Courtesy of ZeroHedge View original post here.
Update (1900ET): National Guard troops will be pulled out of California cities after a week-long deployment, according to the Associated Press.
As the mayors of Chicago, Atlanta, NYC & other major cities cancel curfews, incidences of rioting have been reported in Brussels, as the protests have gone global for a third day.
"After nearly a week assisting civil authorities on the streets of California, soldiers with the California National Guard will begin transitioning back to their home armories," the Cal Guard said in a statement, though a timeline for the pullout wasn't provided.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said some troops would begin departing Sunday evening.
"A small number of units will be stationed nearby until June 10 to provide emergency support if needed," he said.
Riots spread around the world, with some incidences of violence reported in London and Brussels.
In Iran, a street in Tehran was dedicated in George Floyd's memory.
Meanwhile, a bit of levity in the UK:
A BIT OF LEVITY
pic.twitter.com/TsDrnhuiId— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 7, 2020
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Update (1400ET): After years of clashing with the NYPD and the powerful police unions who hold sway over America's largest police force, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has just announced a new policy that we imagine he has been secretly wanting to do for a long time: The mayor is planning to shift some funding way from police and toward youth and social services.
Critics immediately criticized the mayor for taking another step to return NYC to the bad old days.
This morning we committed to move resources from the NYPD to youth and social services as part of our City’s budget.
Our young people need to be reached, not policed.
We can do this AND keep our city safe.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 7, 2020
De Blasio won his original dark horse campaign by promising to reform the NYPD. Instead, he has mostly stoked acrimony with the cops, while failing to convince progressives that he is doing enough to implement the reforms they demanded. The latest crisis is giving de Blasio a chance to rectify that, but despite this, the mood inside city hall is said to be "one of despondence" as the city scrambles to prepare for Monday's reopening as many departments see their relationships with the mayor's office coming under unprecedented strain, per WSJ.
Meanwhile, Gov Cuomo expressed "concern" that the protests on Saturday, some of the largest yet, while few arrests were made and gatherings continued long into the night, might worsen the spread of the coronavirus as the city prepares to start its process of reopening on Monday, per BBG.
Responding to the left's demands to defund police, a homeland security official told BBG that it's "absurd” to talk about defunding police departments as a remedy for racial injustice.
Meanwhile, in the UK…
The man who defeated the Nazis…is now a Nazi?
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Update (1225ET): As the battle against systemic racism goes global, demonstrators in Bristol have toppled a statute of Edward Colston, a British philanthropist who derived most of his wealth from the slave trade.
STATUE OF EDWARD COLSTON TOPPLED AND THROWN IN WATER AT BRISTOLpic.twitter.com/Kc5Gt0KxUL
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 7, 2020
People in England just tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston and threw it in the river. The world has simply had it with racism.
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) June 7, 2020
And just like that…racism has been destroyed.
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Following another night of demonstrations across the US, and increasingly around the world, the NYT reported that "tens of thousands gathered in big cities like New York and Seattle and small towns like Vidor, Texas, and Marion, Ohio — in swelling crowds that have been multiethnic, spanning generations and overwhelmingly peaceful."
Though we're not 100% certain about that last bit, it's definitely notable that the protest movement has spread from Europe, Australia and New Zealand on to Asia, Africa and elsewhere, as thousands around the world support American protesters with shows of "solidarity".
Meanwhile, the coronavirus death toll in the US quietly surpassed 110,000 last night.
Though the outbreak has slowed to a crawl in many former hot spots like New York, elsewhere, signs of incipient outbreaks have begun to emerge.
Across New York City, peaceful demonstrators defied an 8 pm curfew as the NYPD mostly stepped aside, following a week of optically-terrible videos showing cops beating on kneeling protesters, badly injuring elderly protesters, and shooting journalists with "non-lethal" rounds. The police allowed the marches to continue long into the night, and in the morning, Mayor de Blasio tweeted that he would be lifting the curfew after seeing "the very best of our city".
New York City: We are lifting the curfew, effective immediately. Yesterday and last night we saw the very best of our city.
Tomorrow we take the first big step to restart. Keep staying safe. Keep looking out for each other.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 7, 2020
Meanwhile, readers of the Wall Street Journal were greeting Sunday morning with a push alert heralding the results of the latest public opinion poll showing that Americans – by a 2-1 margin – are more troubled by the actions of the police in the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests,
Among Democrats, an overwhelming majority (more than 80%) support police reform, while, possibly for the first time, a majority of Republicans (52%) said they are also more troubled by the actions of the police. Though the partisan divide remains stark, it shows that the demonstrators have been largely successful in their goal of swaying public opinion.
What's more: 80% of respondents said that – between the virus and the protests – their country is spinning out of control.
Americans by a 2-to-1 margin are more troubled by the actions of police in the killing of George Floyd than by violence at some protests, and an overwhelming majority, 80%, feel that the country is spiraling out of control, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
The poll also reveals striking partisan divides in how Americans view a pair of unfolding national crises, including the unrest sparked by the killing of Mr. Floyd, the black Minneapolis man who was in police custody, and the coronavirus pandemic, responsible for more than 109,000 fatalities in the U.S.
Already, crowds have gathered in central Rome on Sunday morning for another day of demonstrations in London and other cities, as crowds chanted "Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace,” thousands of people swelled Rome’s Piazza del Popolo, and in London, thousands gathered in several places. On Sunday morning, London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the protesters, and denounced a "tiny minority" who resorted to violence.
Londoners of all ages, races and backgrounds joined millions of people around the world yesterday to come together peacefully. I stand with you. George Floyd’s brutal killing must lead to immediate and lasting change everywhere. 1/3 #BlackLivesMatter
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 7, 2020
As more members of the far-left abandon the push for police reform in favor of police abolition, President Trump has latched on to these claims and seized the opportunity to tarnish Biden using his increasing deference to the Democratic party's progressive wing.
Not only will Sleepy Joe Biden DEFUND THE POLICE, but he will DEFUND OUR MILITARY! He has no choice, the Dems are controlled by the Radical Left.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
Trump also ordered the national guard to begin withdrawing from Washington DC, defying protesters who probably had hoped the president would urge an even more aggressive crackdown.
I have just given an order for our National Guard to start the process of withdrawing from Washington, D.C., now that everything is under perfect control. They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed. Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
Meanwhile, one California man – a purported "deescalation expert" – sustained a potentially life-changing injury after police appeared to shoot him in the groin with a rubber bullet, necessitating emergency surgery.
A California man who has worked to help improve relations between the San Jose Police Department and people of color learned that he may not be able to have children after an officer shot him with a rubber bullet during a protest.
While attending a protest in San Jose on May 29, the man, Derrick Sanderlin, worked to prevent rising tensions and calm demonstrators and the police alike, he said in an interview this weekend.
While the mainstream press mostly brushed them aside, this weekend's demonstrations were unfortunately pockmarked by violence perpetrated by deranged anarchists, who attacked a children's hospital in Houston.
RIOTERS DESTROYING CHILDRENS HOSPITAL IN HOUSTONpic.twitter.com/ZyfOr8msAK
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 6, 2020
Sometimes, peaceful protesters were on the receiving end: In one horrifying scene, a car drove into a crowd of protesters in Brooklyn.
CAR DRIVES INTO PROTESTERS IN BROOKLYN pic.twitter.com/aeJ3HayOx1
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 7, 2020
Threats to burn down areas have been an unfortunate feature of many live-tv news interviews over the past 2 weeks, and Saturday night was no exception.
PROTESTER THREATENS TO BURN THE DIAMOND DISTRICT IN NYC WITH GASOLINE ON LIVE TVpic.twitter.com/qDxwzTksFs
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 6, 2020
In one astonishing scene, protesters heckled Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey after he refused to commit to abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department.
ASTONISHING SCENE OF MOB ASKING MAYOR JACOB FREY IF HE’LL COMMITT TO GETTING RID OF POLICE
pic.twitter.com/UbyMZSTauX— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 7, 2020
Calls to 'defund the police' are spreading.
DEFUND THE POLICE, DC pic.twitter.com/eRIgBd1pTJ
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 7, 2020
It wouldn't be a nationwide protest without the antifas in Portland stirring up chaos, as usual.
DEFUND THE POLICE, DC pic.twitter.com/eRIgBd1pTJ
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 7, 2020
While Philly saw another day of massive rallies, vigilantes came out to battle with demonstrators once again.
FISHTOWN PHILLY AT IT AGAIN. PROTESTERS NOT ALLOWED THEREpic.twitter.com/ANF6LtCy2Z
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 7, 2020
Then there was this dude, who showed up to a rally in Toronto in blackface.
MAN SHOWS US TO BLM PROTEST IN TORONTO WITH BLACKFACE (later arrested)pic.twitter.com/oO26pxVGGJ
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 6, 2020
He was reportedly later arrested.