Nicaragua's Violent Protests Have Killed 241 So Far

TeleSur 

On Thursday, police captured three men traveling to the ongoing protests carrying four containers of ammunition for AK-47 rifles. 

According to a new report for the Nicaraguan Truth Commission, violent protests that have shaken the country since April have killed at least 241 people so far – one of several conflicting death tolls released in recent days.

Nearly half of the deaths, a total of 110, occurred in the capital city of Managua, in districts one and seven. Masaya, Carazo, Leon, Esteli and Matagalpa have also reported high levels of violence.

The report breaks down deaths by occupation, with 65 considered 'self-employed,' 49 listed as 'workers,' 31 unemployed and 18 police.

Almost three months of demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Ortega have left over 260 people dead in the bloodiest protests since Nicaragua's civil war drew to in an end in 1990, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said July 11.

Meanwhile, the NGO Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (Anpdh) reports that as many as 351 demonstrators have died, while at least 2,100 have been injured in the last three months.

On Thursday, police captured three men traveling to protests, carrying four containers of ammunition for AK-47 rifles. The men, all in their twenties, will be charged with terrorism, organized crime, and illegal possession of weapons.

The arrests were made at a police checkpoint in Nindiri. The police were searching for people perpetuating the violent acts in the country, continuing the wave of violence that has rocked Nicaragua since April.

Large-Scale Riots Continue In France For 4th Night

Zero Hedge

Riots continue in France after a 22-year-old Aboubakar Fofana lost his life in police control on Tuesday. The Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS) official responsible for the has been indicted but remains free under judicial supervision. This decision has rekindled tensions in Orvault, Rezé, and the neighborhoods of Nantes, Breil, and Bellevue.

Ouest-France reports that the security forces wiped Molotov cocktails at Breil and Bellevue and responded with tear gas grenades.

As GEFIRA reports, for four nights straight, there have been riots between African migrants and the French police in the city of Nantes. The riots began after the police stopped and shot an alleged criminal, named Abubakar.

On Wednesday the police declared that they shot the African young man in self-defense after he tried to overrun a police-officer.

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5 Signs That This Will Be The Summer of Rage

James Corbett
The International Forecaster

The events of the past few days have played out like a slowly unfolding nightmare. A nightmare where you know the next bad thing is about to happen and all you can do is wait for it.

Well, as of press time that “next bad thing” is the carnage we witnessed in Dallas on Thursday night. Hopefully by the time you’re reading this there isn’t a next next bad thing taking place, but given how quickly these events are escalating we have to wonder if this is really the end of the cycle of violence or just the beginning.

As readers of this column know, I’ve been talking about 2016 as the year of potential civil war since the very beginning of the year, and sadly that prediction seems like it’s becoming more prescient by the day.

So are we really heading toward a summer of rage and the breakdown of society? Economic collapse? War? Let’s look at five signs that things are looking bleak for the months ahead.

Join James for this week’s subscriber newsletter as we break down the bad, the worse and the ugly on the road ahead.

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Insider report forecasts multi-billion-dollar profits from global riot 'contagion': Elites poised for global chaos?

Nafeez Ahmed
Insurge Intelligence
via Sott.net

Forecasts of relentless civil unrest in the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia seen as massive 'investment opportunity'

The next five years will see the international market for 'riot control systems' boom to a value of more than $5 billion at an annual growth rate of 5%, according to a new report by a global business intelligence firm. 

The report forecasts a dramatic rise in civil unrest across the world, including in North America and Europe, driven by an increase in Ferguson-style incidents and "extremist attacks."

The Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific regions will also experience a persistent rise in conflicts.

This increasing trend in instability promises billions of dollars of profits for global defence firms, concludes the report, published last month by Infiniti Research Ltd., a market intelligence firm whose clients include Fortune 500 companies.

"Protests, riots, and demonstrations are major issues faced by the law enforcement agencies across the world," said Abhay Singh, a lead defence technology analyst at the firm. "In addition the increase in incidents of civil wars in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt along with an increase in the global defence budget will generate demand for riot control systems."

Europe, the Middle East and Africa will be the largest market, collectively experiencing a rate of growth at over 5%, exceeding $2 billion by 2020. Under the subheading, 'EMEA: increase in extremist attacks to boost growth', the report, priced at over $2,000, explains:

"Over the past years, Europe witnessed an increase in extremist attacks, which has raised concerns among the law enforcement and defense industries to equip themselves with modern equipment and protect civilians from external threats. In 2015, the Paris attacks and the killing of journalists in France are some of the examples of growing terrorism in Europe."

The combination of intensifying conflict, terrorism, and civil unrest will lead to rocketing demand for riot control systems over the next 5 years "led by Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Iran, and South African countries."

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Defence industry poised for billion dollar profits from global riot ‘contagion’

Nafeez Ahmed
INSURGE Intelligence

This exclusive is published by INSURGE INTELLIGENCE, a crowd-funded investigative journalism project for the global commons

The next five years will see the international market for ‘riot control systems’ boom to a value of more than $5 billion at an annual growth rate of 5%, according to a new report by a global business intelligence firm.

The report forecasts a dramatic rise in civil unrest across the world, including in North America and Europe, driven by an increase in Ferguson-style incidents and “extremist attacks.”

The Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific regions will also experience a persistent rise in conflicts.

This increasing trend in instability promises billions of dollars of profits for global defence firms, concludes the report, published last month by Infiniti Research Ltd., a market intelligence firm whose clients include Fortune 500 companies.

“Protests, riots, and demonstrations are major issues faced by the law enforcement agencies across the world,” said Abhay Singh, a lead defence technology analyst at the firm. “In addition the increase in incidents of civil wars in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt along with an increase in the global defence budget will generate demand for riot control systems.”

Europe, the Middle East and Africa will be the largest market, collectively experiencing a rate of growth at over 5%, exceeding $2 billion by 2020. Under the subheading, ‘EMEA: increase in extremist attacks to boost growth’, the report, priced at over $2,000, explains:

“Over the past years, Europe witnessed an increase in extremist attacks, which has raised concerns among the law enforcement and defense industries to equip themselves with modern equipment and protect civilians from external threats. In 2015, the Paris attacks and the killing of journalists in France are some of the examples of growing terrorism in Europe.”

The combination of intensifying conflict, terrorism, and civil unrest will lead to rocketing demand for riot control systems over the next 5 years “led by Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Iran, and South African countries.”

Read more

Future Riot Shields Will Suffocate Protesters with Low Frequency Speakers

Gizmodo

It's not the first crowd control tool to use sound waves, but Raytheon's patent for a new type of riot shield that produces low frequency sound waves to disrupt the respiratory tract and hinder breathing, sounds a little scary.

Crowd control tools like the LRAD Sound Cannon emit bursts of loud and annoying sounds that can induce headaches and nausea. But Raytheon's non-lethal pressure shield creates a pulsed pressure wave that resonates the upper respiratory tract of a human, hindering breathing and eventually incapacitating the target. The patent points out that the sound waves being generated are actually not that powerful, so while protestors might collapse from a lack of oxygen reaching their brains, their eardrums won't be damaged in the process. Phew!

And like Roman soldiers joining their shields to form a large impenetrable wall, these new riot shields can actually be networked together to form a larger acoustical horn, vastly improving their range, power, and effectiveness. There's no word on what the long-term medical implications might be if you find yourself on the wrong side of one of these shields. But I imagine the unpleasant experience is not unlike being force choked from afar by Darth Vader. [Google Patents via New Scientist]

See also:  

SoundWave Part I 

SoundWave Part II 

SoundWave Part III

Indifferent elites, poverty and police brutality – all reasons to riot in the UK

Our team collected more than 1.3m words of first-person accounts of the English riots.

Photograph: Luke Macgregor/Reuters

Guardian

This summer's social unrest in Britain was destructive and incoherent but, as our study shows, it was still a form of protest

At the beginning of August, in a fit of collective pathology, thousands of young people across Britain took to the streets and started breaking into shops, stealing and confronting the police. What triggered this is a mystery. But whatever it was, it wasn't politics, poverty, alienation or despair. That would be making excuses for bad behaviour and imply a humanity to which the rioters had no right. For the riots were not the work of mostly disaffected teenagers but a "feral", "uneducated" "underclass" who somehow managed to outwit the police for the best part of a week using new technology. Venal, entitled and irresponsible, they adhered to values entirely unfamiliar to the British political establishment.

Beyond the growth of gang culture and the demise of individual responsibility, no credible broader explanations were offered for their behaviour. If the problem had been rooted in politics and economics, the solution might have resided there also. But for the government, this was the work of criminals; the only effective remedy was punishment.

Four months later the absurdity of the official response to the riots is painfully clear. It took a while. Given the spontaneous, geographically diverse and inchoate nature of these disturbances, there was never a credible single cause. Even if there had been, there were few among the rioters who would have been in a position to articulate those grievances. The journey from the margins to the mainstream is a perilous one, which few make intact without losing their voice.

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See also: Rioters say anger with police fuelled summer unrest

Egypt imports 21 tons of tear gas from the US, port staff refuses to sign for it

Cryptogon via Bikyamasr

CAIRO: The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crackdown on Egyptian protesters.

The shipment has been moved by the ministry of interior to its Cairo storage facility, amidst strict and secretive security measures. Local reports say the staff, initially under investigation, have been spared investigation after having a discussion  over the matter with their superiors.

Local news sites published documents regarding the shipment shows that the cargo that arrived in 479 barrels from the United States was scheduled to be delivered to the ministry of interior.

The reports also mentioned in the documents that a second shipment of 14 tons of tear gas was expected, making the total 21 tons, in one week.

The importing of tear gas comes after thousands of tear gas canisters were fired at Egyptian protesters last week as clashes raged in downtown Cairo, just off from the iconic Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters had gathered.

The gas used has angered activists, who say the effects of exposure has yet to wear off, with a number of protesters telling Bikyamasr.com that they have coughing fits, chest pains, blurred vision and their arms often shake. According to the Journal of Royal Medicine, the use of CS Gas – the most common choice of Egypt’s police last week – can have lasting symptoms for over one year.

Read more

The Real Source of the English Riots

Who Started The London Riots?

sott.net/

When state 'security' forces murder a citizen in cold blood in broad daylight, and members of his community vent their anger in the only way they know how, who's to blame for the fallout? The British government and the mainstream media would like us to believe that it's the victim and members of his community. But then, we all know better than to believe the words of government officials and media whores. Or at least we should. In fact, how many times do we need to have cold, hard evidence of government and media lies dropped in our laps before we get the message once and for all?

Oh well, once more with feeling...

© unknown
Father of four, Mark Duggan, was assassinated by London police

IPCC: No Evidence Mark Duggan Shot At PCs

An IPCC ballistics report said there was "no evidence" that a handgun found near where Mark Duggan was shot by armed officers had been used.

The 29-year-old died after a gunshot to the chest on Thursday. The death sparked the first night of rioting in London in Tottenham.

Mr Duggan had been a passenger in a silver Toyota Estima minicab in Ferry Lane, close to Tottenham Hale Tube station, which was believed to have been stopped by police.

His death came after two shots were fired by a Scotland Yard CO19 firearms officer, investigations show.

The initial results confirmed reports that a bullet found lodged in a police radio at the scene was police issue.

Of course, given that the IPCC report amounts to a police investigation of the police itself, we shouldn't be surprised that many questions remain unanswered.

For example, if Mark Duggan did not shoot at police, how did a bullet get lodged in one of the policemen's radios? More to the point, how did a police issue bullet get lodged there? And how did this come to be the initial 'evidence' that Duggan fired at police? The gun that the police claim to have found in the taxi that Duggan was travelling in was a 'Bruni BBM', which means it was either an air gun or a blank starter pistol. Interestingly enough, last year, the WestMidlands police issued an amnesty on just this make of gun which previously did not need a license. Assuming their amnesty drive was successful, there are probably quite a few of these guns floating around UK police stations... I'm sure one or two wouldn't be missed.[...]

The London riots, the war in Afghanistan and Amy Winehouse

  


  






London August 2011

  









Iraq March 2003

Stop the War Coalition


It in no way justifies or excuses the rioting witnessed in London this week to say that some forms of thuggery, theft and criminality seem more worthy of condemnation than others.

A brick thrown through a shop window, a furniture store torched, a bus burnt out, certainly warrant condemnation, but it's hard to imagine that David Cameron would condemn the devastation and mass slaughter visited on Afghanistan and Iraq over the past decade -- or the bombing of Libya -- as "sickening violence".

On the contrary, this is the kind of "sickening violence" that he and the majority of MPs now tripping over themselves to voice their outrage over the rioters trashing high streets across Britain, are quick to justify as motivated by the superiority of  "our values".

Many of the same MPs who voted along with the majority in parliament for the war that reduced much of Iraq to ruins and killed a million Iraqis, take to the moral high ground when alienated youths from our ghettoes of deprivation commit their mini-version of "shock and awe". 

And which of the politicians now demanding that the London rioters must be subjected to "the full weight of the law" has said the same of Tony Blair, guilty of international war crimes in the lies and deceptions he used to take Britain into an illegal war. Where is the outrage that he has not been held to account and remains free to accumulate vast wealth directly from the political and business contacts he made when he was committing these crimes?

When it comes to condemning theft, however many trainers, mobile phones and designer clothes have been stolen by the London rioters, they are petty crooks compared to the thievery that has BP, with the aid of the western powers, quite literally stealing control of Iraq's most valuable resource: the oil which was the main motivation for the invasion in 2003.

And as for the cost of clearing up after the London riots, which it is estimated will be £100 million, this is roughly how much has been spent on just 15 missiles among the dozens Britain's military has fired into Libya over the past few months.

While the politicians' reaction to the London riots ranges from those who say lock 'em up and throw away the key, to those few who say we need to seek explanations for how this could have happened, it's hard to believe that the imminent report by the Iraq Inquiry will lead to anything more than a fleeting wringing of hands, with no one held to account for a war that brought such suffering to millions of Iraqis, the deaths of 179 British soldiers and serious injuries of hundreds more, and terrorism onto the streets of London. 

Politicians quick to lament that young people in deprived areas of our cities seem "out of control" and have no respect for authority, are themselves no sluggards when it comes to endorsing uncontrolled bombing in wars abroad without any respect for the sovereignty of the countries attacked, as defined under international law.

The London rioters, we're told, are "uncivilised" -- often by the same people who thought it was right to invade Iraq and Afghanistan and bomb Libya in the name of what they call "civilisation".

Making these comparisons does not condone the behaviour of the rioters that has brought such mayhem to the streets of Britain's cities, and it is to be hoped, as Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class, said yesterday in a BBC interview, that there is now a real attempt at understanding and explaining why young people in deprived areas feel they have nothing to lose by collective acts of rampant vandalism.

It is too much to hope that our politicians, so free with condemnation over the rioters' action, will try to understand and explain their own willingness to support war policies that have brought death and destruction on a monumental scale to the people of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

To paraphrase the late Amy Winehouse, what kind of thuggery is this?

Police Beating A 16 Year Old Girl Sparked London Riots Violence

David DeGraw mentions: 

I consider the London riots that took place over the weekend in Tottenham to be part of the global rebellion. This is what happens when you bury people in poverty and then make cuts to social programs, as the UK has recently enacted harsh austerity throughout the country. In this roundup, you will see that the people are using this as a rallying point to fight back against austerity, and the riots are now spreading throughout the country. The Guardian makes this point here:

Spending cuts, police lay behind UK riot, locals say

Anger at high unemployment and cuts in public services, coupled with resentment of the police, contributed to an explosion of violence and looting in a deprived London neighborhood, residents said Sunday….

Rioters set police patrol cars, buildings and a double-decker bus on fire. Others took advantage of the police being occupied to loot a nearby retail park, smashing shop windows and hauling away televisions, computers and sports shoes….

Several said long-mounting frustration over the gloomy economic situation, which has led the government to slash many public services to rein in a big budget deficit, and anger at what some saw as unfair treatment of ethnic minorities by the police, had boiled over.

Unemployed local man Scott Allen said he feared similar violence might happen in other parts of London.

“Tension is building because of the coalition government’s cost-cutting measures. People in the poorer communities of London and around the country are going to feel victimized,” Allen, who said he was in his 40s, told Reuters.” [read full report]

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

Alex Higgins

The riots in London have spread into neighbor suburbs tonight as reports emerge that peaceful protests turned violent after Police started beating a 16 year girl. Evidence has also emerged that police lied about the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of the man which sparked the initial protests.The news in London is moving quite fast so here is the latest – For the absolute latest the Guardian’s live blog of the riots is here. 1) Evidence emerges that police lied about the killing of man which sparked the initially peaceful the protests.

Several UK newspapers are reporting evidence has emerged that casts doubt on the official police version about the fatal shooting that sparked the protests.

Police claimed that they were involved in a gun fight with a criminal gangster and shot him dead in response to a shot he first fired which they claimed barely missed an officer inside the car and was lodged in the radio of a police officers car.

The problem with the story is ballistics show the bullet recovered from the radio was actually a police officers gun and investigators have uncovered no evidence that the man shot dead even fired a gun.

The claim that man who was killed fired the bullet that was recovered from the radio when it was really a police bullet suggest the police tried planting evidence to cover up their misdeeds.

2) Eyewitnesses tell UK newspapers that the originally peaceful protests in turned violent after a 16 year girl threw a rock or some other object at the police. The police then responded with a force of 15 police officers who beat the girl on the ground with their shields The Daily Mail is quoted below. BBC interview with a first hand witness to the beating of the girl is also below.

3) Tonight marks the second night of riots which have spread beyond London and into neighboring suburbs of Brixton and Enfield. Unlike last nights spontaneous rights tonight’s riots were planned.

London Riots August 2011 Day 1 - 3

 

100 Arrests As Looting Spreads Across London

Sky News

More than 100 people have been arrested in connection with looting across east and south London, following a major riot in Tottenham at the weekend.

Disturbances erupted in several boroughs, with reports of trouble in Enfield, Brixton, Walthamstow and Islington.

Riot police and dog handlers were called to Enfield on Sunday evening after a group of youths caused damage to shops.

Disorder then spread to Brixton in the early hours of this morning, where a number of shops were also attacked and looted. [...]

Police on London streets after riot

BBC News 

Clasford Stirling, a resident of Tottenham for 32 years, said the area looked like a battlefield.

More than 40 people have been arrested after rioting saw police attacked and buildings and vehicles set alight in Tottenham, north London.

Overnight, 26 officers and three others were hurt in the violence which erupted after a protest over the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan on Thursday.

Shops, cash machines and homes were looted.

Tottenham MP David Lammy said: "A community that was already hurting has had its heart ripped out." [...]