ALERT: Civil disturbance emergencies

[Cedar]

Heads up:
White nationalists, neo-Nazis and other extremist groups plan to hold a "white lives matter" rally at Texas A&M on September 11. Richard Spencer, the white supremacist who helped found the so-called alt-right movement, will speak at the event, according to the Battalion, Texas A&M's student newspaper.

Cedar

[Cedar]

Heads up:
20,000+ protesters heading to Boston, Massachusetts today.Boston authorities, determined to avoid a Charlottesville-type confrontation Saturday between thousands of conservative activists and counter-protesters, said they would shut down the "Free Speech Rally" on Boston Common at the first sign of trouble. (That won't work).

Cedar

[Mr. Bill]

Black-clad anarchists storm Berkeley rally, assaulting 4

...The group of more than 100 hooded protesters, with shields emblazoned with the words "no hate" and waving a flag identifying themselves as anarchist, busted through police lines, avoiding security checks by officers to take away possible weapons. Then the anarchists blended in with a crowd of 2,000 largely peaceful protesters who turned up to demonstrate in a "Rally Against Hate" opposed to a much smaller gathering of right-wing protesters.

Among those assaulted by the anarchists was Joey Gibson, the leader of the Patriot Prayer group, who canceled a rally Friday and was prevented from holding a news conference on Saturday when authorities closed off the public square Gibson planned to use. ...

After the anarchists spotted Gibson at the Berkeley park, they pepper-sprayed him and chased him out of it as he backed away with his hands held in the air, accompanied by a masked man wearing football shoulder pads. Gibson and the man went behind a line of police wearing riot gear, who set off a smoke bomb to drive away the anarchists.

Earlier in the day, another group of left-wing demonstrators dressed in black attacked at least three men in the park, kicking and punching them until the assaults were stopped by police. Police also used a smoke grenade to stop one scuffle. ...

[Polar Bear]

Wait. 100 people with shields and weapons broke through police lines AND somehow avoided security checkpoints?  Sounds like security was a little lax there.

[chad]

Wait. 100 people with shields and weapons broke through police lines AND somehow avoided security checkpoints?  Sounds like security was a little lax there.

Or it was planned...

[Chemsoldier]

Considering both sides at most of these events are convinced that the police were favoring theit opponents and the frequently limited view I have that is shaken days or weeks later when additional video is released, I am reluctant to characterize the security response to much of it. I know damn well there are some portion of scum bags on both sides of the actual riots.

[Alan Georges]

What is interesting is that the heavy hitter mainstream media has turned hard against antifa.  Mr. Bill posted that article from the Chicago Trib yesterday, and now this morning there's this from the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/28/black-clad-antifa-attack-right-wing-demonstrators-in-berkeley/?utm_term=.f573d1e39e3d

It feels as if something behind the scenes has changed, when the reliably friendly-to-the-left MSM has quit pushing propaganda for a nominally leftist group.  Has the repeated violence woken up the MSM and now they're doing straight-up reporting?  I am skeptical that that's happened, but am at a loss to come up with any more plausible explanation. 

[Mr. Bill]

What I'd like to believe is that the media are starting to distinguish violent protestors from non-violent, on both sides.

If you're more cynical, you could say that the leftist press is throwing the violent antifas under the bus so that they won't make the mainstream left look bad.

[Chemsoldier]

What I'd like to believe is that the media are starting to distinguish violent protestors from non-violent, on both sides.

If you're more cynical, you could say that the leftist press is throwing the violent antifas under the bus so that they won't make the mainstream left look bad.

Just like the conservatives are throwing the Alt-Right under the bus for political expediency? 

Some people belong under the bus. 

I may never agree with the left on about 95% of their ideas, but I would be perfectly happy to add "condemning the violent left" to "Nazis 'r bad m'kay?" categorized under that 5% we can agree on.

[Alan Georges]

If you're more cynical, you could say that the leftist press is throwing the violent antifas under the bus so that they won't make the mainstream left look bad.

I'll go with this one, Mr. Bill.  It's waaay more plausible than objective reporting.

[Morning Sunshine]

I'll go with this one, Mr. Bill.  It's waaay more plausible than objective reporting.

truth

[David in MN]

Heads up in Minneapolis. If you're traveling in or around the city beware that there are people putting up monuments to honor Justine Damond, an Australian tourist killed by a Somali police officer. Unfortunately, these people tend to be "white nationalists".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/12/26/white-nationalists-built-a-memorial-for-the-white-woman-fatally-shot-by-a-somali-cop/?utm_term=.ce73f91f37d7

Add on that our left wing Antifa types are out in the streets tearing down said memorials so we quite literally have roaming gangs of partizans in the streets possibly looking for trouble.

If you are planning to attend the Superbowl here in a month (please don't) be aware that on top of these tensions we have a local tradition of BLM shutting down freeways and the Mall of America (don't go it sucks).

If none of that scares you there is the very real problem that Minneapolis police don't enjoy the support of the locals. The city police are the only ones in the state to embrace civil forfeiture and are legend for not getting out of the car.

I can't believe that toxic race politics are wrecking a place known for being "nice". The old racist joke up here was that the Sons of Norway were going to be retitled The Sons of Bitches to let the Swedes in. But if you're looking to make a statement this is the "take a knee" Superbowl in a city not known for tourism and certainly not good in winter.

[LVWood]

Officer who fatally shot Justine Damond charged with murder, turns himself in.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/20/officer-who-fatally-shot-justine-damond-turns-himself-in-charges-pending.html