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Black Lives Matter Tag

Posted by Occam's Razor on August 12, 2016 5 Comments
We wrote recently about the Black Lives matter platform statement (under the name MB4L: Movement for Black Lives) and, in particular the “Invest-Divest section,” which attacks Israel and accuses Israel of ‘genocide’ and being an ‘apartheid state’. As reported, the statement was condemned by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Boston, and the Anti-Defamation League. Subsequent condemnations were issued by the American Jewish Committee, the Union for Reform Judaism, as well as the more left-wing J-Street (the liberal “pro-Israel, pro-Peace” lobby group), and T’ruah: the rabbinic call for human rights.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 11, 2016 39 Comments
If you think the Black Lives Matter movement is just or even primarily about "Black Lives," then you don't understand the movement. A new research report, based on detailed interviews with those active in the movement, demonstrates that the organized movement is a vehicle for a radical leftist anti-Capitalist agenda, using "Black Lives" as the hook. The research is by Anne Sorock of The Frontier Lab using a "deep values" methodology. Several years ago Anne was a regular contributor to Legal Insurrection, but that has fallen off as she devoted herself The Frontier Lab. Deep values research is something pioneered by Dr. Brian Wansink at the Food & Brand Lab at Cornell University. Anne received her MBA at Cornell and worked with that group. Deep values research seeks to understand not just what consumers like or want, but what deeply held values lead to such decisions. At The Frontier Lab, Anne applies those research methods to politics.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 09, 2016 14 Comments
On August 9, 2014, Ferguson, MO, Police Officer Darren Wilson shot dead Michael Brown. Our first post about it was on August 11, 2014, as rioting broke out. We kept the coverage non-evaluative. We learned from prior cases, such as Trayvon Martin, not to accept at face value racial and other narratives being spun. We also learned from events such as the Boston Marathon and Newtown shootings that initial facts reported by the media often are wrong. We embedded this news reports of the looting: Within days, various supposed eyewitnesses would claim Brown was a passive victim -- an account we now know to be untrue -- as summarized in this MSNBC report we posted on August 13, 2014:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on August 07, 2016 19 Comments
Hillary Clinton's relationship with law enforcement, like her involvement with any issue, has evolved over time. Sometimes over night. There are reports that Hillary, as First Lady, had little respect for—and was even verbally abusive toward—the Secret Service agents assigned to protect her . . . with their lives if necessary.  Apparently, she also gave these men the impression that her dislike extended beyond the Secret Service to "law enforcement and the military." After receiving harsh criticism from the left when she made the "mistake" of declaring that "all lives matter,"  Hillary started courting the Black Lives Matter movement, attempting to ingratiate herself and secure their support for her campaign. Against this backdrop and when faced with the decision of whether or not to seek the endorsement of the National Fraternal Order of Police, she declined to submit to the process.  A move seen as a snub by the police union.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 04, 2016 14 Comments
For years we have been documenting the efforts by anti-Israel activists to stoke racial hatred of Israel through the concept of "intersectionality" - the notion that all revolutionary struggles, particularly against racism, are connected. The almost exclusive focus, however, is Israel.  Hence, Israel is falsely blamed for local police shootings of blacks in the U.S. based upon false and misleading claims I debunked in my post, Exposed: Years-long effort to blame Israel for U.S. police shootings of blacks. The movement to connect Ferguson-to-Palestine launched after the Michael Brown shooting, and has been a singular focus of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) activists ever since. Ferguson Palestine contingent

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 30, 2016 9 Comments
Somerville, Massachusetts is an interesting city just outside of Boston. The densely occupied community is home to lots of old school Boston blue-collar types while also being extremely diverse. It's also hipster heaven, as anyone who's ever been to Davis Square can tell you. A Black Lives Matter banner has been hanging on Somerville City Hall for a while, but after the recent rash of shootings directed at police, the Somerville PD asked to have it taken down. The mayor declined the request and tensions are now mounting.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 26, 2016 2 Comments
My old boss Andrew Breitbart said politics are downstream from culture. When celebrities say or do something, it is important to take notice. Popular metal band Disturbed received honors from the Mansfield Police Department in Massachusetts after they allowed them to use their cover of Sound of Silence in a video. All the band members expressed gratitude while vocalist David Draiman told the cops they have much respect for the cops and thanked them for everything they do:
"It is a crying shame what has happened in this country," he told the cops. "You guys give everything for us so it's the least we can do."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 25, 2016 23 Comments
Such a shame that current Philadelphia Mayor, Democrat Jim Kenney—and Hillary Clinton for that matter—weren't around for the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Back in 1776, Kenney and Clinton obviously would have been much more enlightened, morally-advanced voices than Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin . . . On today's Morning Joe, Kenney—who endorsed Hillary early in the primary season—was asked about the prevalence of Black Lives Matter voices and concerns to be heard at this week's DNC. He responded with a condemnation of law enforcement, the court system and even the Declaration of Independence. Kenney declared that black lives "haven't mattered in our country over the history of law enforcement and in the criminal courts and in the way people have been treated from the 1600s up until now. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, it was all men are equal: well, all white men with land were created equal."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on July 19, 2016 8 Comments
This could go down as the most egregious example of an MSM "anchor" groveling at the feet of a liberal activist . . . During MSNBC's coverage of the opening night of the Republican convention, Tavis Smiley complained that, unlike cop killers, "killer cops" are not called "vicious and despicable and cowardly and reprehensible." Brian Williams immediately piped up: "Tavis, if I appointed you president and you still refused to run we would have to appoint you." I'm guessing Williams meant to say "if I nominated you for president you and you refused to run we would have to appoint you." But in his obsequious excitement, poor Brian stumbled on his words. But we get it, Williams: there's nobody you'd rather see as president, even if it means overturning democracy and appointing him, than someone willing to call cops "vicious, despicable, cowardly and reprehensible."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 18, 2016 8 Comments
At group calling itself Atlanta is Ready (#ATLisREADY), aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement, recently issued a set of demands to the Mayor of Atlanta, including:
We demand a termination to APD’s involvement in the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program, that trains our officers in Apartheid Israel
The Mayor rejected the demand, finding that counter-terrorism training benefits the Atlanta Police Department's ability to protect Americans: You could chalk this incident up to just some isolated ploy by local activists, but that would be a mistake. Rather, there has been a multi-year effort by left-wing and Islamist anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and openly anti-Semitic activists to hijack racial tensions in the United States and redirect that anger towards Israel.

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 18, 2016 13 Comments
Instead of a protest, Black Lives Matter activists in Wichita, KS, joined their local police department for the First Steps Cookout to open dialogue and bring together the community. Both sides decided this was a better option, especially after police shootings in Dallas, TX, and Baton Rouge, LA. https://twitter.com/TrooperChadKHP/status/754832830287405056

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on July 11, 2016 10 Comments
I've been surprisingly encouraged post-Dallas shootings. Rather than surrender to the usual partisan bias, Americans from all walks of life are working together, praying together, and recognizing the country's dire need for change. Real change. This video captures once such instance. When protesters and counter-protesters crossed paths in the streets of Dallas, they didn't fuss or fight. They met on neutral turf and prayed together.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 11, 2016 25 Comments
Facts don't matter in the Black Lives Matter movement. Trayvon Martin's shooting planted the seeds for the movement. Contrary to popular myth, Trayvon was not unlawfully shot and killed by George Zimmerman. The trial evidence was overwhelming that Trayvon attacked Zimmerman with a punch to the nose and when shot was on top of Zimmerman beating him Mixed Martial Arts style, having smashed his head into concrete. Moreover, the racial narrative was false, a perception caused by a deceptive NBC audio edit and false interpretation of audio in which Zimmerman supposedly uttered a racial slur, and amplified by activists and family lawyers. Michael Brown's death directly launched the movement and took it national. Brown, however, wasn't shot "hands up, don't shoot" but because he sucker punched a cop sitting in his vehicle and tried to steal the cop's gun. [Ferguson PO Darren Wilson injuries caused when Michael Brown sucker punched him while trying to grab gun] [Ferguson PO Darren Wilson injuries caused when Michael Brown sucker punched him while trying to grab gun] These seminal events of the Black Lives Matter narrative were lies.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 10, 2016 23 Comments
In January 2016, I reported how an Ithaca (NY) Black Lives Matter rally over the death of Sandra Bland and others set up a procedure to segregate speakers by race, with "people of color" being given priority over whites, At anti-racism rally, Whites allowed to speak only after People of Color:
We ask that people of color who would like to bring written statements/speeches to address the ralley [sic] please let us know below so that we can add you to the list of schedueled speakers. There will be an open speak-out afterwards for those who just want to speak. Please be sure to bring warm clothing. Please also be sure to bring any signs or pictures of thoes affected by police brutality. We will meet at the center of the commons at 1pm. Disclaimer: If you are a reporter at this event we will not be answering any questions. Disclaimer: If you are a white person at this event note that the voices of people of color will take precedence in rally space.
Ithaca Protest Sandra Bland FB Page comment white people welcome

Posted by Mary Chastain on July 09, 2016 15 Comments
Officials have revealed that Micah Johnson, who shot five cops in Dallas, sexually harassed a female soldier in Afghanistan. Before dying, Johnson told the cops he wanted to kill white officers. Johnson served as a private first class in the Army Reserve for six years. But while serving in Afghanistan in 2014, a female soldier accused him of sexual harassment when he allegedly bought her items from Victoria's Secret. She asked her superiors for a restraining order:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on July 09, 2016 35 Comments
In the wake of the horrifying and incomprehensible shootings in Dallas that left four police officers and one rapid transit officer dead and another seven people wounded, Heather MacDonald appeared on Rush's radio show. She shared statistics and asserted that the entire Black Lives Matter movement is "based on a lie." MacDonald, you may recall, made similar points on a radio podcast interview that we posted at Legal Insurrection about the Black Lives Matter movement and the threat they pose to our nation’s police officers. In that interview, MacDonald "spoke out against the crippling influence that the “Black Lives Matter” movement is having on the quality of life in the very neighborhoods where the protests are taking place":
I think this is an even more extreme example of the way this country deals with race and policing, which is to talk fanatically about police in order not to talk about the far more difficult problem of black crime.

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 05, 2016 34 Comments
The Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter was recently invited to participate in the city's gay pride parade. At one point, the Black Lives Matter members stopped and sat down on the street halting the entire procession. Then they started issuing demands. Global News reports:
Black Lives Matter gets police kicked out of future Pride parades say co-founders Sunday’s Pride parade was historic for the city in many ways. It was the first time a sitting Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, marched alongside thousands of members of the LGBTQ community and its allies. It was also the first time Black Lives Matter Toronto did the same, leading a passionate procession down Bloor and Yonge Streets.
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