not be seen as a collection of politically-neutral guardians of law and order. Rather, it skews heavily toward the right, even the far-right, and it is no surprise that Donald Trump enjoys the overwhelming support of American police unions and organizations. While these trends were evident for the last decade at least, since the 2008 crisis to which the US government never found an adequate response, the pandemic accelerated it to the point of the tensions and grievances finally boiling over.
The Firehose
Whenever a fire breaks out, it is ultimately either put out or burns itself out due to lack of fuel. It is doubtful this is going to burn itself out on its own, given that the US law enforcement is now providing more provocation with its heavy-handed tactics on daily basis, and moreover neither the pandemic nor the economic crisis are going anywhere any time soon. Since the United States is now in the throes of domestic unrest not seen since the days of Vietnam War, it raises the question of what is to be done about it? Which leaders, which policies, might definitively address the grievances of the masses?
Meanwhile in Atlanta pic.twitter.com/66qdD5P8ta — Chef Anthony Thomas (@ChefAnthonyDC) June 3, 2020
We can safely say Donald Trump will not be the one, because to the extent he is wielding a fire hose, it seems to be mostly spraying gasoline on the fire. Literally every action, every statement, every tweet, has served to polarize and exacerbate the problems. It may be Trump is doing this deliberately, hoping to replicate Richard Nixon’s “silent majority” strategy, an idea that is supported by Trump himself tweeting these words. Yes, the riots polarize, but the hope is that, when the smoke clears, Trump’s half is the bigger of the two and, like Nixon, he secures his re-election. Richard Nixon won his re-election by a landslide, even though after the fact almost nobody admitted ever voting for him. However, few things motivate voting for conservatives in the US more than the sight of black rioters and looters.
Of course, the problem Trump faces here is that Joe Biden has impeccable “law and order” credentials, complete with the ability to “dog whistle” to white conservatives. Biden, after all, is the politician who said in the 1970s he did not want his children to “grow up in a racial jungle”, and his support of anti-crime legislation which led to the mass incarceration of African-Americans in the last few decades suggests he is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Thanks to his role as Obama’s vice president, he also has certain sway among the African American community that has served him well in the primaries and obscured his previous racist record. But in the end Biden is no Obama, whose combination of personality and politics was just enough to keep America from blowing up. Biden does not have the same combination, and moreover he is presiding over an economic catastrophe that will not be as easy to rectify by throwing money at banks the way the 2008 crisis was.
The one politician who correctly identifies both problems and solutions and who also commands considerable popular support, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, has been effectively sidelined by the Democratic Party which is utterly uninterested in adopting policies of economic and social justice. It means that, in the longer term, America will move toward greater police repression which will be far more easily accepted by the white public when it is done during a Biden presidency. Given that neither Biden’s nor Obama’s public appearances were effective at demobilizing the protests, it means the United States is facing the prospect of its own Yellow Vest-style uprising, namely a continuous low-level anti-government uprising that will ebb and flow but never entirely disappear.
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southfront--2020-06-05--Greece Says Prepared For “Any Challenge” From Turkey

On June 3rd , Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that Greece “ will face all challenges with consistency , stability , confidence and always with a commitment to international law , as it always does ” when it comes to Turkey .
Speaking during a meeting with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou , he said that Greece is not contributing to the tension with Turkey and expressed certainty that “ we will have the full support of the European Union .
Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos also commented on the matter and said that Greece ’ s red lines are clearly marked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hesitate to “ show its teeth ” in the face of external threats .
Panagiotopoulos said Greece had demonstrated its determination during the “ organized attempt to violate our borders in Evros.
” In response , Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that Ankara ’ s energy designs , which include drilling in areas demarcated by the Turkish-Libya memorandum , are proceeding as planned .
He said there was readiness for drilling .
Cavusoglu stressed to Turkish TV station 24 TV , are “ legal , ” while he reiterated one of Ankara @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which “ the islands do not have a continental shelf , only territorial waters that reach 6 nautical miles.
” European Union ’ s foreign policy chief , Josep Borrell urged Ankara to respect the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus .
In response to questions about Turkish plans to begin hydrocarbon exploration near Greek islands , Borrell said the EU was monitoring developments while being “ in close contact ” with Athens and Nicosia .
Borrell said that Turkey ’ s violations were an issue of “ utmost importance ” with regard to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Following these statements , Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has sent letters to top EU officials protesting over Turkey ’ s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the publication in the Turkish government ’ s gazette of a map outlining areas of the Greek continental shelf where Turkish Petroleum Corporation ( TPAO ) has applied for exploration permits .
he foreign ministers of Greece , Cyprus , France , Italy , Malta , Portugal and Spain , a group dubbed the Med7 , issued a joint declaration on June 4th , calling on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ respect international law , including the law of the sea , and in particular the sovereignty and sovereign rights of EU member-states.
” The declaration followed a teleconference between the seven countries ’ foreign ministers , during which France , Italy , Malta , Portugal and Spain expressed their continued support for Greece and Cyprus vis-a-vis Turkey ’ s ongoing violations in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean .
The US Department of State also commented on the matter , calling the Turkey-Libya maritime deal “ provocative and unhelpful.
” Answering a question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a State Department spokesman noted that the agreement can not affect the rights or obligations of third states such as Greece The spokesman reiterated recent statements by US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon and US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt that Greece ’ s islands have an exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf .
In comments at a virtual roundtable discussion on the Eastern Mediterranean and the trilateral partnership between Greece , Cyprus and Israel , Fannon said the Turkey-Libya memorandum “ can not as a legal matter affect the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as Greece .
Fannon noted that the United States has been “ very consistent in calling to stop all provocative actions that could undermine investment confidence in the East Mediterranean region ” and affect political stability .
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On June 3rd, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that Greece “will face all challenges with consistency, stability, confidence and always with a commitment to international law, as it always does” when it comes to Turkey.
Speaking during a meeting with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, he said that Greece is not contributing to the tension with Turkey and expressed certainty that “we will have the full support of the European Union.
Sakellaropoulou said that Turkey “continues to create tensions, challenging any notion of good-neighborliness and our sovereign rights.” She said Greece will always protect its sovereign rights “with respect for international law.”
Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos also commented on the matter and said that Greece’s red lines are clearly marked, adding that the country does not hesitate to “show its teeth” in the face of external threats.
Panagiotopoulos said Greece had demonstrated its determination during the “organized attempt to violate our borders in Evros.”
“This is how we will react to any other issue,” the minister said. “We have stated in a very clear and categorical fashion what our red lines are in the event that Turkey’s aggressive behavior escalates,” he said.
In response, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that Ankara’s energy designs, which include drilling in areas demarcated by the Turkish-Libya memorandum, are proceeding as planned.
He said there was readiness for drilling.
Cavusoglu stressed to Turkish TV station 24 TV, are “legal,” while he reiterated one of Ankara’s constant positions, according to which “the islands do not have a continental shelf, only territorial waters that reach 6 nautical miles.”
European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell urged Ankara to respect the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus.
In response to questions about Turkish plans to begin hydrocarbon exploration near Greek islands, Borrell said the EU was monitoring developments while being “in close contact” with Athens and Nicosia.
“We are in close contact with our colleagues, the foreign ministers of Greece and also Cyprus, in order to follow the situation of the drillings, and we are calling on Turkey to stop drilling in the areas where there is the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) or territorial waters of Cyprus and Greece,” said Borrell, adding that the Foreign Affairs Council “already delivered a strong message addressed to Turkey.”
Borrell said that Turkey’s violations were an issue of “utmost importance” with regard to Ankara’s EU membership talks.
Following these statements, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has sent letters to top EU officials protesting over Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the publication in the Turkish government’s gazette of a map outlining areas of the Greek continental shelf where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration permits.
he foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, a group dubbed the Med7, issued a joint declaration on June 4th, calling on “all countries of the region to respect international law, including the law of the sea, and in particular the sovereignty and sovereign rights of EU member-states.”
The declaration followed a teleconference between the seven countries’ foreign ministers, during which France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain expressed their continued support for Greece and Cyprus vis-a-vis Turkey’s ongoing violations in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The US Department of State also commented on the matter, calling the Turkey-Libya maritime deal “provocative and unhelpful.”
Answering a question posed by the Hellas Journal website, a State Department spokesman noted that the agreement cannot affect the rights or obligations of third states such as Greece
The spokesman reiterated recent statements by US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon and US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt that Greece’s islands have an exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf.
In comments at a virtual roundtable discussion on the Eastern Mediterranean and the trilateral partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, Fannon said the Turkey-Libya memorandum “cannot as a legal matter affect the rights or obligations of third states” such as Greece.
“International Law, the Convention of the Law of the Sea generally recognises that islands … generally have an EEZ and they have a continental shelf, just as any other land territory, Fannon said. At the same time, an MoU “does not abrogate the rights of states,” he added, “their legal status is recognized, there’s not an equivalency here.”
Fannon noted that the United States has been “very consistent in calling to stop all provocative actions that could undermine investment confidence in the East Mediterranean region” and affect political stability.
“We can’t comment on future actions or what may or may not happen. We certainly just encourage that states stop provocative actions, and stop provocative behavior, and stop provocative statements, and really look at the opportunities that lie before them,” he said.
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southfront--2020-06-05--Tarhuna Falls Into Hands Of Turkish Proxies As Libyan National Army Is On Retreat (Map, Videos)

The defense of the Liyan National Army ( LNA ) in southern Tripoli continued collapsing after the retreat of the @ @ @ @ @ .
Forces of the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord and pro-Turkish Syrian militants with a @ @ @ @ @ military captured the town of Tarhun , the village of Dawun and several nearby points @ @ @ @ @ this advance , they in fact put an end to the LNA siege of Tripoli @ @ @ @ @ large number of various military equipment and weapons in the areas abandoned by the LNA @ @ @ @ @ : • GNA Forces Capture Loads Of Weapons From Libyan Army South Of Tripoli ( @ @ @ @ @ Turkish-led Forces Capture Tripoli Airport And Advance Even Further

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The defense of the Liyan National Army (LNA) in southern Tripoli continued collapsing after the retreat of the LNA from Tripoli International Airport.
Forces of the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord and pro-Turkish Syrian militants with a direct support from the Turkish military captured the town of Tarhun, the village of Dawun and several nearby points from the LNA. With this advance, they in fact put an end to the LNA siege of Tripoli.
Turkish proxies are in Tarhuna:
قوات البركان من وسط ترهونة pic.twitter.com/xhOFBMAO1k — Almanara Libya (@AlmanaraMedia) June 5, 2020
Turkish-led forces captured a large number of various military equipment and weapons in the areas abandoned by the LNA.
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southfront--2020-06-05--Upwards of 10,000 Arrested And 13 Killed As Trump Builds Wall Around The White House

On June 4th , the Minneapolis City Council said they are holding a special emergency meeting to approve court order outlining changes for the Minneapolis Police Department and framework for systemic change .
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and the Minneapolis Civil Rights Director Velma Korbel will brief the City Council Friday on the next steps for the state investigation into the MPD .
Two Minneapolis City Council members have tweeted this week that they ’ re looking to make serious changes to , or possibly eliminate , the Minneapolis Police Department after George Floyd ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protests is similar to the beginning of the COVID-19 hysteria with wide , seemingly all-encompassing propagation in MSM , and understandably so .
So far , as a result of the protests more than 10,000 have been arrested and at least 13 have died .
The coverage is so wide that protests are erupting in other countries in support of the over-all Black Lives Matter movement .
Some places have even seen escalations in violence , such as protesters throwing Molotovs at the US Embassy building in Athens , Greece .
They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terrorists.
” Most of the protests throughout the US , and in many places in Europe , the protests are being coordinated via Social Media , which is similar to what transpired in Hong Kong for nearly a year .
In the digital industry , companies such as EA , Sony , Rockstar are also joining in on the protests , while they ’ ve generally shied away from such content .
Call of Duty , and Infinity Ward ( the developer of the game ) are showing a message of support to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rockstar Games took down the servers of GTA ( Grand Theft Auto ) and Red Dead Redemption in memorial of George Floyd .
Sony and Microsoft are taking a rare dual stand together in support of the BLM protests , calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality .
Along with many other developers and publishers speaking out , Sony made its stance against “ systemic racism and violence against the Black community ” and for “ a future marked by empathy and inclusion ” clear in a PlayStation tweet on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tuesday through the time of writing .
Sony postponed the reveal of the PlayStation 5 because it wasn ’ t the time for joy and such events .
The Xbox Twitter account then surprised fans of either console by quote retweeting its primary competitor ’ s statement , stating simply , “ We stand together.
” Even children ’ s TV shows like Sesame Street and entire networks like Nickelodeon extending the reach of the protesters ’ message well beyond the streets .
Many corporations are extending their support of Black Lives Matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shifting status quo .
The situation is such that typically , it was a standoff of US President Donald Trump and the US national industry , in a standoff against the globalist and the non-mainstream corporations .
It appears that the wind is blowing in the other direction , with most siding on the side of the protests , and Trump appearing to sit in an ever-reducing crowd .
And to show for that , a wall was built around the White House , to keep protesters from reaching it .
MORE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Must Go ” : Novelty Accounts On Twitter Represent U.S. “ Moderate Opposition ”

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On June 4th, the Minneapolis City Council said they are holding a special emergency meeting to approve court order outlining changes for the Minneapolis Police Department and framework for systemic change.
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and the Minneapolis Civil Rights Director Velma Korbel will brief the City Council Friday on the next steps for the state investigation into the MPD.
Two Minneapolis City Council members have tweeted this week that they’re looking to make serious changes to, or possibly eliminate, the Minneapolis Police Department after George Floyd’s death.
I don’t know yet, though several of us on the council are working on finding out, what it would take to disband the MPD and start fresh with a community-oriented, non-violent public safety and outreach capacity. — Steve Fletcher – Minneapolis Ward 3 (@MplsWard3) June 2, 2020
We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. And when we’re done, we’re not simply gonna glue it back together. We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response. It’s really past due. https://t.co/7WIxUL6W79 — Jeremiah Ellison (@jeremiah4north) June 4, 2020
Yes. We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a transformative new model of public safety. https://t.co/FCfjoPy64k — Lisa Bender (@lisabendermpls) June 4, 2020
The current phase of the protests is similar to the beginning of the COVID-19 hysteria with wide, seemingly all-encompassing propagation in MSM, and understandably so.
So far, as a result of the protests more than 10,000 have been arrested and at least 13 have died.
The coverage is so wide that protests are erupting in other countries in support of the over-all Black Lives Matter movement.
Some places have even seen escalations in violence, such as protesters throwing Molotovs at the US Embassy building in Athens, Greece.
They’re being referred to as “Antifa terrorists.”
#BREAKING – Molotov’s being thrown at the US embassy in Athens, Greece after clashes between protestors and police by Antifa terrorists. #Greece #Athens #AntifaTerroristspic.twitter.com/WLsqzm2iR5 — ISCResearch (@ISCResearch) June 3, 2020
Most of the protests throughout the US, and in many places in Europe, the protests are being coordinated via Social Media, which is similar to what transpired in Hong Kong for nearly a year.
In the digital industry, companies such as EA, Sony, Rockstar are also joining in on the protests, while they’ve generally shied away from such content.
Call of Duty, and Infinity Ward (the developer of the game) are showing a message of support to each person who enters the game.
Rockstar Games took down the servers of GTA (Grand Theft Auto) and Red Dead Redemption in memorial of George Floyd.
Black Lives Matter. To honor the legacy of George Floyd, today, 6/4/20, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET, we will be shutting down access to our online games, Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online. — Rockstar Support (@RockstarSupport) June 4, 2020
Black Lives Matter. To honor the legacy of George Floyd, today, 6/4/20, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET, we will be shutting down access to our online games, Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online. — Rockstar Support (@RockstarSupport) June 4, 2020
Sony and Microsoft are taking a rare dual stand together in support of the BLM protests, calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality.
Along with many other developers and publishers speaking out, Sony made its stance against “systemic racism and violence against the Black community” and for “a future marked by empathy and inclusion” clear in a PlayStation tweet on Monday, afterward going silent on Blackout Tuesday through the time of writing.
Sony postponed the reveal of the PlayStation 5 because it wasn’t the time for joy and such events.
The Xbox Twitter account then surprised fans of either console by quote retweeting its primary competitor’s statement, stating simply, “We stand together.”
Even children’s TV shows like Sesame Street and entire networks like Nickelodeon extending the reach of the protesters’ message well beyond the streets.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Many corporations are extending their support of Black Lives Matter, and this is quite showing for the shifting status quo.
The situation is such that typically, it was a standoff of US President Donald Trump and the US national industry, in a standoff against the globalist and the non-mainstream corporations.
It appears that the wind is blowing in the other direction, with most siding on the side of the protests, and Trump appearing to sit in an ever-reducing crowd.
And to show for that, a wall was built around the White House, to keep protesters from reaching it.
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