Today's News (2020/7/2): Fascism Fourcount
Jul. 2nd, 2020 11:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdI kind of feel like I should merge the Police Violence into the Fascism edition since they're both necessary for each other.
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Germany Disbands Elite Military Unit Following Reports Of Right Wing Extremism
July 1, 2020 10:52 PM ET
Scott Neuman
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/01/886458028/germany-disbands-elite-military-unit-following-reports-of-right-wing-extremism
Germany's defense minister on Wednesday disbanded a unit of the country's elite commando force, known as the KSK, following an official report earlier this year that found far-right extremism within its ranks.
In January, a report by Germany's Military Counterintelligence Service revealed that some 500 soldiers in the German military, or Bundeswehr, were being investigated for far-right extremism. It noted that 20 of those cases involved soldiers who were part of the Command Special Forces, or KSK – an anti-terrorism and hostage rescue unit with approximately 1,300 soldiers.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the KSK had created a "wall of secrecy" around itself and she told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday that the elite force had developed a "toxic leadership culture" and "cannot continue to exist in its present form."
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Supreme Court will hear Democrats’ bid to get full Mueller report
The move means the information likely won’t be released ahead of the November election
By Todd Ruger
2 July 2020
https://www.rollcall.com/2020/07/02/supreme-court-will-hear-democrats-bid-to-get-full-mueller-report/
The Supreme Court will decide whether the House Judiciary Committee can get the normally secret grand jury materials from the special counsel Russia probe — all but assuring that the information won’t be released ahead of this year’s election in November.
The justices announced Thursday that they had agreed to hear the Justice Department’s appeal in a one-line statement, with no noted dissent and no reasons for the move.
The Supreme Court in May temporarily blocked a lower court order for the Justice Department to turn over to the committee the materials from former Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
That 22-month investigation also looked at whether President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice by trying to interfere with the investigation.
The case will be heard in the court's next term, which starts in October. It is the second Supreme Court showdown arising from a fight for information from the Democratic-led House and efforts to block the release from Trump or his administration.
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Selah city attorney warns family they could be prosecuted for creating more chalk art
DONALD W. MEYERS
Yakima Herald-Republic
Jul 2, 2020
https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/selah-city-attorney-warns-family-they-could-be-prosecuted-for-creating-more-chalk-art/article_e88672e7-e72c-5140-a4b7-ece27ac83925.html
SELAH — Selah’s city attorney said a Lacy Avenue family who has put pro-Black Lives Matter chalk art on their street could face prosecution if they do it again.
In a letter to Laura Perez’s attorney, City Attorney Rob Case said using chalk to draw on a public street constitutes third-degree malicious mischief, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine not exceeding $5,000.
“At this point, your clients have merely been warned,” Case wrote to attorney Joseph Cutler. “The city does not desire to prosecute anyone over this, but neither will the city give repeated warnings ad nauseum or let your clients (or anyone else) create unauthorized graffiti on public property with impunity.”
Perez said her family is holding off on more while her attorney reviews Case’s letter.
“I’m being patient and seeing what the next move is,” Perez said.
Cutler said Wednesday he has received the letter and is taking it under consideration. He said Case’s threat to escalate the matter reinforces the points about selective enforcement he raised in his letter.
Starting June 7, some of Perez’s adult children and others drew pro-Black Lives Matter chalk art on the dead-end street. Each time, a city public works crew came by and washed the chalk off the street. The most recent incident was Tuesday, when crews with a large water truck again removed the chalk art.
The city has been the focus of protests since City Administrator Don Wayman called Black Lives Matter a “neo-Marxist organization” and described its supporters as “devoid of intellect and reason.”
Wayman’s remarks have spurred additional protests, including chalk art on the sidewalk in front of Selah City Hall, calls for Wayman to resign or be fired, as well as calls to boycott Mayor Sherry Raymond’s restaurants until Wayman is ousted.
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Joint Chiefs Chairman Confirms Soldiers Were Issued Bayonets For DC Protests
By Sarah Blake Morgan and James Laporta
July 2, 2020
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/joint-chiefs-chairman-confirms-soldiers-were-issued-bayonets-for-dc-protests
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has confirmed a report by The Associated Press that some of the service members who were mobilized to Washington, D.C., last month in response to civil unrest over the killing of George Floyd were issued bayonets. Defense documents obtained by the AP show some were not trained in riot response.
Members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, which is based in D.C. and typically guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, were mobilized last month to respond to massive protests over the treatment of Black Americans and systemic issues of police brutality. But they were never actually sent to the protests after they arrived.
The soldiers were issued bayonets for their June 2 deployment — but told they were to remain in their scabbards and not attached to their service rifles, Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark A. Milley wrote to two U.S. representatives in a letter that was obtained by the AP. The soldiers were also told no weapons were to enter the capital without clear orders and only after nonlethal options were first reviewed, he said.
Milley said the order to mobilize the troops came from Major Army Gen. Omar Jones, who serves as commander of the military district of Washington. His letter, dated June 26, was sent to two Democratic Congressmen, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, and Rep. Ted Lieu of California, who asked him for an explanation after the AP first reported on the use of bayonets on June 2.
Roughly 700 members of the 82nd Airborne Division were sent to two military bases near the District Capitol Area. The soldiers were armed with live-rounds, bayonets, and riot gear. Bloomberg reported on June 11 that the Old Guard was also issued bayonets.
- Germany Disbands Elite Military Unit Following Reports Of Right Wing Extremism
- Supreme Court will hear Democrats’ bid to get full Mueller report
- Selah city attorney warns family they could be prosecuted for creating more chalk art
- Joint Chiefs Chairman Confirms Soldiers Were Issued Bayonets For DC Protests
----- 1 -----
Germany Disbands Elite Military Unit Following Reports Of Right Wing Extremism
July 1, 2020 10:52 PM ET
Scott Neuman
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/01/886458028/germany-disbands-elite-military-unit-following-reports-of-right-wing-extremism
Germany's defense minister on Wednesday disbanded a unit of the country's elite commando force, known as the KSK, following an official report earlier this year that found far-right extremism within its ranks.
In January, a report by Germany's Military Counterintelligence Service revealed that some 500 soldiers in the German military, or Bundeswehr, were being investigated for far-right extremism. It noted that 20 of those cases involved soldiers who were part of the Command Special Forces, or KSK – an anti-terrorism and hostage rescue unit with approximately 1,300 soldiers.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the KSK had created a "wall of secrecy" around itself and she told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday that the elite force had developed a "toxic leadership culture" and "cannot continue to exist in its present form."
----- 2 -----
Supreme Court will hear Democrats’ bid to get full Mueller report
The move means the information likely won’t be released ahead of the November election
By Todd Ruger
2 July 2020
https://www.rollcall.com/2020/07/02/supreme-court-will-hear-democrats-bid-to-get-full-mueller-report/
The Supreme Court will decide whether the House Judiciary Committee can get the normally secret grand jury materials from the special counsel Russia probe — all but assuring that the information won’t be released ahead of this year’s election in November.
The justices announced Thursday that they had agreed to hear the Justice Department’s appeal in a one-line statement, with no noted dissent and no reasons for the move.
The Supreme Court in May temporarily blocked a lower court order for the Justice Department to turn over to the committee the materials from former Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
That 22-month investigation also looked at whether President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice by trying to interfere with the investigation.
The case will be heard in the court's next term, which starts in October. It is the second Supreme Court showdown arising from a fight for information from the Democratic-led House and efforts to block the release from Trump or his administration.
----- 3 -----
Selah city attorney warns family they could be prosecuted for creating more chalk art
DONALD W. MEYERS
Yakima Herald-Republic
Jul 2, 2020
https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/selah-city-attorney-warns-family-they-could-be-prosecuted-for-creating-more-chalk-art/article_e88672e7-e72c-5140-a4b7-ece27ac83925.html
SELAH — Selah’s city attorney said a Lacy Avenue family who has put pro-Black Lives Matter chalk art on their street could face prosecution if they do it again.
In a letter to Laura Perez’s attorney, City Attorney Rob Case said using chalk to draw on a public street constitutes third-degree malicious mischief, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine not exceeding $5,000.
“At this point, your clients have merely been warned,” Case wrote to attorney Joseph Cutler. “The city does not desire to prosecute anyone over this, but neither will the city give repeated warnings ad nauseum or let your clients (or anyone else) create unauthorized graffiti on public property with impunity.”
Perez said her family is holding off on more while her attorney reviews Case’s letter.
“I’m being patient and seeing what the next move is,” Perez said.
Cutler said Wednesday he has received the letter and is taking it under consideration. He said Case’s threat to escalate the matter reinforces the points about selective enforcement he raised in his letter.
Starting June 7, some of Perez’s adult children and others drew pro-Black Lives Matter chalk art on the dead-end street. Each time, a city public works crew came by and washed the chalk off the street. The most recent incident was Tuesday, when crews with a large water truck again removed the chalk art.
The city has been the focus of protests since City Administrator Don Wayman called Black Lives Matter a “neo-Marxist organization” and described its supporters as “devoid of intellect and reason.”
Wayman’s remarks have spurred additional protests, including chalk art on the sidewalk in front of Selah City Hall, calls for Wayman to resign or be fired, as well as calls to boycott Mayor Sherry Raymond’s restaurants until Wayman is ousted.
----- 4 -----
Joint Chiefs Chairman Confirms Soldiers Were Issued Bayonets For DC Protests
By Sarah Blake Morgan and James Laporta
July 2, 2020
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/joint-chiefs-chairman-confirms-soldiers-were-issued-bayonets-for-dc-protests
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has confirmed a report by The Associated Press that some of the service members who were mobilized to Washington, D.C., last month in response to civil unrest over the killing of George Floyd were issued bayonets. Defense documents obtained by the AP show some were not trained in riot response.
Members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, which is based in D.C. and typically guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, were mobilized last month to respond to massive protests over the treatment of Black Americans and systemic issues of police brutality. But they were never actually sent to the protests after they arrived.
The soldiers were issued bayonets for their June 2 deployment — but told they were to remain in their scabbards and not attached to their service rifles, Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Mark A. Milley wrote to two U.S. representatives in a letter that was obtained by the AP. The soldiers were also told no weapons were to enter the capital without clear orders and only after nonlethal options were first reviewed, he said.
Milley said the order to mobilize the troops came from Major Army Gen. Omar Jones, who serves as commander of the military district of Washington. His letter, dated June 26, was sent to two Democratic Congressmen, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, and Rep. Ted Lieu of California, who asked him for an explanation after the AP first reported on the use of bayonets on June 2.
Roughly 700 members of the 82nd Airborne Division were sent to two military bases near the District Capitol Area. The soldiers were armed with live-rounds, bayonets, and riot gear. Bloomberg reported on June 11 that the Old Guard was also issued bayonets.
