A divided nation moves front and center

BY JACK CROWE

June 01, 2020

IT HAS BEEN A CLICHÉ TO CLAIM that the nation "has never been more divided." But after a global pandemic that gutted the economy and rolling riots that have made America's cities uninhabitable after dark, a claim that may have seemed trite or overwrought is suddenly apt.

On the coronavirus, partisan passions accounted for plenty of division: whether you want to aggressively reopen the economy or continue to lockdown can be predicted with a fairly high degree of accuracy by your political affiliation. But the protests that began in Minneapolis last week in response to the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer have exposed a division that transcends partisan politics. It is a divide between civic-minded people who obediently shut down their businesses in March, sacrificing their livelihoods for the greater good, and those who not only couldn't be bothered to stay home this weekend to keep social distancing but also couldn't be stopped from ransacking the very businesses that were shut down for the good of the collective.

Many people who took to the streets in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere over the weekend were undoubtedly outraged by Floyd's killing. Many of them were well-intentioned in their protesting. But countless videos posted online reveal the presence of a small but incredibly destructive group of anarchists who saw the demonstrations as a chance to sow chaos and seized it. These committed anarchists, at least the ones who destroyed businesses in Manhattan's tony downtown neighborhoods, were well organized, according to John Miller, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism. The unnamed black-bloc groups raised bail money for those who were arrested, sent out scouts to find areas of the city where cops were absent, and designated certain rioters to serve as medics due to their anticipation of violent clashes with the police.

Meanwhile, viral footage from around the country shows gleeful looters running out of ransacked stores with arms full of sneakers, clothing and home appliances. In other words, the stock that has been sitting on shelves for weeks, held in stores by anxious business owners and branch managers who were complying with their state governments' effort to save lives. In Minneapolis, a black firefighter who poured his life savings into a downtown bar only to delay its planned opening due to COVID-19 watched as rioters destroyed his nest egg. Then they came back to try to steal his safe while he was being interviewed live on-air by ABC News. (You can donate to his GoFundMe here.)

Try convincing a guy who owns a bar in New York City that he should remain closed because his handful of patrons pose a danger to public health — while hundreds of people, some number of whom are eager to smash his inventory on the ground or drink it themselves, are gathering on the street outside every night. Good luck.

Susan Rice Blames 'Foreign Actors' for Stirring George Floyd Protests: 'Right Out of the Russian Playbook'

Former Obama adviser Susan Rice has blamed the violent protests that rocked major American cities over the weekend on "foreign actors," and even suggested that Russia could be involved in stirring them up.

"I'm not reading the intelligence today, or these days — but based on my experience, this is right out of the Russian playbook," Rice, who served as national-security adviser to president Obama, said in a CNN interview on Sunday. "But we cannot allow the extremists, the foreign actors, to distract from the real problems we have in this country that are longstanding, centuries old, and need to be addressed responsibly."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to Lead Prosecution in George Floyd Case

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Sunday appointed the state's attorney general Keith Ellison to lead the prosecution for cases relating to the death of George Floyd, a black man whose death in police custody has sparked riots in cities around the country.

"This decision is one that I feel takes us in that direction and the step to start getting the justice for George Floyd," Walz said.

Walz said that Floyd's family asked the governor to tap Ellison, who is black, to lead the prosecution, and ten state lawmakers also sent a letter to Walz asking him to transfer the case to Ellison.

"Unfortunately, our constituents, especially constituents of color, have lost faith in the ability of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to fairly and impartially investigate and prosecute these cases," the letter from lawmakers said.

NYPD Counterterrorism Head Says Organized Groups Planned Looting in Wealthy Neighborhoods

Widespread looting in New York City was planned advance by a coordinated group seeking to target wealthy neighborhoods, the head of the NYPD's counterterrorism unit said on Sunday.

A number of stores, many of them in the upscale Soho neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, were looted on Sunday evening during protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. One witness told the New York Post that "hundreds" of looters were "going systemically from store to store."

"Before the protests began, organizers of certain anarchists groups set out to raise bail money and people who would be responsible to be raising bail money, they set out to recruit medics and medical teams with gear to deploy in anticipation of violent interactions with police," John Miller, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism, told reporters on Sunday. (NBC News)

Hong Kong Police Ban Annual Tiananmen Square Massacre Vigil

Hong Kong police have banned the annual candlelight vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre, the deadly 1989 crackdown on students demanding democracy in Beijing, just as tensions rise in the city over controversial national-security legislation.

Police denied an application by the group that organizes the vigil in Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island, stating in a letter that the decision was due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The letter said that violations would be punished by imprisonment and fines.

This year would mark the first time the event has not been held in three decades.

"We are extremely disappointed and strongly object to this decision," said Richard Tsoi, secretary of the organizing group, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. "The freedom of assembly is enshrined in the basic law."

"We think it's a political decision," Tsoi said. (WSJ)

NYT: Tara Reade's Tumultuous Journey to the 2020 Campaign

Last spring, after years of strife with friends and neighbors and a constant struggle for money, Tara Reade was making a fresh start in a new town, Grass Valley, Calif., near the outskirts of Tahoe National Forest.

She found a place for her adopted rescue horse, Charm, and a tidy ground-level apartment for herself and her cats. Ms. Reade, who had moved from the Santa Cruz area, told friends about a new passion and appreciation for Russia, its culture and its leader. She was working on a novel.

WSJ: China's Barely Begun Economic Recovery Shows Signs of Stalling

SHANGHAI—China's economic recovery hit a speed bump in May as the coronavirus pandemic began curbing the world's demand for Chinese goods.

More and more Chinese factories have reopened for work in the past three months as authorities have eased their once-aggressive coronavirus measures. But now they are facing the dire reality of falling orders from overseas customers.

The conundrum can be seen in official and private gauges of China's factory activity. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index and a closely watched private survey, the Caixin China manufacturing purchasing managers index, both showed factory activity expanding in May.