Sociological Changes

[Gerard Zwaan]

Protesters rally nationwide against Trump at ‘No Kings’ events

Thousands of “No Kings” rallies kicked off nationwide on Saturday against President Trump and his policies. 

Defiant Democrats have embraced this weekend’s protests, while GOP lawmakers bash the protests as “hate America” demonstrations.  “Showing up to express dissent against an out-of-control administration, that’s as American as motherhood, baseball and apple pie,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Friday.

Saturday’s protests follow a series of June marches that coincided with the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary military parade in Washington, D.C., which also happened to be Trump’s 79th birthday. 

The rallies are taking place amidst the government shutdown as well federal troop deployments across the country.

Insurrection 2025

The Insurrection Act of 1807 has suddenly popped into the news again. It is a quick way to get into Martial Law, and has been in the news a number of times in the past few years. Let’s revisit the issues and see if this time, in 2025, will be different. The Insurrection Act or 1807 was frequently mentioned then the 2020 election was stolen from President Trump, and again in 2021 when the National Guard was called up for January 6 unrest in Washington DC. Now we have the National Guard in a number of cities. Are we poised for Martial Law again?

https://www.zetatalk.com/newsletr/issue997.htm

[KM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3692693/Turkish-military-la...

'We have taken control': Turkish military open fire on civilians as they launch coup to depose Islamist government – while President Erdogan 'hides in a hotel room' and Facetimes a TV station to urge his supporters to fight for him 

• Turkish troops have launched a military coup according to the government with helicopters firing on capital Ankara
• Turkish PM Binali Yildirim told reporters: 'We will not allow this attempt' although the military said they are in control
• Explosions and gunfire have been reported in several locations with fast attack jets patrolling over the skies 
• The Turkish military claimed they have taken power in order to protect the civil rights of the population 
• President Recep Erdogan has used 'FaceTime' to call on the population to take to the streets to oppose the coup

President Erdogan has flown into Istanbul amid government claims that the Turkish military coup has failed.  

The president is believed to have flown from Dalaman on board the government Gulfstream IV jet to Ataturk airport, which had earlier been seized by members of the military. 

However, reinforcements in tanks were blocked from the area by unarmed civilians who lay down in front of the heavy armour. 

Despite claims the civilian government had regained control, reports from near the parliament said tanks had opened fired and blasted the building. 

There are also reports of explosions at the airport. 

Police and soldiers have exchanged fire in Taksim square in Istanbul.

A number of soldiers have been taken into custody.

Earlier, the Turkish military killed 17 police officers in the first reported fatalities in the army's bid to overthrow the Islamic government of Recep Erdogan.

The state-run Anadolu agency said the victims died at the special forces headquarters in Ankara. 

Earlier there were reports that he building had been attacked by helicopters.

Elsewhere troops have opened fire on civilians attempting to cross the river Bosporus in Istanbul in protest to the military coup.

Soldiers seized strategic locations across Istanbul and Ankara in an effort to overthrow the Islamic president Recep Erdogan. 

Also, a bomb has hit the parliament building according to the state's press agency as the security situation in the country becomes more perilous. 

Several police officers and parliament workers were wounded as an explosion ripped though the building. 

An eyewitness claimed the blast was 'massive' and shook nearby buildings.

Intelligence sources close to Erdogan claim the situation is back under control while factions in the military insist they are now in charge of the county.  

Amid the continuing chaotic scenes, soldiers have taken control of the headquarters of the Dogan Media Group. A journalist broadcasting live on the station said she did not know how much longer she will be able to continue on the air.

17 police are believed to have died after military helicopters attacked their headquarters building in central Ankara, pictured

A man lay down in front of a tank on the approach to Ataturk airport in Istanbul as citizens took to the streets to oppose the military coup

The man then stood up and took off his shirt in an effort the present the tank from taking position in the airport 

[Starr DiGiacomo]

Hundreds Arrested as St. Paul, Baton Rouge Protesters Turn Violent

SUN, JUL 10 · CLIP 7 of 8

Protesters hurled Molotov cocktails, fireworks and glass bottles at police during demonstrations Saturday in response to recent officer-involved shootings of black men.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/hundreds-arrested-as-st-p...

[SongStar101]

Civil Unrest Explodes In Berlin - Over 3500 People Riot Against Police

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-11/civil-unrest-explodes-berl...

The biggest and most violent protest in Germany erupted in Berlin over the weekend exactly with our models calling for an explosion in civil unrest.

Some 1800 police were called in and at least 120 policemen were injured in what is becoming a street battle. This has been the most aggressive and violent protest in Germany for the past five years.

Protesters were throwing bottles, cobblestones and fireworks, as well as they destroyed cars in addition to attacking police officers. It appears at least 3,500 rioters took part in the uprising and possibly more than 4,000.

The protest is against police operations and involved mostly young people who have risen up against the police operations in the Riga street area. Protesters wore black hoods carrying banners with slogans like “Riga defend 94” and “Housing solidarity against state terror.”

The demonstration went on with the crowd chanting repeatedly: “Bullenschweine get out of Riga!” Demonstrators were throwing firecrackers and police fired back with tear gas. The police also called in air support using helicopters and they had to call in for reinforcements from Bavaria, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and the Federal Police.

Interior Senator Frank Henkel (CDU) announced that the police will also be present at night after the demonstration, so riots and arson attacks should be stopped...calling the riot a "leftist orgy of violence."

With September's elections looming we suspect the tensions will only get worse.

[SongStar101]

Riot police crack down on Paris protests against labour reforms

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/26/riot-police-crack-down...

Thousands of protesters turn out on streets of French capital as refineries and nuclear power stations across the country come to a halt

Riot police arrested 16 people and fired teargas in violent clashes with protesters marching in Paris as striking workers continued to blockade refineries and nuclear power stations in an escalating stand-off over labour reforms.

Tens of thousands of people marched across France in protest against François Hollande’s planned labour bill, which aims to make it easier for companies to hire and fire workers and was forced through parliament without a vote this month following more than ten weeks of protests.

Police fired teargas at about 100 people on the edge of a protest march through Paris. Several masked people charged shop windows, smashing them, and cars were damaged near the route of the march. There were skirmishes at Place de la Nation as riot officers cordoned off protesters, some of whom complained of heavy-handed policing.

[Howard]

Mass Fish Deaths Breath Life into Vietnam Protest Movement (May 22)

A massive fish kill along a 208-kilometer stretch of north-central Vietnamese coast in April has awakened a new emerging middle class of citizens who are willing to take a stand about environmental issues.

In a rare display of disobedience in this closely policed communist state, thousands of protesters have crowded the tree-lined boulevards of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in recent weeks to demand better environmental protections, bearing signs that read “Justice 4 Fish” and “Save Our Seas.”

Police, who warned the protesters to stay home, have arrested dozens of them, as a state-run broadcaster reported that “reactionary forces” were attempting to overthrow the government. Social-media platforms including  Facebook  and Instagram were interrupted during the protests, which activists attributed to the authorities.

The tension comes ahead of a landmark visit by U.S. President  Barack Obama to Vietnam that is aimed in part at drumming up support here for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, which includes stronger environmental safeguards among its provisions. Over 140,000 people have signed a petition created on a White House website urging Mr. Obama to raise the dead-fish issue with Vietnam’s leaders next week.

Sources

http://www.wsj.com/articles/vietnams-dead-fish-breathe-life-into-pr...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/president-obama-leaves-wee...

http://atimes.com/2016/05/vietnams-mass-fish-kill-isnt-simply-an-en...

[SongStar101]

Tear gas, clashes, broken windows: Anti-labor reform protesters rally across France

https://www.rt.com/news/337851-france-protest-labour-reform/

Police have used tear gas to disperse activists in Paris who are protesting new labor reforms. In the city of Nantes demonstrators tried to storm the town hall and smash windows.

Scores of people have taken to the streets across France to once again voice their anger against recently proposed labor reforms. The demonstrators have reportedly clashed with police officers.

Students are rallying against labor law reforms recently proposed by Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri. The French authorities are desperately trying to battle high unemployment in the country, and have suggested cutting overtime pay for work beyond 35 hours.

Employers would pay only 10 percent of overtime bonus, instead of the current 25 percent, according to proposed reforms.
The protests were partially organized by a Facebook community called ‘Loi travail: non, merci’ (Labor reform: No, thanks). Arguing that the reforms concern all French citizens, the group has started a petition, which has so far been signed by over one million people.

Earlier, French President Francois Hollande said the reforms would help employees “have more job stability.”

“We must also give companies the opportunity to recruit more, to give job security to young people throughout their lives, and to provide flexibility for companies,” he said.

In the city of Nantes protesters have smashed the windows of local shops and the city hall, photos on social media show.

In Paris the protest started in Place de la Nation, the same place where previous anti-labor rallies took place. The demonstrators threw bottles with flammable liquid and stones at police officers.

“Everyone hates the police,” the protesters were shouting.

At least two protesters have been beaten by police officers in the city of Lille, according to photo reporter Julien Pitinome, who tweeted a picture of the incident.

The protesters in Lille also started a fire during the rally, local media said.

The head of the General Confederation of Labor, Philippe Martinez, promised "an enormous number of people" would take to the streets on Thursday.

"All workers are directly affected by the labor reform bill," he said.

Several arrests have been made during the protests, BFMTV reported, citing police sources.

----------------------------

Thousands take to streets in France to protest labor reform

http://www.theolympian.com/news/business/article69158187.html

PARIS

Tens of thousands of workers and youths took to the streets of France to protest, sometimes violently, a government reform meant to make it easier to hire and fire employees and to relax the country's strict 35-hour workweek.

As train drivers, teachers and others went on strike, student organizations and seven employee unions combined to condemn the Socialist government's bill, which they argue will badly erode hard-won worker protections.

"It's shocking that a Socialist government introduced this law," said Zoe Farre, 23, during a peaceful gathering in the driving rain in central Paris. About 28,000 people marched in Paris' streets, according to the police.

The government and businesses claim the reforms would help the economy and reduce unemployment, which is at a high 10 percent, by making it easier for companies to take on — and lay off — workers.

Farre, who is unemployed, said she understood the argument that more flexibility means more jobs, but she had doubts about the kinds of jobs officials were talking about. "It's going to be like the U.K. where you're on a zero-hour contract or like the U.S. where they make you hold a sign in the street and call it a job", she said.

Eric Beynel, spokesman for the Solidaires union, said "the reality is that it's already easy for companies to lay off their workers," referring to an administrative process that allows companies to pay off an employee.

Deborah Boke, a 26-year-old school worker, said she was "totally against this law."

Boke, who said she was going into teaching after struggling to find work after her master's degree, accused the government of "doing the opposite of what it was elected for. The exact opposite."

Earlier in the day, a few dozen protesters that were mostly hooded or wearing masks broke off a peaceful student demonstration in eastern Paris to hurl paint bombs at banks and stores. Some smashed cash machines with bats or set of off smoke canisters while confronting the police.

Clashes also broke out between a small group of young protesters and the police in the cities of Nantes, Rennes and Toulouse.

The strike affects public transports, schools, public hospitals and state-owned broadcasters. It is not affecting Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, though 20 percent of flights at Paris' Orly airport have been canceled.

State railway company SNCF has warned of disruptions to national and regional train traffic. International lines to London and Brussels are not affected.

Paris' Eiffel tower is closed all day. The company operating the monument said in a statement there are not enough staff to open the tower with "sufficient security and reception conditions".

"We are quite disappointed because we are here only for three days," said Zsolt Bencze, a tourist from Hungary who had already booked tickets to visit the tower. "So now we are planning to visit the Louvre. I hope it's open and not closed due to some strikes or something."

The government proposal technically maintains the 35-hour workweek but allows companies to organize alternative working times. Those include a workweek of up to 48 hours and 12-hour days. In "exceptional circumstances," employees could work up to 60 hours a week.

The bill is to be debated in parliament in April.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/business/article69158187.html#story...

[casey a]

Thousands march for Bernie, blame media for 'nearly nonexistent' coverage

https://www.rt.com/usa/329996-march-bernie-sanders-media/

Several cities had marches..

[KM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3395246/Hundreds-far-right-...

Hundreds of far-right protesters rampage through German town, destroying ethnic restaurants and takeaways - hours after Merkel admits European migrant crisis is 'out of control' 

• Anti-refugee rioters have gone on the rampage in Leipzig, trashing Doner kebab and fast food stalls 
• 250 holigans part of the local branch of PEGIDA known as LEGIDA set cars on fire and vandalised shops 
• LEGIDA called for the deportation of migrants and closure of borders following the sex attacks in Cologne 
• Germany has started sending a growing number of migrants back to Austria since the New Year's Eve sex attacks 
• Police have made 211 arrests in connection to the mindless vandalism carried out by hooligans in Leipzig

Hundreds of anti-refugee rioters have gone on the rampage in the German city of Leipzig after a demonstration where they called for asylum seekers to be deported and their nation's borders closed.

The attacks come just hours after Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that Europe had lost control of the crisis. The right-wingers broke away from a largely peaceful march in the eastern city to trash the suburb of Connewitz.

Doner kebab fast food stalls were destroyed, cars set ablaze and shop windows smashed by around 250 hooligans of LEGIDA - the local branch of PEGIDA, the anti-migrant, anti-EU organization which marched against the refugees earlier in the evening.

Doner kebab fast food stalls were destroyed, cars set ablaze and shop windows smashed by around 250 hooligans of Legida

Inside one of the doner kebab grills where some 250 masked hooligans attacked takeaway restaurants in Leipzig

At one point the demonstrators, who threw fireworks at police, attempted to build a barricade in a main street with signs and torn up paving stones before they were dispersed.

Firemen had to tackle a blaze in the attic of one building set alight by a wayward rocket fired by the rioters. A bus carrying leftist pro-asylum demonstrators was also attacked and seriously damaged.

Police said they have identified and arrested 211 of the crowd of right-wing hooligans, many of them with criminal records for violence.

'This was a serious breach of the peace,' said a police spokesman, confirming that several police officers were injured in the clashes triggered by simmering anger over the New Year's Eve mass sex attacks against women in Cologne and several other German cities.

'Rape Refugees stay away' was one of the banners carried during the march, the wording above a silhouette of women running from knife-wielding attackers, one of whom resembled a caricature from Aladdin.

Earlier in the day Mrs. Merkel said; 'Now all of a sudden we are facing the challenge that refugees are coming to Europe and we are vulnerable, as we see, because we do not yet have the order, the control, that we would like to have.'

She also said the euro was 'directly linked' to freedom of movement in Europe, adding: 'Nobody should act as though you can have a common currency without being able to cross borders reasonably easily.'

Merkel said that if countries did not allow their borders to be crossed without much difficulty, the European single market would 'suffer acutely' - meaning that Germany, at the centre of the European Union and its largest economy, should fight to defend freedom of movement.

[casey a]

I'm putting this here to put a light on the winds of change that is supporting Bernie Sanders. Note the average contribution to his campaign & how 99% of those contributed would contribute to his campaign again.

[Tracie Crespo]

https://www.rt.com/usa/324372-san-bernardino-active-shooter/

San Berbardino shooting: Search for suspects underway, 14 killed, 17 injured

© Max Whittaker / Reuters

At least 14 people have been killed and 17 more wounded in San Bernardino, California where up to 3 attackers went on a shooting spree at a regional center that aids people with disabilities. Police are still extracting people from the location.

Police aren't treating the incident as a terrorist attack so far.

“We are here to essentially assure that all the injured are extracted. Safety is the number one goal at this point,” David Bowdich, the assistant director of the FBI’s LA Field Office, said. “We do not know if this is a terrorist incident. So we start from the beginning… it may be, it may not be.”

Burguan later contradicted Bowdich’s assessment, however: “At the minimum, we have a domestic terrorist-type situation here,” the police chief said, noting that the three suspects “came in with a purpose, they came in to do something.”

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office is looking for a dark SUV which the suspects used.

One suspect is down, according to police spokesperson SGT Vicky Cervantes, but officers are still unsure if this person was related.

It is unclear if the suspects were still in the building by the time San Bernardino police arrived at the scene, followed shortly by “a massive mutual aid response from nearly every jurisdiction in the region,” the chief said.

“Our police officers have not engaged or exchanged gunfire with anyone,” Burguan added.

They may also be wearing body armor, Sergeant Vicki Cervantes, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino Police Department, told reporters.

 The attackers also had long guns.

“It’s a very active scene,” Cervantes said. “It’s very fluid.”

Live feed from the location showed many injured people being helped by emergency services.

 At least 14 people were wounded and are being treated in hospitals. Their conditions vary.

Along with San Bernardino police officers, the California Highway Patrol, FBI and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are on the scene.

Witnesses told police that the shooters were wearing ski masks, KABC reported.

People who have evacuated the building will transported away from the scene in school buses, police said on the scanner.

“We have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world,” Obama said in response to the shooting.

Police have found multiple “devices” in the building, according to scanner traffic.

Injured victims are being brought to Loma Linda University Medical Center. The emergency room there is in disaster mode and expecting an influx of patients, the hospital told KABC.

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is also expecting to receive patients, KCBS reported.

Law enforcement agents are working to evacuate people from the Inland Regional Center, Doug Saunders tweeted.

There are 12 fatalities so far, sources told KABC.

Relatives of the people who are in the area have been arriving to the scene.

“Someone had come in and started shooting, and they ran into the office and she’s hiding with some other people. Our daughter is in there and she’s hiding.She sent texts, " said one of the witnesses to CNN.

“She said, ‘shooting at my work, people shot, in the office waiting for cops. Pray for us. I am locked in an office.’”

20 ambulances have left shooting scene so far, with local hospitals expecting unknown number of patients.

Injured victims are being brought to Loma Linda University Medical Center. The emergency room there is in disaster mode and expecting an influx of patients, the hospital told KABC.

Loma Linda has received four adult patients and is expecting three more, the hospital confirmed to KNBC.

The San Bernardino PD’s SWAT team was training nearby when the call came in of multiple shots fired just before 11 a.m. local time, Lieutenant Richard Lawhead told KTLA. They were already suited up and “ready to roll,” allowing for a rapid response time.

“Alarms went off in the building and they were told to shelter in place. Eventually they came over the PA system and told them that they were supposed to evacuate and go to a different area, and come out with nothing in their hands, with their hands up. Now they’re being loaded up into buses to be taken somewhere else, it appears to be interviews,” the father of a worker who was in the building told KABC.

“I heard 25 to 30 automatic rounds, then there were three people coming into our building looking for shelter,” a teacher at a school for the blind at the Inland Regional Center told MSNBC. “Everyone here is safe at the school for the blind.”

Inland Regional Center is a nonprofit organization that works with individuals with developmental disabilities. It has nearly 670 staff members who provide services to more than 30,200 people with disabilities and their families in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, its Facebook page said.

 Planned Parenthood in San Bernardino, located near the site, was not targeted in the attack, its officials have confirmed to CNBC and the Huffington Post.

Last Friday a shooter killed three and injured nine people at Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

“We’re not allowing anyone on the golf course. We got a big helicopter sitting in the middle of the Number 1 fairway,” golf club employee Tom Brown told the Los Angeles Times. “We’re several hundred yards away from the area. We can see fire and SWAT from here, but we’re not allowed to go any farther.”

The Federal Aviation Administration has set up a temporary no-fly zone around the shooting area, and news helicopters have been ordered away as SWAT teams work to clear Inland, which has three buildings in its facility.

The Los Angeles Emergency Operations Center has been activated to Level 1 and is monitoring the situation in San Bernardino, the city of LA’s Emergency Management Department.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW