Katherine Mahmoud owns the Boost Mobile store on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee, which was looted in the early morning of May 30.(Photo: Bill Glauber)
Katherine Mahmoud is furious about George Floyd's death — but she's also angry at those who destroyed her family's Milwaukee cellphone shop as protests escalated early Saturday morning.
"If you really care deeply in your heart ... (protest) in silence, go to the courts," she said.
She was awoken in the early hours by a phone call from the alarm company. Not knowing what to expect, she drove from her home in Oak Creek to her family's Boost Mobile store on N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee's Harambee neighborhood.
The windows were smashed, the merchandise all gone.
It's infuriating, she said, especially as her store has "nothing to do" with what protesters were rallying against.
"I look just like them," she said. Why did they do it?
"Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed about George Floyd. ... It could have been my brother, it could have been my son."
What people need to do is "go above," she said — "change some laws so this won't happen" and ensure law-enforcement officers will be held accountable for their actions
Update (2315ET): Rioters made quick work of the CNN logo outside the building, covering it with graffiti and standing on it, as if declaring victory over fake news.
In Atlanta, vandals broke into the College Football Hall of Fame where they stole memorabilia.
A gang of monkeys in Delhi, India assaulted a laboratory assistant and escaped with coronavirus test samples from three patients, according to Sky News, citing local media.
The incident happened near Meerut Medical College. According to the report, one of the monkeys was later spotted in a tree chewing one of the sample collection kits, the Times of India reported - which noted that the patients required new tests.
It is the latest example of the highly intelligent, red-faced rhesus macaques taking advantage of India's nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus.
While they have proved an increasing problem in urban areas of the country in recent years, lockdown measures in the last two months have emboldened the monkeys.
Reports have shown them congregating in parts of Delhi normally crowded with humans. -Sky
In March we noted that rival monkey gangs in Thailand - driven by starvation due to a lack of visitors amid the pandemic - have been roving the streets looking for food.
The ferocity of the animals shocked even locals, who are used to seeing the monkeys on a daily basis. One onlooker who captured video of the monkeys said: "They looked more like wild dogs than monkeys. They went crazy for the single piece of food. I've never seen them this aggressive," according to the Daily Mail.
According to the Sky report, people have been advised not to feed monkeys during the pandemic over fears that doing so could cause the disease to mutate and infect primates. If that happened, it could have a devastating impact.
"The point is, we have very little understanding of the virus, and it is better to limit our interactions with wildlife till there is more research done on its effects on non-human primates and other animal species," a senior biologist from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department previously told The Hindu.
"Very often they snatch food from people as they are walking, and sometimes they even tear files and documents by climbing in through the windows," said Home Ministry employee Ragni Sharma in 2018.
You
need to get 500 tons of supplies from Fairbanks, Alaska to the Arctic
Ocean—a journey of about 400 miles through pure wilderness. There
are no roads, very few airstrips, and endless ice. You're going to
have to withstand minus 68 degree temperatures. Also, nuclear
armageddon is on the menu if you're not quick about it.
You,
my friend, need a LeTourneau land train.
The
DEW Line
By
1954, with the Cold War well underway, the U.S. government realized
the quickest way to get a nuclear bomber from Russia to America was
to go right over the Arctic Circle. If we wanted any chance of
preventing a nuclear apocalypse, we needed to know if Soviet bombers
were crossing the North Pole as soon as possible. The Army planned to
build 63 manned radar stations in the high Arctic around the 69th
parallel (200 miles north of the Arctic circle) as a result. And to
transport all the necessary material that far north, it would have to
get creative.
IKIMEDIA
The DEW Line
Working
together, Canadian and American governments determined they would
need about 500 tons of materials to construct all of these outposts.
With no suitable runways or ports and heavy lift helicopters still in
their infancy, it would all have to be hauled in over land. The task
of figuring out how exactly to get that done fell to the same company
that had been chosen to build the stations themselves—The Western
Electric Company, a subsidiary of AT&T.
Solving
unsolvable logistics issues wasn't exactly its forte. But with the
help of TRADCOM (U.S. Army Transportation Research and Development
Command), it found the one company—more accurately, the one
man—that might be able to help.
That's
R. G. LeTourneau To You
Born
in 1888, Robert Gilmore LeTourneau was an inventor of heavy
machinery. In WWII, 70 percent of the Allies' earthmoving equipment
was created by LeTourneau Technologies, Inc. Having very little
formal education, LeTourneau began his working career as an
ironmonger. By the time he died in 1969 he was tremendously wealthy
and personally held nearly 300 patents. He is buried on the campus of
the University he founded in his name, where his gravestone reads
"MOVER OF MEN AND MOUNTAINS." Just a little character
development for you.
LeTourneau
had spent the early 1950s perfecting a sort of diesel-electric
drivetrain for multi-wheeled heavy-machinery. The system—somewhat
similar in concept to the sort used on many locomotives—used a
combustion engine to spin an electric generator. This generator would
send its power to hub motors mounted to each wheel of the vehicle,
allowing for multi-wheel-drive without differentials, driveshafts, or
the drivetrain losses associated with them.
This
powertrain setup will sound familiar to anyone who read our story on
the doomed Antarctic Snow Cruiser earlier this month.
But LeTourneau's design was clearly a generation ahead of Thomas
Poulter's hub motors, which weren't geared properly to handle
anything beyond a gentle incline.
ETOURNEAU TECHNOLOGIES INC.
The hub motor system
The
VC-12 Tournatrain
LeTourneau
originally applied this technology to scrapers and graders, but
realizing the scalability of such a system, he soon moved beyond just
earthmoving. In 1953, he dreamed up the first trackless land train to
assist logging operations, the VC-12—a four-wheeled control cab
with a 500-horsepower Cummins diesel connected to a generator,
pulling three cargo trailers on giant, rugged tires, all of which
were powered by hub motors to make it a true 16-wheel-drive vehicle.
It was brutally ugly, but critically, it worked.
Developed
to haul lumber out of forests over rough terrain, the VC-12 had a
hauling capacity of 140 tons. A second version saw LeTourneau add
three more cargo trailers and another control cab out back with a
second Cummins diesel, much like a real train would be set up with
multiple locomotives. TRADCOM caught wind of the project and asked
for a demonstration.
TRADCOM
came away impressed. This would be the vehicle to help engineers
build up the DEW Line, or at least a version of it. The government
decided to pay for the construction of a prototype control cabin
built by LeTourneau and designed specifically for Arctic conditions.
The result? The TC-264 Sno-Buggy—and, incidentally, monster trucks.
After The Wisconsin State Fair was canceled Thursday, Wendy Matel, owner of Freese's Candy Shoppe & Heavenly Roasted Nuts, 7312 W. Greenfield Ave. in West Allis, arranges bags of the popular nuts sold at Miller Park and State Fair. She and other vendors at the State Fair are trying to find ways to keep their business open during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.(Photo: Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Scott and Melissa Dooley and their team at Knucklehead Pub & Grub had already begun preparing their signature "lug nuts" — a tater tot and jalapeno pepper on a stick, wrapped in bacon and deep fried — which they sell by the thousands each year at the Wisconsin State Fair.
This year, though, the "lug nuts," along with the live music and the tens of thousands of beers they typically serve during the fair's 11-day run won't happen.
The Wisconsin State Fair was canceled Thursday, the latest cruel blow dealt by COVID-19 to hospitality businesses in the state.
"It’s a huge financial loss," said Scott Dooley."It’s a big blow to us."
The Knucklehead at the Wisconsin State Fair.(Photo: Scott Stokhaug)
The "lug nuts" have to be made in advance because the rate at which they sell during the fair "is just ridiculous," Scott Dooley said.
So are the beer sales.
"If I remember correctly, we sold 15,000 cans of beer" last year at the fair. That doesn't include the beer that is sold on tap.
He and his wife, Melissa, (whom he refers to as "the brains of the operation") bought the building at Central Avenue and Center Street on the fairgrounds several years ago and this would have been the bar's fifth year at the fair.
He described the relationship with the fair as "kind of like a trailer park. We own the bricks and mortar but we don’t own the land. It’s a partnership with the state," Scott Dooley said.
"They take care of all the marketing and advertising and we run a fun, clean place. It’s a good partnership," he said.
"We have two payments left on the building," he added.
But COVID-19 has proven to be wildly contagious among folks who come in close contact with each other. On a warm weekend day and/or evening, crowds at the fair can sometimes be shoulder to shoulder.
The fair routinely draws 1 million visitors.
"You don't want people to get sick," Scott Dooley said. "I trust their decision" to cancel the fair.
Update (23:15 ET): Protesters breached the 3rd Police Precinct where the the officers involved in the death of George Floyd were based. At one point bullets can be heard going off as the cameraman moves through the building.
As fire and smoke filled the building, "Fuck The Police" could be seen written on the wall - one day after former NWA member Ice Cube added fuel to the fire after he tweeted a false picture of Derek Chauvin - the officer seen kneeling on George Floyd's neck - next to provocateur Jonathan Lee Riches wearing a "Make Whites Great Again" hat.
While the tweet remains despite being quickly debunked earlier in the day, Twitter eventually labeled it "Manipulated media" after it had gone viral.
The police have reportedly been told to stand down, according to Breaking911:
Meanwhile, shots were fired in Denver, Colorado during a George Floyd protest, according to the Washington Post.
* * *
Update (22:20 ET):Unicorn Riot News says a massive fire is breaking out down the street from the 3rd Police Precinct.
More footage of the fire
* * *
Update (22:10 ET): Unicorn Riot News is live streaming the Minneapolis riots this evening and into the overnight.
* * *
Update (21:05 ET): No signs of the Minnesota National Guard yet -- as large crowds gather around the 3rd Police Precinct on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, large crowds gather in downtown Minneapolis...
"Thousands chanting "all four" at a peaceful protest in downtown Minneapolis," tweeted Twitter handle Zach Boyden-Holmes.
* * *
Update (19:40 ET): And this is what we've been warning about: protests are spreading to other cities. Twitter handle Habiba Choudhury records video of a crowd marching in NYC.
A group of protesters seen at Union Square in NYC.
More from Union Square:
"#BLM protest right now against police brutality and the murder of George Floyd. A bunch of people were arrested, cops are out everywhere along 14th Street and Union Square with the zip ties out," tweeted Twitter handle Michael Busch.
NYC protests are "heating up."
* * *
Update (19:04 ET): Heading into the third night of what is likely going to be continued social unrest in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd, Governor Tim Walz has signed an executive order to activate the Minnesota National Guard.
Walz said the purpose of the National Guard was "to protect people, to protect people safely demonstrating, and to protect small business owners."
"The anger and grief of this moment is unbearable. People deserve to be seen. People deserve to be heard. People deserve to be safe," he said in a statement. "While many Minnesotans are taking extensive safety precautions while exercising their right to protest, the demonstration last night became incredibly unsafe for all involved."
Walz's office told ABC News that National Guard units would work with local government agencies, providing them with personnel and equipment to mediate social unrest.
Protesters are damaging police cars in broad daylight -- these people don't give a sh*t (and when someone doesn't give a sh*t -- as we saw last night -- that's when things can spiral out of control -- hence why the National Guard has been called up).
"We all want justice but not sure to this is the way to do it... we all have the same blood in our veins," a young black millennial tells Danik.
"Fuck the police" can be heard in the video as a squad of riot control cops attempted to disperse a crowd who were staking out "restaurants and stores," said Danik.
Star Tribune reporter Ryan Faircloth tweeted, "Crowd near midway Target in St. Paul is now smashing the windows of nearby Verizon, Noodles and Co. and Vitamin Shoppe."
Faircloth posts another view outside the Vitamin Shoppe, showing police rolling up in a SWAT van to prevent protesters from causing any more damage.
Unicorn Riot News provides more color into the ongoing "stand-off" between protesters and police around the Vitamin Shoppe.
In anticipation of more riots, stores in the downtown Minneapolis boarded-up windows.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey requested Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to deploy the Minnesota National Guard following the social unrest. Demonstrators torched multiple building structures, including an apartment complex and surrounding buildings, an AutoZone, and other retail stores. At least a dozen stores were looted and or damaged.
"That's like five buildings on fire," one demonstrator said while talking to Unicorn Riot News.
— Hellaindividual🧞♂️ (@hellaindividual) May 28, 2020
A reporter from the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweeted images of the apartment building engulfed in flames.
Apparently, the apartment building was new construction with no one inside (that has yet to be confirmed).
The fire quickly spread to other structures nearby.
Here are several unbelievable scenes around the apartment complex.
"2020 is really going to go down in the books. This is the typa shit out future kids will read about. This is history in the making," said one Twitter user while referring to the fires.
Looks like an entire block is on fire.
The fire around the apartment building continues to rage early Thursday morning.
Many stores in this "strip mall looted and every window broken," tweeted one user.
Unicorn Riot News tweeted scenes from outside an AutoZone on Wednesday evening that was burned to the ground.
Unicorn Riot tweeted early Thursday morning that "smoke, fire alarm blaring, sprinklers going off inside Target." This is the same Target we noted on Wednesday evening that was looted by dozens, if not hundreds of people.
One Twitter user claims an "aldi may have also burned in the fires."
Protesters were hungry and looted Wendy's.
The situation is getting tense on Thursday morning: "More militarized police have reinforced the roof and perimeter of the MPD 3rd Precinct building. But they’re just kind of standing around and law enforcement clearly has given up trying to control Minneapolis right now," Unicorn Riot said.
Confirmed by Unicorn Riot but not official: "AutoZone and Wendy’s are all but burned down at this point. Some new condos under construction have gone up in flames as well."
Unicorn Riot claims "shots were just fired" possibly at the police station, which is the area where much of the rioting has been based.
Here's a live Periscope stream of the destruction, and at 5:51 ET, buildings are still on fire, and rioting continues.
Mayor Frey tweeted a plea for an end to the violence:
"Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy," the mayor's tweet read. "The area along Lake has become unsafe. We are asking for your help in keeping the peace tonight."
And to make matters worse, social unrest has spread to Los Angeles on Wednesday night, where "black lives matter protesters" surrounded and attacked police cars on Highway 101 in response to what was happening in Minneapolis.
To remind our readers, President Trump signed an executive order in March, giving the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security the authority to activate up to one million National Guard and reservists to support the nationwide response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Though, as we've noted, the troops could be used across American municipalities to maintain social order.
A perfect storm is brewing across America's inner cities of extreme wealth inequality, record-high unemployment, an economic crash, hatred towards cops, and months of lockdowns. All there needed to be was a trigger to ignite the unrest, that trigger could be the death of George Floyd.
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