These vicious killers have been overlooked by American law authorities who have never expended sufficient resources to  hunt down these deranged people who present a Clear and Present Danger.  The statutes are insufficient and the will to vigorously eradicate this menace are lacking at the highest levels of government. Until the full power of the government is unleashed these horrific events will continue unabated.

Rosa Schwartzburg Excerpted from The Guardian 8.5.2019

This conspiracy theory is influencing killers from Germany to New Zealand and now, it seems, El Paso

This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” Those were the words that appeared in a manifesto published shortly before the deadly shooting in El Paso on Saturday. More than half of so-called “alt-right killers” are motivated by the “white replacement” theory, which refers to the belief that white people will be systematically replaced by black and brown migrants. The killer in El Paso, who law enforcement believes authored the memo, is apparently no exception.

The white replacement theory is actually made up of two sub-conspiracies: “the great replacement” theory, which originated in France, and “the white genocide theory”, which comes from the US. Together, the theories are among the most widespread ideologies in far-right spaces, and the primary catalysts of far-right mass violence.

The great replacement can generally be understood as two core beliefs. The first is that “western” identity is under siege by massive waves of immigration from non-European/non-white countries, resulting in a replacement of white European individuals via demographics. The second is that replacement has been orchestrated by a shadowy group as part of their grand plan to rule the world – which they will do by creating a completely racially homogenous society. This group is often overtly identified as being Jews, but sometimes the antisemitism is more implicit.

These beliefs have proliferated in mass killer texts for the past eight years. They are generally understood as having begun with Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass shooter whose 1,500-page manifesto expressed a fear of white ethnic replacement by migrants from the Middle East and North Africa. This same fear cropped up in the manifestos of several more mass killers in Europe, before making its way to the rambling screed published by the Christchurch shooter, which was titled The Great Replacement. The Christchurch manifesto begins with: “It’s the birthrates. It’s the birthrates. It’s the birthrates.” It was directly inspired by Breivik – and he, in turn, inspired the El Paso shooter.

The El Paso shooter begins his text by writing: “In general, I support the Christchurch shooter and his manifesto. This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigators, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/05/great-replacement-theory-alt-right-killers-el-paso

H. Rap Brown  said, “Violence is American as Apple Pie.”  That was 50 years ago and with the Racist White Nationalist in power, Mr. Brown has been proven all too correct. The President’s Base is acting out its nihilistic fantasies in real time.

Excerpted from The Guardian 8.4.2019

People hold their mobile phones with flash on during a vigil in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua state, on Saturday after a mass shooting which left 20 people dead in El Paso, Texas. Photograph: Hérika Martínez/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump faced a barrage of criticism on Sunday as the US reeled from a brutal mass shooting in the border city of El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, linked to white nationalism and anti-immigrant hate rhetoric.

Trump made no reference to the nature of the alleged hate crime in El Paso and did not speak about gun control, but added: “Hate has no place in our country. We’re going to take care of it.”

A total of 20 people were killed in the majority Latino city, nestled in western Texas on the US-Mexico border, as federal authorities investigated a potential hate crime and local prosecutors charged a 21-year-old white man, Patrick Crusius, with murder and said they would pursue the death penalty.

The suspect was from the town of Allen 650 miles from the site of the shooting, at a busy Walmart in the city.

Less than 13 hours later another mass shooting took place in the city of Dayton, Ohio, leaving nine dead there and bringing the total injured from both shootings to at least 52.

Authorities in Dayton named the shooter as 24 year-old Connor Betts and listed the names of the nine people killed, which included the shooter’s 22-year-old sister Megan Betts.

Police in El Paso were examining a hate-riddled message on the website 8chan, posted around 20 minutes before Saturday’s attack, in which the author expressed sympathy for a white nationalist massacre at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, a few months ago, and which stated: “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

Donald Trump eventually addressed reporters over a day after the shooting in El Paso, having sent a few short tweets and issuing a presidential proclamation to lower flags to half mast earlier in the day.

As the US president travelled back to the White House from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump said: “I want to extend our condolences from El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. They’re incredible people, they’ve been through a lot.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/04/mass-shootings-el-paso-texas-dayton-ohio

In  the American era of increasing mass violence a result of incendiary, white nationalist racism Twittered by the current White House incumbent there are other voices which need to be heard.

San Francisco Examiner 8.4.2019

“We have a deep braid of tech industry and a big progressive tradition in the Bay Area,” said Jennifer Beach, (pictured above) co-founder of Prison Radio, recording and broadcasting uncensored, incarcerated voices since the dawn of the internet.

“When we started Prison Radio, you had to do a DAT recording to get broadcast quality; it was difficult, you had to send out tapes to people,” said Beach whose first base of operations with founder Noelle Hanrahan was their 24th Street apartment. Over 25 years later, “We have streamable quality recordings that go up in a few days,” she said.

The walls of Prison Radio’s small Mission District office are lined with flyers, posters and images of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political activist and journalist who is serving a life sentence. The art was sent from around the world by artists in solidarity with Abu-Jamal. Shelves and floors overflow with books, including Abu-Jamal’s latest, “Murder Incorporated: Empire, Genocide, Manifest Destiny.” Prison Radio’s first publishing venture, the book was co-written by Abu-Jamal and Stephen Vittoria, director of the film, “MUMIA: Long Distance Revolutionary,” from which a collaboration was born.

“We felt so passionate about this material and that you can’t curtail it,” said Jones, though there is hardly unilateral love for Abu-Jamal’s revolutionary voice.

“The Fraternal Order of Police objected to the publication of Mumia’s first book and floated a banner over the publishing company,” explained Beach, who’s also confronted resistance by broadcast media.

“In the early ‘90s Mumia Bu-Jamal got a contract with ‘All Things Considered,’” she remembered. “Bob Dole mentioned it on the senate floor and threatened to lead the charge to cancel all funding on NPR and NPR dropped the show.”

Nevertheless, by the mid-’90s, Prison Radio found a home for its content on the early days of the internet, back when dreams of a more democratic and just society were alive and before the web’s dominance as a sales, marketing and surveillance tool. In the current age of hashtag activism, Prison Radio remains visible via alternative media, though locally it belongs to a vital network working to change public policy around mass incarceration and reduce America’s statistics of over two million people in prison (the U.S. is the world’s largest jailer).

“Mumia would tell you this is his magnum opus,” said Vittoria. “The narrative of the book is in many respects the narrative of Mumia’s journey. We wanted to tell the story of the people who are on the wrong end of capitalist wars and empire, the victims instead of the victors, the stories often left untold,” he said. The pair were inspired by “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn, which served as their guidepost during the writing process.

“There was the normal passing back and forth work of collaboration,” explained Vittoria. “Only one man is free and the other is incarcerated, literally and figuratively handcuffed.”

Abu-Jamal was convicted in 1981 of shooting Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He and supporters maintain his innocence and have worked tirelessly for four decades to study the law and appeal the case when possible. Through the years he’s written over a dozen titles for various publishers, including his memoir, “Live From Death Row” (his sentence was commuted in 2011 from death to life in prison).

“I became aware of Prison Radio through the publishing industry,” said Prison Radio’s Keasley Jones, formerly of Peachpit, a press specializing in web design and development books. He remembers a sales conference at which he heard about Abu-Jamal’s first book “Live From Death Row.”

“It was the most moving, impassioned and inspirational presentation I saw in my entire career in publishing,” said Jones, who over 20 years later, is hands-on selling Abu-Jamal’s new book.

“Publishers aren’t reticent to take on a book by Mumia, in fact, quite the opposite,” said Jones of Abu-Jamal’s prophetic, poetic style and rigor as a journalist. “He has a following.” However, at 1,400 pages, “Murder Incorporated” proved daunting to traditional publishing houses which is how Prison Radio ended up with the three volume work.

https://www.prisonradio.org/contact

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Radio

I stayed at a Pension for a month in Amsterdam’s Red Light District during the time I traveled and lived in Europe. The neighborhood was very friendly.  The sex workers were an integral part of the environment.

Deutsche Welle 8.3.2019

Traditionally home to female and transgender prostitutes, activists hope the neighborhood’s famous windows can be opened up to all sex workers. The equality campaign is part of Amsterdam’s Gay Pride festival.

Several men on Saturday displayed their half-naked bodies in some of the tall windows that make up Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

The protest is part of a call for equal rights in Europe’s most liberal tourist destination, which is mostly inhabited by female and transgender female sex workers.

Prostitutes rent a room in the De Wallen neighborhood and use one of the 300 or so windows to advertise their services.

But despite making up 5% of the estimated 25,000 sex workers operating in the Netherlands, men are rarely seen.

The so-called occupation of the Red Light District organized by the non-profit campaign group My Red Light, which rents rooms to sex workers and advocates for improved rights and labor conditions.

Vulnerable to exploitation

Campaigners insist that male sex workers also need safe spaces to operate from, noting that many men experience violence, abuse and exploitation while carrying out their work.

Organizers said the men taking part in the photoshoot are models and not available for sex.

Saturday’s protest forms part of Amsterdam’s Gay Pride festival, which runs until Sunday, and which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

Amsterdam’s first female mayor, Femke Halsema, recently announced plans to repair De Wallen’s reputationas a dangerous part of the city, amid a rise in drunken tourists, bachelor parties, human trafficking and drug use.

She also noted a major increase in unlicensed, underground prostitution.

https://www.dw.com/en/amsterdam-male-sex-workers-occupy-red-light-district/a-49877704

Black Mirror was recently brought to my attention. A mind bending five season “Series” (2011-2019). Netflix purchased Black Mirror from Brtitish Channel 4 after the second “Series.” The most recent Black Mirror”Series” was this year with a “Series” 6 in the planning stages.

Rod Serling’s classic Twilight Zone was a hit in America in the late 1950’s and 1960’s with its mysterious, dark, humorous and jaded look at mid 20th century America. I watched it regularly and believe it impacted my world view as I moved from youth into adulthood. The Twilight Zone caused me to view American life in a more realistic and sober manner.

Black Mirror does the same for the 21st century Blader Runner 2049 audience.

Excerpted from Wikipedia

Black Mirror is a British science fiction anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker, with Brooker and Annabel Jones serving as the programme showrunners. It examines modern society, particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies. Episodes are standalone, usually set in an alternative present or the near future, often with a dark and satirical tone, though some are more experimental and lighter.

Black Mirror was inspired by older anthology series like The Twilight Zone, which were able to deal with controversial, contemporary topics without fear of censorship. Brooker developed Black Mirror to highlight topics related to humanity’s relationship to technology, creating stories that feature “the way we live now – and the way we might be living in 10 minutes’ time if we’re clumsy.”

The series premiered for two series on the British television channel Channel 4 in December 2011 and February 2013. After its addition to the catalogue in December 2014, Netflix purchased the programme in September 2015. It commissioned a series of 12 episodes later divided into the third and fourth series, each six episodes; the former was released on 21 October 2016 and the latter on 29 December 2017. A standalone interactive film titled Black Mirror: Bandersnatch was released on 28 December 2018. A fifth series consisting of three episodes was released on 5 June 2019.^[1]

The series has garnered positive reception from critics, received many awards and nominations, and seen an increase in interest internationally, particularly in the United States after its addition to Netflix. Two episodes, “San Junipero” (from the third series) and “USS Callister” (fourth series), won a total of six Emmy Awards, with both episodes winning Outstanding Television Movie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mirror

Kennedy Family tragedies  never end.

New York Times 8.1.2019

The Zoo is not only a place to imprison captured animals.  The Berlin Zoo at one time had exhibits featuring human beings.  We spent an afternoon at the Berlin Zoo in September 2018.  The Zoo includes an Exhibit from the American West of the 19th century complete with several Buffalo.

Photo – Lee Heidhues

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 8.1.2019

Since its opening in 1844, the development of the Berlin Zoo has directly reflected the history of Germany. Here’s how colonialism, the Nazi era and the Cold War left their mark on the institution.

Humans exhibited until the 1930s

But it was not just the many new buildings and growing diversity of animals that attracted more and more visitors.

Colonial history also left its mark: In 1878, the zoo set up its first so-called ethnological exposition, where people were shown in their exotic “natural” state. It started with a small group of Inuit; following the success of the “Eskimos,” additional spaces showing Nubian and Sami people were added shortly afterwards. 

The Berlin Zoo had “actors” portraying foreign peoples up until 1931. One of the last shows had women from the ​​Lake Chad area in Central Africa, and they were promoted by  the press as “Lippennegerinnen” (female Negroes with lip plates).

The idea of setting up a zoo in Berlin, inspired by the London model, was supported by the world-famous natural scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt as well as by the garden and landscape designer Peter Joseph Lenne. The project reflected mid-19th century ideals, promoting the education of citizens.

When the zoological garden opened 175 years ago on August 1, 1844, most Berliners found its location too remote. To get there, they had to cross the Tiergarten park, the former hunting grounds of the kings that was outside the city walls, by the Brandenburg Gate.

The zoo didn’t have too much to show at its beginnings either. It started out with 47 animals, donated by Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The monkeys, bears and birds mostly came from his dissolved royal menagerie on Pfaueninsel (“Peacock Island”).

In comparison, today, with its 20,000 animals and 13,000 species, the Berlin Zoo boasts the most diverse animal collection in the world.

The development of the Berlin institution directly reflects the history of Germany, from a Prussian kingdom to a unified country, as Clemens Maier-Wolthausen has shown in his book looking into the history of Germany’s oldest zoo, titled Hauptstadt der Tiere (The animals’ capital).

“The zoo founded in 1844 remained small and insignificant in the first three decades of its existence,” he told DW. “It did not attract many visitors.” By the 1970s, industrialization and the great economic upswing that had allowed the city to grow in importance also led the  Berlin Zoo to become a leading zoological institute in Europe: “The businesspeople and merchants in Berlin loved and supported their zoo,” said Maier-Wolthausen.

In the early 1870s, exotic-looking buildings were added to the zoo, such as the antelope house with its four minarets, an Indian elephant house and the famous elephant gate at the entrance. The Moorish-inspired palaces, log cabins and half-timbered buildings were designed to represent the foreign lands from which the animals came. Huge, richly decorated restaurants as well as concerts made the zoo even more popular.

After the turn of the century, the zoo became a central attraction in Berlin. At the beginning of the First World War in 1914, the now world-famous zoological garden had a collection of about 3,500 animals.

The war however made international animal trade impossible, and after that, hyperinflation struck another major blow to the zoo: On October 1, 1922, it closed for half a year.

From the Golden Twenties to the Nazi era

After the stabilization of currency in 1924, the zoo experienced its golden age. The first baby monkey was even born there — unfortunately, the chimpanzee mother died shortly after giving birth. In 1928, a first baby elephant was born as well, and crowds flocked to the Berlin Zoo. That same year, the two-year-old gorilla Bobby arrived, and he proved to be so popular that his depiction would later become the logo of the zoo.

Regaining popularity: A zoo keeper in 1925 with a baby rhino and a goat

Under the Nazis, the zoo directors, supervisory board and the workforce were at the service of the new rulers. Jewish shareholders were expropriated, while top Nazi leader Hermann Göring was given young lions as pets.

During World War II, the zoo was reduced to rubble and ashes. Only 91 of the 3,715 animals survived the war.

In 1955, East Berlin opened its own zoo, the Tiergarten. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the two zoological gardens were united through a new administration. The “Zoological Gardens of Berlin” now attract five million visitors every year. Some animals, like the little polar bear Knut, contribute to the zoo’s lasting reputation by becoming world-famous stars.

Photo – Lee Heidhues

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-oldest-zoo-turns-175/a-49850112

 2019 Cultural News from Back in the USSR

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 8.1.2019

In support of Russia’s LGBTQ community, two male members of the German heavy metal group kissed in front of a massive crowd in Moscow. Under a so-called gay propaganda law, the kiss could be considered illegal.

During a concert Monday night in Moscow, Rammstein guitarists Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe kissed onstage in front of a crowd of 81,000 at Luschniki stadium, Russia’s largest football stadium.

The band then posted a picture on Instagram and Facebook with the caption, “Russia, we love you.”

The gesture from the German heavy metal band was in defiance of Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, which makes it illegal to display or promote “non-traditional sexual relations.” The law was passed in 2013, ostensibly to protect minors.

Attacks against members of the LGBTQ+ community are a regular occurrence in Russia. Perpetrators are rarely prosecuted, according to human rights activists.

The kiss in Moscow was not the first time the band members have smooched while performing their song “Ausländer” (foreigner), nor was it the first sign of support for the LGBT community from Rammstein during their current tour.

Read more: Rammstein: Sons of East German punk

At a concert last week in Chorzow, Poland, Rammstein drummer Christoph Schneider was hoisted above the crowd in an inflatable raft waving a rainbow pride flag.

https://www.dw.com/en/rammstein-band-members-kiss-onstage-in-moscow-in-support-of-lgbt-rights/a-49837727

San Francisco cops. Mindless and cruel.  C’mon.  A dog. Where’s the common sense and accountability? Another graphic example of quick draw behavior by law enforcement.

San Francisco Examiner 7.31.2019

Police shot a dog in downtown San Francisco late Wednesday afternoon.

An officer opened fire after the canine “advanced” on him near Cyril Magnin and Market streets at around 3:45 p.m., according to Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a San Francisco police spokesperson.

A witness who declined to give her name said she was walking down Market Street when she saw the officer shoot the dog “for no apparent reason.”

Andraychak said the officer retreated before shooting the dog once.

The dog was taken to an emergency animal hospital and euthanized, Andraychak said.

He said police detained the person “responsible for the dog” but did not say why.

An hour after the shooting, officers had the area outside the Carl’s Jr. fast food restaurant cordoned off. About four police cars and more than a dozen officers were at the scene.

Deb Campbell, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Animal Care and Control, confirmed that animal control officers responded to the scene.

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/police-shoot-dog-on-market-street/

Every Picture Tells a Story – Ongoing Series – 7.30.2019

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders formed a tag team on the debate stage to defend their liberal policies against moderates on the attack.   New York Times

Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren at the CNN sponsored Presidential debate in Detroit.  

The “Progressives” should be smart enough to avoid a self-immolation by internecine warfare.  Only one person will benefit.